By JOHN SHEA, San Francisco Chronicle

Let the agonizing begin.

Now that we know the 2012 Hall of Fame class -- Barry Larkin and Ron Santo -- we can look ahead to the next ballot that will include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza, all long shots to make it on the first ballot because of proof or suspicion they benefited from performance-enhancing drugs.

Who won in negotiations for baseball's labor agreement? Players or owners?

Both sides publicly would say it's a win-win, based on maintaining labor peace, figuring out how to divvy up a $7 billion industry and negotiating their desired provisions into the contract.

Let's look a little deeper.

Tony La Russa guided the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series title and retired three days later. From managing. Not baseball.

The NFL lockout lasted 136 days. The NBA lockout is in its 139th day. By contrast, Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 11, but a settlement through 2017 is expected soon.

That means MLB, which had eight strikes/lockouts from 1972 to 1995, now is envisioning 22 consecutive years of labor peace.

The 2010 San Francisco Giants are back in the World Series as the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.

A team that wasn't supposed to reach the playoffs. Got hot in the regular season's last month. Benefited from the demise of another contender. Clinched a playoff berth on the final day. Overcame the odds by winning the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

What does a baseball writer wear to a Brad Pitt news conference? I guessed, and then I overdressed.

Luckily, Billy Beane, in a similar sport-coat look -- undoubtedly pricier than mine -- spotted me in the second row and said, "Looks like you and I were the only ones to get the dress memo. Well done."

Lew Wolff was on the phone with his eyes glued to a television set. He was watching his Oakland A's pursue a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, beating the Bronx Bombers at their own game.

Home run after home run after home run.

SAN FRANCISCO - Until we meet again?

A National League Championship Series rematch sounds good to the Philadelphia Phillies so long as the San Francisco Giants can hit enough to get there. The proposition seems more likely for Philadelphia, which owns the majors' best record by far, out-statistics the Giants across the board and is confident about making a prolonged postseason run.

Out of nowhere, Derek Jeter ruined the 2001 A's, the best Oakland team since Tony La Russa's three-year World Series run. The Yankees' shortstop deliberately moved out of position toward the first-base line, gloved right fielder Shane Spencer's throw that sailed over two cutoff men and made a backhanded flip to the plate to catch a non-sliding Jeremy Giambi.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - If Cal Ripken Jr. is the Iron Man, Miguel Tejada is el Hombre de Hierro.

Tejada is all about durability, having played 1,152 consecutive games from 2000-07, the fifth-longest streak in big-league history. Six straight years, he played 162 games. He has averaged 157 the past three years.