Aug 31 2009
By Bob Smizik | Monday, 12:30 a.m.
Any mention of the fact the Big East is not exactly the most esteemed football conference among the varied group of people known as ``experts,’’ is almost certain to bring a deluge of comments to this blog about the league’s success in bowl games, the unfairness of the polls and the stupidity of the ``experts.’’
The reality, however, is, at this time, the Big East is lightly regarded-- and deservedly so.
The fact West Virginia beat Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl -- a truly impressive win -- doesn’t matter, nor should it more than three years after the fact. That Pitt beat Notre Dame and West Virginia beat Auburn l
ast year are positives for the Big East, but league champion Cincinnati losing by 26 to Oklahoma and 13 to Virginia Tech are significant negatives.
Defenders of the Big East often point to the bowl season as a barometer of conference strength. The bowl season is a joke. It’s a series of television programs that mostly prove nothing. For starters, bowl games often match, say, the fifth-place team from one conference against the second-place team from another. That was the case when West Virginia beat North Carolina last season. What does that prove in terms of conference strength?
But the greater reason to ignore most bowl results is the fact teams take off five, six or seven weeks between games, which is a time frame that goes a long way from stripping any kind of meaningfulness from the outcomes.
The Big East’s situation is what it is. It has little respect among pollsters and the television schedule- makers who repeatedly disrespect the conference by having it play mid-week games.
No Big East team is ranked in the top 25 in the two major rankings conducted by the Associated Press, which polls writers and broadcasters, and USAToday, which polls coaches.
In the AP poll, both the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 have five teams ranked, including three in the top 10. The Atlantic Coast Conference has four in the top 25 and one in the top 10. The Big Ten has three in the top 25 and two in the top 10. The Mountain West has three in the top 25, the Western Athletic Conference one and the 25th team is independent Notre Dame. The USAToday poll has few differences.
What is of note is that no Big East team is in the top 25 in either poll. It is the only BCS-affiliated conference so slighted. To have no teams in the top 25 is clear sign that the people who should know college football the best have no respect for the league.
In the AP poll, Pitt is the highest ranked Big East team at 28th. In the USAToday poll, Cincinnati is the highest ranked at 29.
Here’s the good news for the Big East. It will get plenty of opportunity early in the season to prove the polls wrong.
In September, Cincinnati plays at ranked Oregon State and Fresno State, unranked but respected. Connecticut plays ranked North Carolina. Louisville plays at ranked Utah. Pitt plays at North Carolina State. Rutgers plays Maryland. South Florida plays at ranked Florida State. Syracuse plays at ranked Penn State and West Virginia plays at unranked but respected Auburn.
September is put-up-or-shut-up time for the Big East.
The conference has a chance to gain the respect of the nation and make a move in the polls with these games. Until that happens, the Big East -- this season -- is the worst of the BCS-affiliated leagues and also behind the unaffiliated Mountain West.
Aug 30 2009
By Bob Smizik | Sunday 8:30 a.m.
Let me take a wild guess here and say Ryan Doumit was pulled from the Pirates game Friday and not in the lineup Saturday because manager John Russell was sick and tired of Doumit's whiny attitude and all-around sulking.
Russell's expectation, understandably so, is that Doumit conduct himself like a professional, which is how the Pirates are treating him since his salary for this season is $2.15 million.
The manager and the catcher apparently have come to some kind of understanding because Doumit was back in the lineup today and reinserted into the No. 4 spot. That might have something to do with Jason Jaramillo, the team's other catcher, having played last night but more likely is an indication Russell has removed Doumit from his doghouse.
It’s no secret that Doumit has been carrying himself in a unprofessional manner -- like a big baby -- since the Pirates gave up on the 2009 season, and probably 2010 and 2011, with the trades they made in June and in July.
As Dejan Kovacevic wrote in the Post-Gazette today: ``Doumit was vocal in his displeasure about the Pirates many recent trades.’’
That’s an understandable initial reaction from a player seeing his team ripped apart and his friends going elsewhere, but it's one he should have been dropped weeks ago.
Doumit was spoken to by general manager Neal Huntington and probably Russell and there were signs he was coming around. But his play Friday in Milwaukee is what finally prompted the somewhat drastic action of removing him mid-game. Managers are slow to embarrass players in such a manner. In doing so Russell took public what he would prefer to keep private and drew the attention of the media and fans. But Russell apparently felt Doumit's bad act had gone on long enough and it was time to confront it.
Pirates announcer John Wehner pointed to Doumit’s at bat in the fifth inning in a game the Pirates fell behind, 5-0, in the first inning before losing, 8-6, as a possible reason for his benching.
In discussing Doumit’s removal on the broadcast Saturday, Wehner said that on a fly ball to right-center field, Doumit ``didn’t show much urgency. I don’t even know if he got to first base.’’
That was enough for Russell, who replaced Doumit with Jaramillo in the bottom half of the inning.
Since the July 29 trades of Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, Doumit is batting .173 (14 for 81).
After his best season in 2008, when he batted .318 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs in 432 at bats, Doumit had been expected to be one of the team’s top offensive players and was installed in the No. 4 spot in the batting order. But he was out with injury from April 20 to July 10 and has not come close to fulfilling that role. More recently,he had been dropped in the lineup.
It's possible Doumit has extended his pouting period as a means of forcing a trade. By his words and deeds, he's made it pretty clear he wants out of Pittsburgh. If he continues to act and perform in such a manner, he may leave the Pirates little option. There would figure to be a market for a switch-hitting catcher with some offensive pop who has a reasonable contract.
Doumit signed a long-term contract with the Pirates last December that pays him 2.05 million this year, $3.55 million in 2010 and $5.1 million in 2011. There are club options for 2012 ($.7.25 million) and 2013 ($8.25 million).
By his actions, Doumit is making himself less desirable to other teams. But he's also making himself less desirable to the Pirates.
Aug 29 2009
Saturday, 3:35 p.m.
Since the subject of Bert Blyleven's Hall of Fame hopes came up on the blog today, I thought the following would be timely. It was written recently by John Mehno and appeared in the Beaver County Times. It explains at least part of the reason why Blyleven is not in the Hall of Fame and details an episode in his career that largely has been forgotten by Pirates fans, but which should not be forgotten. -- Bob Smizik
Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Bert Blyleven throws himself a pity party every year when he doesn't make it.
Maybe Blyleven would be closer to the Hall if he hadn't quit on the Pirates 15 games into the 1980 season, when they were defending World Series champions.
Blyleven went home on April 30, complaining that manager Chuck Tanner lifted him from games and 
prevented him from reaching personal goals.
"Tanner showed very little faith in me," he said then. "I began to lose my competitiveness."
Blyleven came back on May 13 and said, "I'm proud of what I did and I might do it again. Until they trade me, I'll do what I have to do."
Blyleven was 8-13 for the Pirates, who finished 83-79 and were tied for first place on Sept. 1. He went 1-5 with a 4.56 ERA over his last eight starts.
The Pirates traded him to Cleveland.
"The Pirates sent him to Siberia," said Bill Rigney, an advisor with the California Angels, who had also bid for Blyleven.
Blyleven finished with 287 victories. If he'd won 300, he'd be a lock for the Hall. Maybe his chances of winning 13 more would have been better if he hadn't skipped those two weeks in 1980, then pitched for Cleveland teams that had a winning percentage of .445 in his almost five years there.
Maybe this is karma's way of saying real Hall of Famers don't quit contending teams for selfish reasons.
Aug 29 2009
Saturday, 1 a.m.
Q: Great piece on Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame. I think you summed up the conundrum of his candidacy, career and culpability perfectly. I believe I would vote the same on both counts.
My question is whether or not you have or will vote for Dave Parker. I have long believed he belongs. Jim Rice's enshrinement made me feel even more so. Parker's career stats and achievement are very similar but The Cobra has the edge in fielding and rings. Rice has the edge in not having an overblown performance-decreasing drug problem and in having played in Boston his whole career. I truly wish someone would champion Parker's cause. When he was at his peak, I never saw a better player (that includes Pujols, Bonds, etc.)
Mike Ruben
Bob Smizik: Nobody, and I mean nobody, played the game harder than Dave Parker and when he was in his prime few played it better. I will never forget his first game with the Pirates in the summer of 1973. Veteran shortstop Dal Maxvill, relatively new to the team, took one look at Parker and said, ``I don’t know who he is, but I’m glad he’s on our side.’’
That said, I have never voted for Parker. I said in my blog Friday that I am liberal in my voting. To clarify that, I am liberal in overlooking character flaws and look mostly at performance. I am very conservative in opening the doors to the Hall of Fame. I believe Parker falls a bit short of HOF standards and probably because he allowed his career to unravel midway through it before finding himself and finishing strong. I also believe Rice fell a bit short and never voted for him. But now that Rice is in, I suppose it’s possible Parker someday will be admitted.
As for championships won, I put no stock in them. They are team honors. The Hall of Fame is based on individual achievement.
__________
Q: Excellent column on Pistol Pete (Rose). About your being liberal on your voting, right on. It brings to mind my thoughts on steroid use and all the fuss about same. Do you think it is possible that some of the past great players might have used some form of chemical to enhance their performance. I don't know what was available, but what if something was there to use and they did?
Mike Bozik
Bob Smizik: I’m not sure this is what you’re talking about but it is well documented that amphetamines were used freely throughout baseball for decades. I think it’s also been shown they are performance enhancing. That’s why I think the snubbing of Mark McGwire is so hypocritical. The self-righteous members of the Baseball Writers Association of America have shut the door on McGwire but regularly open it for many players who almost certainly benefited from amphetamines.
__________
Q: What's the likelihood that Andrew McCutchen gets the Rookie of the Year award in the National League? Has there ever been a Rookie of the Year on a last-place team?
Simon Noel
Bob Smizik: McCutchen certainly is among the leading candidates, particularly with his recent offensive spurt. Probably the most successful rookie is Philadelphia pitcher J. A. Happ, who is 10-3 with a 2.63 earned run average, which is fifth best in the National League. Atlanta pitcher Tommy Hanson was 9-3 with a 3.15 ERA.
Among position players, McCutchen’s competition comes from Casey McGehee of Milwaukee, Chris Coghlan of Florida and the Pirates Garrett Jones. All four are close statistically, but McCutchen leads in RBIs with 43 and is second in homers to Jones, who has 15, with 10. Coghlan has the best batting average, .297. McCutchen is second at .295.
I haven’t done the research but I imagine there have been plenty of winners from last-place teams. The Rookie-of-the-Year award, unlike the Most Valuable Player award, should be based strictly on player performance, not on team performance.
Reader Bob Middleman writes to say that Albie Pearson and Bob Allison of the Washington Senators were ROY winners with last-place teams as was Bob Horner of the Atlanta Braves.
__________
Q: Wondering your opinion on Rule 5 draft picks? These don't seem to work out very often and perhaps stunt development. It also seems that another player might benefit from being on the Major League roster in place of the spot a guy like Donnie Veal takes up.
David Bruni
Bob Smizik: No question, there’s a bit of risk involved for the reasons you state. But there also can be significant reward. Minor-league players are eligible for the Rule 5 draft, which takes place in December, if they are not on the 40-man roster of their parent organization and have spent a specified period of time in that organization.
Roberto Clemente was acquired by the Pirates in the draft that later became known as Rule 5. Johan Santana was taken in the Rule 5 draft by Florida, which traded him to Minnesota where he became the best pitcher in baseball. Other current notable players who were taken in the Rule 5 draft are Dan Uggla and Shane Victorino.
Most Rule 5 players don’t make it. But for teams like the Pirates it’s an avenue of player procurement that must be explored.
__________
Q: You are in a rut by a stupor induced by 16 years of losing. It's time to wake up. They (the Pirates) are NOT a bad team. They are a young team that deserves your support.
Kent Harris
Bob Smizik: Based on their recent homestand, your opinion looks pretty good. I still think they are severely lacking in talent. No team with 16 consecutive losing seasons deserves anyone’s support.
__________
Q: I wish everything you wrote about the Steelers being the best team to come along during the cap age to be positioned for a repeat run at the title were true but don't forget about New England. They have been just as good and maybe even better and they have the Steelers' number and Tom Brady is back from a one-year layoff.
Patrick Ebbitt
Bob Smizik: I have not forgotten about New England. Just because the Steelers are the best equipped to defend their title doesn't mean they will win the Super Bowl.
Aug 28 2009
By Bob Smizik | Friday 8:25 p.m.
The Pitt basketball team, in a semi-rebuilding mode with the loss of four starters, took another hit today when it was announced Gilbert Brown has been suspended from the university for the fall semester for academic reasons.
Brown, was one of the team’s top reserves last season, averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds, and was expected to be a starter this season.
In releasing the news, Pitt said Brown, a 6-foot-6 small forward, will be eligible to rejoin the team Dec. 20. Pitt will play 11 games, all non-league, before Brown’s return. Brown will be a fourth-year junior and will have 1 1/2 seasons of eligibility remaining when he rejoins the team.
Aug 28 2009
By Bob Smizik | Friday, 12:15 a.m.
I was the Pirates beat writer for the Pittsburgh Press from 1972-77. It was a great experience for a young reporter to be around such an outstanding team and such extraordinary players. I didn’t quite realize it at the time, but it was an honor to cover Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski and the rest of those players. They were my Boys Of Summer.
At the same time, I covered some of the all-time greats of the game -- Henry Aaron, what a gentlemen; Willie Mays, what a cranky guy; Bob Gibson, the most intimidating athlete I was ever around, on and off the field.
Aside from the Pirates, the best team to cover was the Cincinnati Reds, who became known in the mid-1970s as The Big Red Machine when they won two World Series. The Reds had Johnny Bench, possibly the greatest catcher in baseball history, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Sparky Anderson, all also Hall of Famers, and Pete Rose, not a Hall of Famer.
I was an admirer of Rose, who played the game the way it was supposed to be played. He was a fierce competitor and, of course, a great player. If I hadn’t been around to see it, I would have a hard time believing in a sport where so few could achieve 3,000 hits, Rose had 4,000.
As good a player as Rose was -- an All-Star at four positions -- he was just as good an interview. He always had something to say, said it well and said it with conviction.
Unlike most athletes, he would help you out if he could. After the Reds were shutout by Luis Tiant in the first game of the 1975 World Series, I asked Rose about Tiant. He didn’t know me by name, but he knew I was from Pittsburgh.
``He was good,’’ Rose said. ``Real good. But he’s no Candelaria.’’
I had the quote that helped my story as Rose referenced John Candelaria, the Pirates best pitcher of the day.
Rose was in the news the other day when Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt spoke out on his behalf. Schmidt wants to see Rose in the Hall of Fame. As is well known, Rose has been barred from baseball and the Hall of Fame because he not only bet on baseball, he bet on the Reds at a time when he was their manager.
I’m pretty liberal on who I vote for the Hall of Fame. Unlike most electors, I voted for Mark McGwire. I understand there’s a good chance McGwire used steroids and his accomplishments might be tainted. But I vote for him two reasons:
* I’d prefer to be consistent and vote for all players who are deserving rather than deny some who have been publicly tainted by steroid and vote for others who might be just as guilty but who have not been identified.
* Beyond that, if MLB doesn’t want McGwire or others tainted by steroids in the Hall of Fame, it should do what it did with Rose and take them off the ballot. If a player of Hall stature is on the ballot, he’ll get my vote.
When he first was banned, I, like many -- including Rose -- thought it would only be a matter of time before he was reinstated and back in the game, possibly as a manager, and certainly in the Hall of Fame.
That well could have happened. In 2003, in a meeting with commissioner Bud Selig, Rose was told if he changed his lifestyle, if he admitted his mistakes, his reinstatement might be possible. But instead of admitting his mistakes at a bare-his-soul news conference that MLB would have preferred, Rose did it in a book -- he was always after the buck -- that was released on Hall of Fame election week.
The book and its timing probably did Rose in forever. It is unlikely Selig will ever seriously consider reinstatement for Rose, even with high-profile Hall of Famers like Schmidt, Aaron and Morgan championing his cause.
My admiration for Rose the player has never diminished. My respect for Rose the man have never been lower. I prefer not to judge the lifestyle of people and certainly Rose is entitled to his. He had his chance to get back in baseball’s good graces and thumbed his nose at it.
As far as voting for him the Hall of Fame, it’s out of my hands. He’s been retired so long, even if he were reinstated the writers would not vote on him.
If I had a vote and Rose were reinstated, I’d vote for him. But if I have a vote on his reinstatement, I’d vote against him.
Aug 27 2009
By Bob Smizik | Thursday, 1 a.m.
Count me among those who chuckled back in late May when the Colorado Rockies fired Clint Hurdle, less than two years removed from the World Series, and replaced him with Jim Tracy, less than two years removed from managing the Pirates to 94 losses and a last-place finish in the National League Central Division.
How was Tracy, I reasoned, going to make a difference with the Rockies after his miserable two-season run with the Pirates, which ended when he was fired with a year remaining on his contract?
Turns out, Tracy, who had been Hurdle's bench coach, has made a difference, a large difference. The lethargic and near-dead Rockies have become the hottest team in baseball. When Tracy took over on May 29, the Rockies were 10 games under .500 at 18-28 and had just been swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, a series in which they were outscored, 31-13.
The Rockies, who had been swept in the 2007 World Series by the Boston Red Sox, were in turmoil and Tracy, based on his Pittsburgh showing, figured to be the last guy to change that.
The Rockies won their first two under Tracy and then lost four straight. Same old Rockies, same old Tracy.
But after that four-game losing streak, which put them 12 games under .500, the Rockies began a run that would carry them back to contention in the NL West and to being a distinct threat to catch and pass the once-thought-to-be uncatchable Dodgers.
After beating the Dodgers twice in a showdown series in Denver this week, the Rockies lost last night, 6-1, to fall three games back with a 72-55 record. But the momentum is still with them.
Under Tracy they are 54-27, a 108-win pace over a full season. In their past 75 games they are 52-23, a 112-win pace.
How has the man who failed with the Pirates been such a success with the Rockies?
Tracy was an ill fit with the Pirates. He seemed to think his presence and that of his coaches, coming as they were from a winning program in Los Angeles, could magically turn the Pirates around. He and his staff were overwhelmed in Pittsburgh. They never realized the depth of the problem, they never were able to fully confront it.
Tracy was so stunned by his lack of success, he took to disassociating himself from the team. At one point, he so much as washed his hands of the team and proclaimed he, at least, was doing his job.
Colorado has been different. Colorado is not, like the Pirates, a very bad baseball team. It was a good team, a World Series-caliber team less than two years earlier. The players had tired of Hurdle. He was a strident voice. They were ready to hear someone different.
Tracy was that man. The Rockies, with far more talent than the Pirates, are a good fit for Tracy.
Managers can’t make much of a difference on bad teams. Neither John McGraw, nor Casey Stengel, nor Tony La Russa could make a difference with the Pirates. But managers can make a difference with teams that have talent like the Rockies.
Tracy is not lacking in confidence. He has always had a tremendous belief in himself and he carries himself in such a manner. That can rub off on a good team whose confidence has been shaken. Tracy also is a solid baseball guy who knows how to run a game. He was enough to shake the Rockies out of their lethargy and enough to make them believe in themselves.
Talent will have to carry them the rest of the way.
How ever this turns out, a title for the Rockies or just a great effort, Jim Tracy can walk away smiling. He’s had the last laugh on all of his critics. His career has been restored.
Aug 26 2009
By Bob Smizik | Wednesday, 2:15 p.m.
I heard via e-mail today from that rarest of human species: A Pirates fan who has a kind thought for former general manager Dave Littlefield.
He wrote to point out that it was Littlefield who drafted Andrew McCutchen, the brilliant centerfielder who had the game-winning home run last night in the Pirates’ 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The old adage about how even a blind squirrel can find an occasional acorn fits the Littlefield/McCutchen 
relationship perfectly.
It was interesting that a positive point would be raised on behalf of Littlefield on a day there were fresh reminders in the news of the ultra-high level of incompetence that existed among Littlefield and his band of lieutenants.
On the same night McCutchen hit his heroic home run, Leo Nunez picked up his 15th save for the Florida Marlins and Matt Herges won a crucial game for the Colorado Rockies.
Nunez was the 21-year-old Class A pitcher Littlefield shipped to Kansas City in 2005 for catcher Benito Santiago. I’ve been told minor-league personnel in the Pirates organization were enraged with the deal, as well they should have been.
Santiago batted 23 times for the Pirates before he was released. He never played another MLB game.
Nunez was 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA for Kansas City last year. The Royals traded him to Florida for Mike Jacobs, who hit 32 home runs and drove in 93 runs, in 2008. Nunez, who just turned 26, has 15 saves, 13 holds and a 3.98 ERA for the Marlins. He pitched a hitless and scoreless ninth inning last night to preserve the Florida's 2-1 win over the New York Mets.
Herges came to the Pirates before the 2003 season when Littlefield sent Chris Young, a minor leaguer who was destined to become a top-of-the-rotation starter, to Montreal. Littlefield then -- incredibly -- cut Herges before the end of spring training. Young is having a sub-par season with San Diego but lifetime he is 46-34 with a 3.87 ERA.
Herges pitched a hitless and scoreless 10th inning last night and got the win when the Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, in a crucial NL West game, 5-4.
Yes, Littlefield did some good things as Pirates general manager. But the bad things outnumber the good by about a 10-1 ratio.
Aug 26 2009
By Bob Smizik | Wednesday 8:15 a.m.
When you have two of the worst closers in the National League in the game at the same time, there’s a good chance the team to bat last will win.
That’s the way it was last night at PNC Parks as first the Pirates Matt Capps gave away the game and then the Philadelphia Phillies Brad Lidge returned the favor.
Closers are expected to put out the proverbial fire. These guys ignite it.
The result was an exciting game won by the Pirates, 6-4, in front of a crowd that was decidedly partisan toward the Phillies.
Good teams travel well these days and that’s the case with the world champion Phillies, who had fans all over the ball park with almost all of of them proudly wearing T-shirts or other apparel that proclaimed their alllegiance.
The Phillies remain an outstanding team -- they have a seven-game lead in the NL East -- and one capable of repeating as World Series winner, but with one enormous flaw: Lidge.
His performance against the Pirates was typical of his season: Absolutely awful.
After the Phillies had scored twice in their half of the ninth off Capps, Lidge came in to protect a one-run lead and face the bottom of the Pirates’ batting order. He wasn’t even up to that challenge. He wasn't even able to retire a batter.
He gave up a single to Luis Cruz and then wild pitched him to second. Pinch-hitter Brandon Moss followed with a single that scored pinch-runner Brian Bixler and Andrew McCutchen followed with a game-winning home run.
It was the ninth blown save of the season for Lidge -- three more than any other NL pitcher -- dropped his record to 0-6 and raised his earned run average to a ridiculous 7.33.
And this from the pitcher who was highly instrumental in the Phillies’ success last season with 41 saves, a 2-0 record and a 1.95 ERA.
It’s that high level of success that’s keeping Lidge in the vital role of closer.
``We've got to stay with him, he's got to keep going," Philadelphia manager Charley Manuel said. ``That's all we can do. We'll come out and play tomorrow. We'll come out and win tomorrow's game.’’
Manuel factored in this loss as much as Lidge. It was the fourth straight day in which Lidge had pitched. In the previous three, all one inning, he had allowed one base runner and no earned runs. By bringing him back a fourth straight game, an unusual work load, Manuel was flirting for trouble.
Lidge’s implosion took the notice away from another poor performance by Capps, who is 3-7 with four blown saves and a 6.38 ERA. He gave up doubles to Carlos Ruiz and Ben Francisco and a triple over the head of McCutchen by Shane Victorino.
It was the continuation of what has been a disappointing year for Capps, who has struggled with his control. He’s allowed 15 walks in 41 1/3 innings this year. Last year he allowed five in 53 2/3.
Manager John Russell has an option. Joel Hanrahan, who failed twice as a closer with the Washington Nationals before coming to the Pirates in June, has been effective of late and has closer’s stuff. Hanrahan has a 1.08 ERA this month and opposing batters are hitting .219 against him.
It’s not likely Russell will demote Capps this season. But if Capps continues to struggle, Hanrahan could be in the mix next season.
For the Phillies, with a World Series title to defend, there’s no thinking of next season and, surprisingly so, no thinking of removing Lidge from the closer’s role.
Aug 26 2009
By Bob Smizik | Wednesday, 12:30 a.m.
The news yesterday that Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau has been nominated for selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame does not guarantee his enshrinement, but it should and probably will.
LeBeau, who played for the Detroit Lions from 1959-72, was nominated along with Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little by the senior committee, which was established to assure that older players get consideration for enshrinement.
Both LeBeau and Little will be on the final ballot with 15 modern-day finalists, who have yet to be selected. It requires an 80 percent vote by the Board of Selectors to gain Hall of Fame induction.
This nomination, of course, is long overdue. Lesser senior candidate have been brought forth and some have been enshrined while to the bewilderment of many LeBeau’s worthwhile candidacy has been ignored.
Since his playing days, which he finished as the third leading interceptor in NFL history, LeBeau has achieved near legendary status as an NFL assistant coach. There certainly is no more revered or respected person in the Steelers locker room.
LeBeau was typically humble in addressing the news. ``I must confess, it was the last thing I expected to hear,'' he said. ``It's a great honor to get this far, no matter what the outcome will be. It's a great day. It really is. I'm not going to turn it back in."
The failure of the senior committee to present his name for these many years has to be a source of embarrassment to that group, which finally came to an end yesterday.
If it comes down to LeBeau and Little it shouldn’t be difficult for the selectors to make a decision favoring LeBeau.
LeBeau played 14 seasons with the Lions and still holds the NFL record of 171 consecutive games for a cornerback. Of more note, he intercepted 62 passes in his career and 37 years after his retirement still ranks seventh on the NFL‘s all-time list.
Little, by comparison, ranks 61st all-time in NFL rushing. The majority of his career was played in the American Football League before its merger with the NFL. Little had only one 1,000-yard rushing season. That came in 1971 when he ran for 1,333 yards. In three of his nine seasons he rushed for less than 500 yards.
LeBeau’s credentials are far more impressive than those of Bob Hayes, the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver who was nominated by the Senior Committee and enshrined this month. Hayes ranks 90th in career yards in NFL history with 7,414 and 210th in in career receptions with 371.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, ``In my humble opinion, Dick LeBeau is a Hall of Famer. This guy has had really two distinguished careers. It's well documented what he's done as a player. Few people realize the number of consecutive games this guy played at corner in the NFL and how far out that record itself is. The interceptions ... He has legitimate numbers that speak to a Hall of Fame career as a player. He's quite a defensive innovator as a coach[, too]. You couple all of that into one human being -- not only the fact that he's an awesome person -- and he's a Hall of Fame guy, in my opinion."
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