The Kid is on Deck

The Hall of Fame inductions for the Class of 2015 are in the books.

Today we look ahead to next year's ceremony.

Which brings us to one of the most iconic baseball cards.

1989 Upper Deck #1 Ken Griffey Jr

Something tells me we will be seeing a lot of this card in the next year. Today, In the weeks leading up to the HoF Balloting in January and finally next July.

The 2016 Hof Induction will be a celebration. Junior's induction will be a respite from the PED talk. He is the "clean" champion from the steroid era.   All 630 Homers all 2781 Hits.

With so many Villains in the Steroid Story, it will be good to see one of the good guys win. And I hope the Arc remains that way.

Sources & Links
2016 Hof Candidates Index
Baseball-ref

2016 Hall of Fame Candidates Index

This is an index of players who will likely be on the 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot.

First Time Candidates

Ken Griffey Ken Griffey pt 2

Jim Edmonds

Jason Kendall

Troy Glaus

Mike Hampton

Luis Castillo

Randy Winn

Garret Anderson

Mike Lowell

Billy Wagner Veto

Trevor Hoffman

Mark Grudzielanek

Mike Sweeney

Chan Ho Park HOF

David Eckstein

Jeff Weaver

Brad Ausmus

Russ Ortiz

Gary Matthews

Cristian Guzman

Jose Guillen

Bob Howry

Bengie Molina

Fernando Tatis

Russ Springer

Returning to the Ballot

Mike Piazza

Jeff Bagwell

Tim Raines

Curt Schilling

Roger Clemens

Barry Bonds

Lee Smith

Edgar Martinez

Alan Trammell HOF (final Ballot)

Mike Mussina

Jeff Kent

Fred McGriff

Larry Walker

Gary Sheffield

Mark McGwire (final Ballot - VETO)

Sammy Sosa

Nomar Garciaparra

Source and Links
2015 HoF Candidates

Baseball-ref

1989 UD #338 Mike Maddux

Five days after the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, the Texas Rangers named Mike Maddux their pitching coach. He has held the position since. The Rangers have posted sub 4.00 ERAs each of the five seasons they have been under Maddux's tutelage. During 2013 the staffs 3.62 ERA and 1309 strike outs were both good enough to rank 4th in the AL.

1989 UD #338 Mike Maddux

Mike Maddux's MLB playing career began with the Phillies in 1986. He spent four years with the local 9 before being released. Maddux hung on for another decade bouncing around with 9 different teams before retiring in in 2000.  His best years were a pair of seasons with the Padres in 1991-92 and he reached the playoffs as a member of the 1995 Red Sox.

Maddux is, of course, the older brother of Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux. As a coach for the Rangers Mike Maddux were #31, the same number the Greg wore while playing for the Cubs and Braves.

1989 Upper Deck
Maddux is one of 29 Phillies players in the inaugural UD release. 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the historic set. One of the cool features of 89UD was the 2nd photo on the back

1989 UD #338 Mike Maddux (b-side)

This is a fine example of good use of the flip side photo. There is something interesting about the shot, looks to be the bullpen in the old vet. Maddux's hand is close to the camera. The landscape format fits the player nicely.

I don't have a big UD collection but we will try and focus on the set a bit throughout the year. The Phils that are in the set are listed here:

11 Ron Jones

31 Kevin Gross

33 Jeff Calhoun

35 Ricky Jordan RC*

207 Kent Tekulve

219 Steve Jeltz

229 Phil Bradley

240 Lance Parrish

246 Von Hayes

317 Milt Thompson

319 Bruce Ruffin

336 Juan Samuel

338 Mike Maddux

340 Bob Dernier

406 Mike Schmidt

409 Don Carman

427 Shane Rawley

430 Jackie Gutierrez

448 Darren Daulton

511 Steve Bedrosian

513 Chris James

515 David Palmer

532 John Russell

534 Greg Gross

684 Mike Schmidt TC

704 Dickie Thon

720 Tommy Herr

730 Floyd Youmans

741 Jeff Parrett

Sources
Baseball-ref
Texas Rangers
TeamSets4U