In my business, that knee-jerk response comes in handy. Fending off blame is a survival skill. A columnist knows he can’t fight a tidal wave of angry emails and social-media posts and, at some point, gives up trying to argue he is not, in fact, a nitwit. From there, it’s a short hop to a renunciation of any personal responsibility.

Willie McGee won the National League MVP or the 1985 season, in which he hit just 10 home runs. McGee also batted .353. Vince Coleman scored 107 runs that season, and he had more than three times as many stolen bases (110) as he had extra-base hits (31). The leading home run hitter on the team, Jack Clark, hit just 22 homers.

Ichiro Suzuki said he wants to meet with the one person who voted against his induction into the Hall of Fame after he fell one vote shy of being unanimous.

BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell recalled Suzuki was at the Hall in 2001 when he called to inform the Seattle star he had been voted AL Rookie of the Year. Suzuki received 27 of 28 first-place votes, all but one from an Ohio writer who selected Sabathia.

When Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he became the 22nd player born outside the United States (including Puerto Rico, which, though it is a U.