District Daily: Expos greats among new candidates for Hall of Fame
By Pablo Roa
May 18, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA;
Randy Johnsonthrows out the first pitch at Chase Field to honor the 10th anniversary of his perfect game against the Atlanta Braves. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Good afternoon Dod readers! Checkout some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web in today’s District Daily:
Expos greats among new candidates for Hall of Fame
WASHINGTON — When the Nationals franchise was located in Montreal, the Expos had some talented players. Two of them — Andre Dawson and Gary Carter — are in the Hall of Fame.
Could more follow in 2015? Tim Raines, Larry Walker, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Lee Smith and Cliff Floyd are among the players eligible for Hall induction.
A candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote from eligible Baseball Writers’ Association of America members to gain election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were elected into the Hall last January. Craig Biggio (74.8 percent), Mike Piazza (62.2 percent) and Jeff Bagwell (54.3 percent) are the top returning vote-getters from last year. Results of the 2015 election will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 6 on MLB Network and MLB.com. Read full article here.
Could the Nationals make a play for a free agent starter such as Max Scherzer?
(James Wagner, Washington Post)
Let’s first establish this: The Nationals don’t need a starting pitcher. The rotation of Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark was the best in baseball last season by many measures — ERA, FIP, WAR, take your pick — and (barring a trade) will return for 2015 after forming the backbone of a division-title winning team. Even if the Nationals make no moves this winter, they will be in position to repeat as NL East champions in a division that has no clear or significantly improved challenger. Keeping the title-contending rotation together for one more year, before Zimmermann and Fister are eligible for free agency, make sense. Read full article here.