Mack's Apples - 11-12-17 - Tony DiBrell, Roy Halladey, HOF, Bob Bowman, JT Ginn

Good morning.

Through the Player’s Eyes: Tony Dibrell - 

“A couple of hours after I heard my name called, my area scout, Tommy Jackson, called me. He congratulated me and told me to pack my stuff up so I could get to Port St. Lucie to sign my first professional contract. I thought for sure I would have a few weeks at home to celebrate with my friends and family, but instead I had to leave that Friday. The excitement finally hit me when I arrived in Port St. Lucie and walked into the locker room. Seeing my name on the back of a New York Mets jersey finally made the whole experience real for me. Unfortunately, I never got to wear that particular jersey, but that was because I was soon headed to New York to play my first professional season for the Brooklyn Cyclones.”

Remembering Baseball Legend  Roy Halladay -

Inside that mid-February clubhouse what the Phillies couldn't stop talking about regarding their new ace was how early Halladay arrived every day.

Like, 4:30-or-5-in-the-morning early.

A minor leaguer named Phillippe Aumont told me he had been in town three weeks and had yet to beat Halladay to the Phillies' workout facility in the morning. Veteran closer Brad Lidge told me of Halladay's legendary workouts, "when I'm getting here at 9 in the morning, he's finishing up."

2018 ‘Modern Era’  Hall of Fame Ballot  –

While much focus during the offseason is on the BBWAA voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, there is another route to Cooperstown. The Eras Committees, formerly known as the Veterans Committee, handle that end. Four different eras get one turn per year, with the "Modern Baseball Era" (1970-87) getting a crack this season.

The Modern Baseball Era committee will be 16 members, comprised of current Hall of Famers, executives and select media members. In order to gain enshrinement, candidates need at least 12 votes. Each voter only gets to vote for two, so it's pretty tough to make it.

The list of candidates is 10, with nine former players and a former MLBPA head. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

 Bob Bowman, Major League Baseball’s Digital Mastermind, Steps Down –

The former baseball commissioner Bud Selig once called Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the league’s digital and video arm, “one of the great success stories of not only the baseball business, but American business.”

The person most responsible for that success is Bob Bowman, its chief executive for 17 years.

Major League Baseball announced on Monday that Bowman, 62, was stepping down as president of business and media when his contract expires at the end of the year.

JT Ginn -

Ginn's slider is a weapon with sharp horizontal bite. The pitch has the potential to become plus and at times flashes better than plus. He struggles at times with control of his pitches, but when he is able to locate the slider, it is downright unfair. His command was on at the Perfect Game's World Wood Bat Association Championship, and the competition was unable to touch him.

Ultimately, Ginn may be a better fit in the bullpen than the rotation. He doesn't have the build of a starter — standing only 6'1" — and his dominant stuff plays down at times when his ability to hit the zone falters. However, the profile has been proven to work as a starter, and there is a chance he sticks in that capacity as well. His ultimate ceiling will depend on how well he refines his ability to locate his pitches and the development of his changeup.