Cowtipper

Not really. I've gathered enough data and there's enough constraints and known knowns that the power of AI can easily calculate who has hit the magic number. It's a lot of logic and working backwards. I'm running it through three different AIs to double- and triple-check just to be sure.

You can see the whole membership of the Hall of Fame (and what we're trying to trim down)... ...if you look at the first post above. :-) Also, for those keeping track at home, Hubie Brooks is the only one with > 75% of the vote so far.

Respectfully ... it's spelled out in the first post.

Frank Vieira died. https://patch.com/connecticut/newhaven/legendary-college-baseball-coach-frank-vieira-dies-91 Who was Frank Vieira? Florindo “Frank” Vieira (1933–April 25, 2025) was a legendary American college baseball coach best known for his 44-year tenure at the University of New Haven from 1963 to 2006. He retired as the most successful coach in NCAA Division II history, compiling a 1,127–323–6 record and leading his teams to 17 College World Series appearances (two NAIA and 15 Division II). Before coaching, Vieira starred in basketball at Quinnipiac College, setting school scoring records, and as a high school player he once outscored future NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain. At New Haven (formerly New Haven College), Vieira built a powerhouse program that became a regular presence in NAIA and later NCAA Division II postseason play from the 1960s through the 1990s. In 1986, the university named its baseball facility Vieira Field in his honor, and his career came to symbolize sustained excellence and long-term program building in Division II college baseball. Also... Don DiChiara (1938–2025): Don DiChiara was a left-handed outfielder and first baseman who played briefly in the minor leagues in 1961–1962 after being signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Colgate University. His career highlight came with the Batavia Pirates in 1961, when he hit four consecutive home runs in a single game, though he struggled overall and retired after the 1962 season. Jerry Nelson (1934–2025): Jerry Nelson was a right-handed pitcher who spent nine seasons in the minor leagues from 1955 to 1964, reaching the AAA level in most years and compiling a 79–80 career record. He starred in the Puerto Rican Winter League in 1958 with a 1.51 ERA and an 18-inning scoreless performance in the Caribbean Series, and later finished his career with three strong seasons for the Oklahoma City 89ers.

At the old website, I voted for Agbayani and Benitez, the former for his contribution to Mets lore and the latter for his statistical dominance. However, since we're trying to reorient this project a little, I decided to vote to remove them this time. I don't think I ever supported Brooks, so he also got my vote. Agee, Alfonso, Alfonzo, Beltran and Carter are obvious keeps. Backman's mid-'80s lore and legacy are too strong for me to give him a vote, and Boswell's duration with the Mets was a big reason I didn't vote for him; he was a regular face for such a long time, and it can't be said he didn't contribute.

On another baseball forum, I ran a project cleverly titled "Our Mets Hall of Fame." As you can see, it is a fairly inclusive Hall; we considered not just stats, but how players contributed to the overall Mets story, lore, ethos etc. Well, I left that forum as I was spending too much time there, but the desire to continue this project never went away. To contour this project more to this community's views and standards, I'm going to run a series of elections to see who folks want to REMOVE from it; since I don't want to see it completely stripped, I'll set the qualifying percentage for removal at 75%, just like the real Hall's standard for election.* I'll do ten names at a time, one poll per week, and you can select up to five names per poll. We can do holdovers for up to five** ballots. 5% will be the cutoff there, also just like the real Hall. *That'll require some finagling to figure out 75% due to how the polls here do percentages, but we'll figure it out. **I originally had 10, but that seemed like too many. Then we'll eventually run a series of polls to actually elect people -- the old website got us up to the Mets through 2024, so basically all we'll have to do is 2025 (and probably 2026), so we have time before we get too far behind. Then in the long-winding convoluted process of projects like this, we'll likely do Veterans Committees where we'll reanalyze players not elected, previously removed, etc. some time in the future, as by then the standards of the project here will have been more formally established and some of the players we previously booted might want to be reconsidered. Hall of Fame Stats # of players in Our Mets Hall of Fame: 98 # of players elected by regular election: 71 # of players elected by Veteran's Committee: 27 # of managers in Our Mets Hall of Fame: 7 # of coaches in Our Mets Hall of Fame: 19 # of coaches elected by Veterans Committee: 2 # of executives in Our Mets Hall of Fame: 14 # of announcers in Our Mets Hall of Fame: 7 # of contributors in Our Mets Hall of Fame: 5 Avg. # of players elected during each regular election: 0.99 Avg. # of players elected during each Veteran's Committee election: 0.79 Avg. # of managers elected during each election: 0.70 Avg. # of coaches elected during each regular election: 0.77 Avg. # of coaches elected during each Veteran's Committee election: 1 Avg. # of executives elected during each election: 1.08 Avg. # of announcers elected during each election: 0.88 Avg. # of contributors elected during each election: 1.67 Players Elected by Primary Decade (in terms of games played) Players in italics elected via Veterans Committee 1960s (9): Roger Craig, Gil Hodges, Ron Hunt, Al Jackson, Art Shamsky, Ron Swoboda, Ron Taylor, Frank Thomas, Marv Throneberry 1970s (22): Tommie Agee, Ken Boswell, Donn Clendenon, Doug Flynn, Wayne Garrett, Gary Gentry, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, Steve Henderson, Ron Hodges, Cleon Jones, Jerry Koosman, Ed Kranepool, Skip Lockwood, Jon Matlack, Tug McGraw, Felix Millan, John Milner, Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, John Stearns, Craig Swan 1980s (22): Wally Backman, Hubie Brooks, Gary Carter, Ron Darling, Lenny Dykstra, Sid Fernandez, George Foster, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson, Dave Kingman, Ray Knight, Terry Leach, Lee Mazzilli, Roger McDowell, Kevin McReynolds, Bob Ojeda, Jesse Orosco, Doug Sisk, Darryl Strawberry, Tim Teufel, Mookie Wilson 1990s (10): Edgardo Alfonzo, David Cone, John Franco, Todd Hundley, Bobby J. Jones, Dave Magadan, John Olerud, Rey Ordonez, Rick Reed, Turk Wendell 2000s (16): Benny Agbayani, Carlos Beltran, Armando Benitez, Endy Chavez, R.A. Dickey, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Feliciano, Cliff Floyd, Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, Mike Piazza, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Robin Ventura, Billy Wagner, David Wright 2010s (13): Yoenis Cespedes, Bartolo Colon, Michael Conforto, Jacob DeGrom, Lucas Duda, Jeurys Familia, Wilmer Flores, Curtis Granderson, Matt Harvey, Daniel Murphy, Jon Niese, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler 2020s (6): Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Francisco Lindor, Seth Lugo, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo --Players Elected Via Regular Ballot by Primary Decade 1960s (3): Gil Hodges, Ron Hunt, Ron Swoboda 1970s (14): Tommie Agee, Donn Clendenon, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, Cleon Jones, Jerry Koosman, Ed Kranepool, Skip Lockwood, Jon Matlack, Tug McGraw, Felix Millan, Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, John Stearns 1980s (15): Wally Backman, Gary Carter, Ron Darling, Lenny Dykstra, Sid Fernandez, Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez, Howard Johnson, Dave Kingman, Ray Knight, Lee Mazzilli, Roger McDowell, Jesse Orosco, Darryl Strawberry, Mookie Wilson 1990s (8): Edgardo Alfonzo, David Cone, John Franco, Bobby J. Jones, John Olerud, Rey Ordonez, Rick Reed, Turk Wendell 2000s (13): Carlos Beltran, Endy Chavez, R.A. Dickey, Carlos Delgado, Pedro Feliciano, Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, Mike Piazza, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Robin Ventura, Billy Wagner, David Wright 2010s (12): Yoenis Cespedes, Bartolo Colon, Michael Conforto, Jacob DeGrom, Lucas Duda, Jeurys Familia, Wilmer Flores, Curtis Granderson, Matt Harvey, Jon Niese, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler 2020s (6): Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Seth Lugo --Players Elected Via Veterans Committee by Primary Decade 1960s (6): Roger Craig, Al Jackson, Art Shamsky, Ron Taylor, Frank Thomas, Marv Throneberry 1970s (8): Ken Boswell, Doug Flynn, Wayne Garrett, Gary Gentry, Steve Henderson, Ron Hodges, John Milner, Craig Swan 1980s (7): Hubie Brooks, George Foster, Terry Leach, Kevin McReynolds, Bob Ojeda, Doug Sisk, Tim Teufel 1990s (2): Todd Hundley, Dave Magadan 2000s (3): Benny Agbayani, Armando Benitez, Cliff Floyd 2010s (1): Daniel Murphy --Players Elected With 100% of the Vote on the First Regular Ballot (9) Pete Alonso, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson, Keith Hernandez, Cleon Jones, Jerry Koosman, Jose Reyes, David Wright --All Other Players Elected With 100% of the Vote (Not on the First Regular Ballot, by Veterans Committee, etc.) (11) Bartolo Colon, Michael Conforto, R.A. Dickey, Wayne Garrett, Steve Henderson, Francisco Lindor, John Milner, Bob Ojeda, Noah Syndergaard, Tim Teufel, Frank Thomas Managers Elected by Primary Decade (in terms of games managed) Bold: Elected With 100% on the first ballot. Underline: Elected with 100%, not on the first ballot. 1960s (2): Gil Hodges, Casey Stengel 1970s (1): Yogi Berra 1980s (1): Davey Johnson 1990s (1): Bobby Valentine 2000s (1): Willie Randolph 2010s (1): Terry Collins Coaches Elected by Primary Decade (in terms of most years in decade with team) 1960s (3): Yogi Berra, Harvey Haddix, Whitey Herzog 1970s (5): Willie Mays, Roy McMillan, Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker, Eddie Yost 1980s (5): Bud Harrelson, Vern Hoscheit, Bill Robinson, Mel Stottlemyre, Bobby Valentine 1990s (3): Bob Apodaca, Al Jackson, Mookie Wilson 2000s (0): 2010s (2): Ricky Bones, Dan Warthen 2020s (1): Jeremy Hefner Executives Elected (16): Sandy Alderson, Nelson Burbrink, Frank Cashen, Paul DePodesta, Bing Devine, Nelson Doubleday, Whitey Herzog, Jay Horwitz, Joe McDonald, Joe McIlvaine, Omar Minaya, Robert Moses, Johnny Murphy, Joan Whitney Payson, Arthur Richman, Bill Shea Announcers Elected (11): Kevin Burkhardt, Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Steve Gelbs, Keith Hernandez, Ralph Kiner, Tim McCarver, Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson, Howie Rose, Gary Thorne Contributors Elected (5): Karl Ehrhardt, Pete Flynn, Jane Jarvis, Mr. Met, Bill Webb Player: Times on ballot: Election percentage: When inducted: Benny Agbayani 2 (CES) 75.00 2nd Comprehensive election Tommie Agee 2 80.00 8th election Edgardo Alfonzo 1 80.00 34th election Pete Alonso 1 100.00 68th election Wally Backman 2 85.71 20th election Carlos Beltran 1 88.89 44th election Armando Benitez 4 (CES) 75.00 4th Comprehensive election Ken Boswell 1 (SVC) 83.33 Old-Timers election Hubie Brooks 3 (VC) 85.71 6th VC election Gary Carter 1 92.31 24th election Yoenis Cespedes 4 80.00 66th election Endy Chavez 3 75.00 47th election Donn Clendenon 14 85.71 20th election Bartolo Colon 3 100.00 64th election David Cone 2 87.50 27th election Michael Conforto 4 100.00 66th election Roger Craig 6 (VC) 85.71 6th VC election Ron Darling 2 84.62 23rd election Jacob deGrom 4 83.33 65th election Carlos Delgado 3 87.50 47th election Edwin Diaz 1 75.00 68th election R.A. Dickey 6 100.00 61st election Lucas Duda 9 80.00 66th election Lenny Dykstra 12 80.00 35th election Jeurys Familia 7 80.00 66th election Pedro Feliciano 11 75.00 48th election Sid Fernandez 1 84.62 23rd election Wilmer Flores 8 75.00 68th election Cliff Floyd 1 (VC) 80.00 9th VC election Doug Flynn 1 (SVC) 83.33 Mid-Era Mets election George Foster 7 (VC) 80.00 16th VC election John Franco 5 81.82 33rd election Wayne Garrett 1 (SVC) 100.00 Old-Timers election Gary Gentry 1 (SVC) 83.33 Old-Timers election Tom Glavine 10 83.33 51st election Dwight Gooden 1 100.00 23rd election Curtis Granderson 5 80.00 66th election Jerry Grote 1 100.00 5th election Bud Harrelson 1 100.00 4th election Matt Harvey 9 75.00 68th election Steve Henderson 7 (VC) 100.00 15th VC election Keith Hernandez 1 100.00 22nd election Gil Hodges 1 77.78 1st election Ron Hodges 9 (VC) 80.00 9th VC election Todd Hundley 1 (VC) 85.71 6th VC election Ron Hunt 11 77.78 12th election Al Jackson 7 (VC) 75.00 7th VC election Howard Johnson 1 84.62 24th election Cleon Jones 1 100.00 2nd election Bobby J. Jones 7 85.71 38th election Dave Kingman 2 81.25 15th election Ray Knight 6 75.00 28th election Jerry Koosman 1 100.00 6th election Ed Kranepool 1 88.89 1st election Terry Leach 5 (VC) 85.71 8th VC election Al Leiter 2 85.71 38th election Francisco Lindor 2 100.00 71st election Skip Lockwood 7 85.71 20th election Seth Lugo 9 80.00 72nd election Dave Magadan 6 (VC) 83.33 10th VC election Jon Matlack 1 81.82 10th election Lee Mazzilli 1 75.00 15th election Roger McDowell 11 80.00 34th election Tug McGraw 1 90.00 4th election Jeff McNeil 3 80.00 69th election Kevin McReynolds 2 (VC) 75.00 7th VC election Felix Millan 1 77.78 12th election John Milner 2 (VC) 100.00 2nd VC election Daniel Murphy 1 (VC) 83.33 10th VC election Jon Niese 7 75.00 63rd election Brandon Nimmo 4 80.00 67th election Bob Ojeda 1 (VC) 100.00 5th VC election John Olerud 1 75.00 36th election Rey Ordonez 5 75.00 40th election Jesse Orosco 2 77.78 19th election Mike Piazza 1 91.67 37th election Rick Reed 4 75.00 40th election Jose Reyes 1 100.00 42nd election Johan Santana 3 75.00 49th election Tom Seaver 1 91.67 6th election Art Shamsky 2 (VC) 80.00 14th VC election Doug Sisk 8 (VC) 75.00 18th VC election Rusty Staub 1 85.71 11th election John Stearns 3 83.33 16th election Darryl Strawberry 1 90.00 22nd election Craig Swan 1 (VC) 83.33 3rd VC election Ron Swoboda 10 75.00 13th election Noah Syndergaard 4 100.00 66th election Ron Taylor 1 (SVC) 83.33 Old-Timers election Tim Teufel 6 (CES) 100.00 6th Comprehensive election Frank Thomas 4 (VC) 100.00 12th VC election Marv Throneberry 3 (VC) 83.33 3rd VC election Robin Ventura 1 85.71 38th election Billy Wagner 6 75.00 50th election Turk Wendell 4 75.00 40th election Zack Wheeler 3 83.33 65th election Mookie Wilson 1 88.89 19th election David Wright 1 100.00 43rd election *SVC = Special Veterans Committee election. Manager: Times on ballot: Election percentage: When inducted: Yogi Berra 5 88.89 5th Mgr. election Terry Collins 3 80.00 10th Mgr. election Gil Hodges 1 90.00 1st Mgr. election Davey Johnson 1 100.00 1st Mgr. election Willie Randolph 8 75.00 8th Mgr. election Casey Stengel 4 87.50 4th Mgr. election Bobby Valentine 2 100.00 2nd Mgr. election Coach: Times on ballot: Election percentage: When inducted: Bob Apodaca 2 (VC) 75.00 2nd Coaches VC election Yogi Berra 2 90.00 2nd Coaches election Ricky Bones 2 75.00 22nd Coaches election Harvey Haddix 10 85.71 10th Coaches election Bud Harrelson 2 75.00 4th Coaches election Jeremy Hefner 1 75.00 22nd Coaches election Whitey Herzog 6 75.00 6th Coaches election Vern Hoscheit 11 83.33 14th Coaches election Al Jackson 7 77.78 12th Coaches election Willie Mays 1 (VC) 80.00 1st Coaches VC election Roy McMillan 13 83.33 14th Coaches election Joe Pignatano 1 90.00 1st Coaches election Bill Robinson 1 87.50 3rd Coaches election Mel Stottlemyre 1 87.50 3rd Coaches election Rube Walker 2 90.00 2nd Coaches election Bobby Valentine 4 87.50 6th Coaches election Dan Warthen 4 75.00 22nd Coaches election Mookie Wilson 3 75.00 6th Coaches election Eddie Yost 3 75.00 3rd Coaches election Executive: Times on ballot: Election percentage: When inducted: Sandy Alderson 3 80.00 12th Executives election Nelson Burbrink 13 75.00 14th Executives election Frank Cashen 1 100.00 1st Executives election Paul DePodesta 5 75.00 14th Executives election Bing Devine 3 100.00 3rd Executives election Nelson Doubleday 1 77.78 2nd Executives election Whitey Herzog 1 88.89 2nd Executives election Jay Horwitz 5 75.00 10th Executives election Joe McDonald 11 83.33 11th Executives election Joe McIlvaine 3 75.00 3rd Executives election Omar Minaya 13 100.00 13th Executives election Robert Moses 9 75.00 10th Executives election Johnny Murphy 1 75.00 1st Executives election Joan Whitney Payson 1 77.78 2nd Executives election Arthur Richman 8 83.33 11th Executives election Bill Shea 1 100.00 2nd Executives election Announcer: Times on ballot: Election percentage: When inducted: Kevin Burkhardt 11 100.00 13th Announcers election Gary Cohen 1 91.67 1st Announcers election Ron Darling 6 75.00 7th Announcers election Steve Gelbs 1 75.00 10th Announcers election Keith Hernandez 4 80.00 4th Announcers election Ralph Kiner 1 100.00 2nd Announcers election Tim McCarver 4 77.77 6th Announcers election Bob Murphy 1 100.00 2nd Announcers election Lindsey Nelson 1 100.00 2nd Announcers election Howie Rose 1 100.00 3rd Announcers election Gary Thorne 8 75.00 10th Announcers election Contributor: Times on ballot: Election percentage: When inducted: Karl Ehrhardt 2 87.50 2nd Contributors election Pete Flynn 2 87.50 2nd Contributors election Jane Jarvis 1 78.57 1st Contributors election Mr. Met 3 83.33 3rd Contributors election Bill Webb 2 100.00 3rd Contributors election Short-hand for the above...VC==Veterans Committee, SVC==Special Veterans Committee, CES==Comprehensive election series

Today I learned former Met Vinny Rottino has been a broadcaster for the Brewers ... for the past five years.

According to Yahoo, Anderson Severino and Matt Turner were reassigned to minor league camp.

Not sure how they're going to fit the entire population of Nicaragua in that dinky stadium, but I'm sure it will be fun watching over 7 million people take at-bats. I've been told if you hear gunfire in the hills, that's the Sandinistas and you should seek refuge. Also, I'm pretty sure Dusty Baker is managing the team. Discuss.

I was so excited by this tectonic event that I said the wrong name, but it has been fixed.

Yonatan Henriquez singles in the winning run! Go crazy folks, go crazy! I don't believe what I just saw!

Welp, a ground out gets a man to third, at least.

Chris Suero walks! Man on first and second! No outs! Jackson Cluff is up -- Cluff's got the stuff!

Barnes doubles! Man on second! Get excited, it's a spring training game!!

The game is tied 3-3. 9th inning. Matt Turner, he of the 5.79 ERA in the minors last year, got through the top of the ninth without allowing a run. The powerhouse trio of Austin Barnes, Chris Suero and Jackson Cluff are due up next. Suero did hit a homer earlier in the game.

I remember thinking, "who the heck is Mike Sarbaugh?" after he came on board and still having no idea who he was, outside the fact that he was a Mets base coach, even after he left the team.

Santa is in the spirit of giving early, as he surrendered 2 walks, a hit and a run to New York. Alimber Santa, that is. Then Tyrone Taylor walloped a solo shot deep into the ether, beyond the stars and the moon, past the farthest galaxies and into the far reaches of the very fabric of what we can even call space and time to put the Mets ahead 2-1.

Astros score first, 1-0.

No-hitter broken; .308-hitting Ronny Mauricio got the knock.

The 1-5 Astros are currently throwing a no-hitter!

Starling Marte and Max Scherzer are now off the list. That leaves us with: Frankie Montas Jesse Winker Justin Turner Wilmer Flores Tommy Pham Jose Iglesias Justin Wilson Joey Lucchesi Max Kranick Jorge Lopez Marcus Stroman And here are some minor league free agents: Omar Narvaez Erasmo Ramirez Adonis Medina Stephen Nogosek Tyler Naquin

Clay Holmes starts for New York. Jason Alexander, who we already saw once this spring, starts for Houston. Mark Vientos is hitting .077. Juan Soto is hitting .167. Bo Bichette is hitting .222. Cristian Pache is hitting .700. Carson Benge is hitting .400. MJ Melendez is hitting .364. Ah, spring training.

Grae Kessinger: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Kessinger will get imaging done after suffering a left knee injury in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, SNY Mets reports. Mendoza noted that the injury "didn't look too good," but the club will wait for MRI results before determining a plan for Kessinger. Kessinger seemed to have a chance to make the Opening Day roster in the event that Francisco Lindor (hand) isn't ready, but Kessinger is now facing a possible extended absence. Injury Knee. Day-to-day. Francisco Lindor: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Lindor had his stitches removed from his left hand Tuesday and could begin some "impact" activities within 2-to-3 days, Max Goodman of NJ.com reports. Mendoza added that Lindor has experienced no complications since undergoing surgery two weeks ago to repair a stress reaction in his left hamate bone, and the star shortstop appears poised to begin a hitting progression in the coming days. Though it could take a bit of time for Lindor to regain his power coming off the procedure, he should be in good shape to avoid a stint on the injured list to begin the season so long as he's not dealing with any discomfort as he increases his baseball activities. Injury Hand. Est. Return 3/26/2026. AJ Minter: Minter (lat) expects to throw a live batting practice session next week, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. It would be his first time facing hitters since last May's left lat surgery. Minter is aiming to pitch in at least one Grapefruit League game before the end of camp, and the Mets hope to get the southpaw back in their bullpen by early May. Injury Lat. Est. Return 5/1/2026.

Guillermo Moscoso retired.

Chris Krug died. https://www.thebiglead.com/former-cubs-catcher-key-player-in-sandy-koufax-perfect-game-dies-at-86/ Who was Chris Krug? Chris Krug (Everett Ben Krug) was an American Major League Baseball catcher who played parts of three seasons in the 1960s. Born on December 25, 1939, in Los Angeles, California, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1958 and developed in their minor league system before reaching the majors. Krug made his MLB debut on May 30, 1965, with the Chicago Cubs, who had selected him in the 1964 minor league draft. He played with the Cubs in 1965 and 1966, serving primarily as a backup catcher, and later appeared with the expansion San Diego Padres in 1969. Over his big-league career, he posted a .192 batting average with five home runs and 25 runs batted in. Though his time in the majors was brief, Krug remained active in professional baseball. He worked as a coach for the Padres in 1969 and later managed in the minor leagues, including stints with the Little Falls Mets in the late 1970s. Krug died on January 16, 2026, in Wildomar, California, at the age of 86. He is remembered as a journeyman catcher who carved out a place in the major leagues during a competitive era for the position. Gregorio Luque died. https://lmb.com.mx/noticias/gregorio-luque-historico-receptor-y-estratega-del-beisbol-mexicano Who was Gregorio Luque? Gregorio Luque (Gregorio Flores Luque), nicknamed El Zorro Plateado, was a distinguished Mexican professional baseball catcher and manager whose career spanned nearly four decades. Born on May 9, 1942, in Nogales, Sonora, he became one of the most respected figures in Mexican baseball history and was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Luque debuted in the Mexican League in 1963 with the Tigres de México and later played for the Saraperos de Saltillo, where he spent the bulk of his career. A steady defensive catcher and reliable hitter, he appeared in 1,569 Mexican League games, collecting 1,299 hits, 526 RBIs, and posting a .264 batting average. He also enjoyed a lengthy winter league career with the Cañeros de Los Mochis in the Mexican Pacific League, playing 933 games over 15 seasons. Beginning in 1976, Luque transitioned into a player-manager role with Saltillo and led the club to the 1980 Mexican League championship. He continued managing full-time through 1994, guiding multiple clubs including the Sultanes de Monterrey, Alijadores de Tampico, Tuneros de San Luis, Acereros de Monclova, Rieleros de Aguascalientes, Pericos de Puebla, and Algodoneros de Unión Laguna. Over 19 managerial seasons, he amassed 1,153 wins, ranking fourth all-time in Mexican League history. His uniform number 12 was retired by the Saraperos in honor of his contributions. Luque died in his hometown of Nogales on February 26, 2026, at the age of 83. Remembered for his leadership, longevity, and impact both on the field and in the dugout, he remains one of the enduring figures of Mexican professional baseball. Also, who was Wayne Granger? Wayne Granger was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher best known for anchoring the bullpen of the Cincinnati Reds during the early years of the “Big Red Machine.” Born on March 15, 1944, in Springfield, Massachusetts, he starred in the Cape Cod Baseball League and attended Springfield College before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965. He debuted in the majors in 1968, posting a 2.25 ERA as a rookie and earning a save in his first appearance. Traded to Cincinnati after the 1968 season, Granger became one of the National League’s most durable relievers. In 1969 he set a league record with 90 appearances while recording 27 saves, and in 1970 he led the NL with 35 saves, earning back-to-back Sporting News NL Reliever of the Year honors. He helped the Reds win the 1970 pennant and threw the final pitch at Crosley Field before the team moved to Riverfront Stadium, though he struggled in the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. Over nine MLB seasons (1968–1976), Granger also pitched for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, and Montreal Expos. A sinkerball specialist, he finished with a 35–35 record, a 3.14 ERA, and 108 saves, ranking among the most heavily used relievers of his era. Granger was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1982, recognizing the impact of his three standout seasons in Cincinnati. He died on February 25, 2026, in Oviedo, Florida, at age 81, remembered as one of the pioneering bullpen aces of the 1970s.