John Perrotto

The honor is never lost on me. Sometime just after Thanksgiving every year, the enveloped arrives in the mail from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. Enclosed is my annual Hall of Fame ballot as I am part of the electorate that consists of all members of the Baseball Writers Association of America with 10 years of continuous service. I have been voting for 24 years now and do not take the responsibility lightly. Being elected to the Hall of Fame changes people’s lives and demarcates the great players of the game’s history from the very good. When I get ready to cast my vote, I always pause to appreciate the significance. Voting for the Hall of Fame is something I enjoyed for many years. It was fun to look at the various candidate’s careers – study their statistics, recall personal observations, talk to peers from their playing days – before casting my ballot. However, the fun is being squeezed out of the task with each passing year. So many of the c...

  I will be serving as general manager/manager of the Pirates in a 2020 season simulation along with 29 others using Out Of The Park Baseball. Feel free to check  here  for regular updates. I realize baseball is a lot less important than what is going on in the world today but perhaps it can provide a diversion for a few moments. A recap of the entire 2020 simulation can be found here . PITTSBURGH – The Virtual Pirates’ magical season ended with a thud. The Virtual Buccos were swept in the World Series by the Virtual Cleveland Indians, losing 4-1 in Game 4 on Friday night at Virtual PNC Park. Shane Bieber pitched one-run ball over eight innings to stymie the Pirates and Carlos Santana delivered a bases-loaded double in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Universally picked to finished last in the National League Central at the start of the season, the Virtual Corsairs made a shocking run to the Fall Classic. The Pirates won the division with a 96-66 record, swep...

  I will be serving as general manager/manager of the Pirates in a 2020 season simulation along with 29 others using Out Of The Park Baseball. Feel free to check  here  for regular updates. I realize baseball is a lot less important than what is going on in the world today but perhaps it can provide a diversion for a few moments. PITTSBURGH – The Virtual Pirates’ magical season is one loss away from ending and their starting pitching is the culprit. Sean Manaea was blasted for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings on Thursday night as the Virtual Cleveland Indians routed the Virtual Buccos 15-7 in Game 3 of the World Series at Virtual PNC Park to reach the brink of a sweep. None of the Pirates starters have yet to make it past the fourth inning in the first three games. Game 4 is Friday night with Joe Musgrove hoping to save the Virtual Corsairs’ season when he faces Shane Bieber. The Virtual Tribe’s Carlos Santana keyed a seven-run second inning with a three-run double and...

  I will be serving as general manager/manager of the Pirates in a 2020 season simulation along with 29 others using Out Of The Park Baseball. Feel free to check  here  for regular updates. I realize baseball is a lot less important than what is going on in the world today but perhaps it can provide a diversion for a few moments. CLEVELAND – Mitch Keller finally looked like a rookie. Keller had major control problems Tuesday night, issuing six walks in 3 2/3 innings as the Virtual Pirates lost to the Virtual Cleveland Indians 10-6 in Game 2 of the World Series at Virtual Progressive Field. The Indians now have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Virtual PNC Park on Thursday night. Sean Manaea will pitch against Shane Bieber. Keller was charged with seven runs. He gave just three hits while walking two and throwing 86 pitches. Keller fell to 1-2 in the postseason after going 12-8 with a 3.17 ERA in 32 regular-season starts. The Pirates lost d...

  I will be serving as general manager/manager of the Pirates in a 2020 season simulation along with 29 others using Out Of The Park Baseball. Feel free to check  here  for regular updates. I realize baseball is a lot less important than what is going on in the world today but perhaps it can provide a diversion for a few moments. CLEVELAND – The Virtual Pirates’ improbable appearance in the World Series got off on the wrong foot. The Virtual Cleveland Indians scored all their runs in their fourth inning off Chris Archer and beat the Virtual Buccos 5-2 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Fall Classic at Virtual Progressive Field. Game 2 is set for Tuesday night with Mitch Keller facing Carlos Carrasco. The Virtual Tribe broke a scoreless tie during their big inning while chasing Archer. Rookie Nolan Jones singled in the first two runs then Roberto Perez and Jake Bauers hit back-to-back home runs later in the inning to make it 5-0. The Pirates’ scoring was limited to E...

    I will be serving as general manager/manager of the Pirates in a 2020 season simulation along with 29 others using Out Of The Park Baseball. Feel free to check  here  for regular updates. I realize baseball is a lot less important than what is going on in the world today but perhaps it can provide a diversion for a few moments. PITTSBURGH – Kevin Newman will forever go down in Virtual Pirates’ lore. Newman’s two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning rallied the Virtual Buccos to a 5-4 victory and series win over the Virtual Atlanta Braves on Saturday night in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Virtua PNC Park. The Virtual Corsairs won’t have far to travel for the World Series as they will face the Virtual Cleveland Indians beginning Monday night. The Virtual Tribe beat the Virtual Tampa Bay Rays in seven games in the American League Championship Series. The Fall Classic will start at Virtual Progressive Field in Cleveland. The prob...