Marty’s musings: delayed Spring Training looms

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting key pitching matchups throughout the year.

It’s been a while since we did a Musings round-up, and as we head into the middle of February, the entire baseball community holds its breath to find out if Spring Training will start on time (unlikely) and if the season is in jeopardy (questionable, but still possible).

News & Notes

1 - Player the BBWAA elected to the Hall of Fame in this year’s class. David Ortiz was the only player elected this year. It was the Ortiz’ first time on the ballot and he garnered 77.9 percent of the vote. His legendary status as a key member of the Red Sox, postseason heroics to ‘break the curse’, and serving as one of the best designated hitters the game has ever seen put him over the top.

66 / 65.2 - Percentages that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens received in their last year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot. It’s certainly awkward that Ortiz, a player linked to PEDs, got in on the first try while Bonds and Clemens have effectively been blackballed from the Hall, wallowing on the ballot for 10 years and never receiving 75 percent of the vote total.

5 - Teams projected to win at least 90 games (in a full season) according to FanGraphs’ 2022 projections, which the site released last week. The Dodgers lead the pack, with a projected win total of 94. The Astros are the highest in the American League at 91, and the Padres, Yankees, and Braves round-out the 90+ list at 90 wins. Three teams are projected under 70 wins, the PIrates (68), Rockies (66), and Orioles (64).

19 - Days until Spring Training is supposed to begin. Several teams’ pitchers and catchers are slated to report next week, but that’s highly unlikely to happen.

52 - Days until Opening Day is scheduled. We’ll see if it happens on time.