January 4, 2005 [LINK]
New Hall of Famers
Red Sox slugger Wade Boggs (who also played for the Yankees and other teams) was just elected into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Getting over 90 percent of the vote, there was never any doubt. Career-long Cubs second-baseman Ryne Sandberg also made the cut, on his third attempt, while Bruce Sutter fell short of the required 75 percent of votes by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He still has another shot in 2006 and possibly in 2007. "If Cooperstown is callin', it's no fluke..."
Commissioner Selig approved the trade by which Randy Johnson will leave the Diamondbacks and join the Bronx Bombers. Look out world: Here we go again! The page for his former home, Bank One Ballpark, has been updated with warning tracks and a football-configuration diagram, partly in recognition of the recent Insight Bowl. I had planned to update the Wrigley Field page first, but I think I'll concentrate on football diagrams since this is the tail end of football season. 
Less than a hundred days remain until the first Nationals game at RFK Stadium. It's hard to imagine what that long-awaited day will be like...
Say what?
In a strange, misguided effort to attract a broader fan base, the Anaheim Angels are planning to change their name-affiliation to "The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim." Good grief. This would be their third such change, the others being in 1965 (when they switched from "Los Angeles" to "California") and in 1997. Talk about an identity crisis! Well, what about these possibilities:
- Minnesota Twins of Minneapolis
- Kansas City Royals of Independence
- Texas Rangers of Arlington
- Florida Marlins of (North) Miami
- Colorado Rockies of Denver
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays of St. Petersburg
- Arizona Diamondbacks of Phoenix
- Washington Redskins of Landover
- New York Giants of East Rutherford
- and many more!
Of course, football stadiums are located in the suburbs more often than baseball stadiums are these days, which leads us to: