FanHouse MoVaughn

This coming Hall of Fame ballot only features one Hall of Fame lock. Beyond that is a rabble of jerks who will be laughed out of future consideration, and beyond that is a selection of Tommy John-caliber guys. These guys shouldn't be forgotten, but there's the creeping feeling that if we let them in, we risk lowering the bar a little. We must all remain pragmatic and cynical. If we don't, the 2022 induction ceremony will feature David Eckstein and, like, Joe Crede.

In this installment, The Dugout applies this sort of cynicism toward Jay Bell, Don Mattingly, Ron Gant, and Mo Vaughn. For further reading, check out Part One of this series.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

The 2009 Hall of Fame ballot was released Monday, and with it is certain to come heated debate right up until and after the voting results are revealed on Jan. 12, 2009. This year's class of candidates is similar to last year's, in that it's a shallow group.

There is only one sure-fire Hall of Famer among the 23 candidates, which means this is a critical vote for the borderline players who have been up for election on multiple occasions. Now is the time for those borderline guys to get over the top or make a big push to lay the groundwork for election in future years.

After the jump is a breakdown of the ballot, complete with what I think will happen and what should happen with this year's class of Cooperstown contenders.

Taking steroids is an inherently selfish act, but there's also sacrifice involved. After all, you've got to be willing to accept the side effects – the acne, the wild hormonal changes, the mood swings. It's not all fun and home runs, you know.

One overlooked aspect: Many designer steroids, including Kirk Radomski's, need to be injected to be truly effective, which is why Mo Vaughn stayed away from that stuff. Believe it or not, he was scared. From page 186 of Mitchell's report:

Radomski said that Glenallen Hill referred Vaughn to him. A former major league player has confirmed that Hill and Vaughn had a conversation in early 2001 in which Radomski's name was mentioned. Radomski recalled that Vaughn had an ankle injury and called him for advice. Radomski told Vaughn that human growth hormone would help his ankle heal faster. [...]

Radomski said that the two checks in the amount of $3,200 were each for two kits of human growth hormone. He stated that the check in the amount of $2,200 might have been for one-and-a-half kits of human growth hormone. Radomski said that he did not sell Vaughn steroids because Vaughn was 'afraid of the big needles.'

"Wait, what? I've got to take injections? Seriously? With the big needles an such? You're sure there isn't, like, a smoothie I can use? OK ... um ... I guess I'll pass then. Just the HGH. Yep. Thanks."

Read FanHouse's complete coverage of the Mitchell Report.
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Oh those darn terrorists!

Do you remember Mo Vaughn? I'm sure you do. He was the big fat guy at first base for the Red Sox, Angels, and Mets all those years. In case you were wondering, he's still alive. The LA Times Jerry Crowe recently caught up with Vaughn, and Mo surprised him with the reason why he wanted out of LA after the 2001 season.

Angels fans never really took to Vaughn after the team gave him the biggest contract in franchise history back in 1998. It was a six-year $80 million deal but Vaughn injured his ankle in his first game as an Angel, and it set the tone for an injury plagued stay in Anaheim. So nobody in Los Angeles was all that sorry to see him go when the Angels traded Vaughn to the Mets in December 2001. It was also assumed Vaughn wanted out because he was homesick for his east coast roots.

The real reason he wanted out of Los Angeles? Osama Bin Laden.

"I haven't stated this to anybody," the former Angel, 39, says from New York, where he's forging a new career transforming dilapidated low-income housing developments into livable apartments, "but the reason I left Anaheim was because of Sept. 11. My parents never really missed a game and after Sept. 11 hit, I was like, 'I've got to get back home. I don't want my parents in the air.' "

And with that, George Bush just sent 10,000 more troops to the middle east to avenge the trade of Mo Vaughn.

Here I thought Mo Vaughn was destined only to spend his post playing days in the company of some lovely ladies, as they showered him with their silicone. Not true, friends. You see, Mo Vaughn is picking up where his idol Jackie Robinson left off, buying some dilapidated housing projects and giving them a nice little makeover.

Despite some extra padding, he is instantly recognizable as the Hit Dog, the 1995 American League Most Valuable Player for the Red Sox, with whom he spent the best part of a 12-year career that included stints with the Angels and Mets. Vaughn is still slightly gimpy walking down stairs, a reminder of his arthritic left knee that forced him to retire at age 35.

Since forming the company with his lawyer, Eugene Schneur, in December 2004, Vaughn has contracted to remodel 1,142 units in the New York metro area, some in projects that have been plagued by murders, drug dealing, and third-world conditions. They have also purchased property in Cheyenne, Wyo., and are negotiating in Miami and Las Vegas.

But it was not until they purchased the Whitney Young Manor in Yonkers, N.Y., earlier this year that Vaughn discovered the property was the first development built by the Jackie Robinson Construction Company.

"He was very serious . . . about his construction company," wrote Arnold Rampersad in his book, "Jackie Robinson: A Biography." "He was very pleased when his group at last broke ground on its first major effort: Whitney Young Manor, a development of 197 units in Yonkers, New York, named after the former National Urban League director, who had drowned tragically on a visit to Nigeria."

A look at some of baseball's old-school scuffles....

The year was 1993 and Aaron Sele came in a little too high and tight on White Sox slugger George Bell. You know the drill from here. Bell takes offense, comes sprinting to the mound and tries to land a crushing right hand blow in Sele's face.

Problem is, Sele dodged the hook and well, let's just say Mo Vaughn's actions look a little more Ray Lewis than Sugar Ray Leonard.

BOOM.