Tagged: HOF

The BBWAA Is Making Our Hall of Fame a Joke

Bbwaa_logo_web.pngThe Baseball Writer’s Association of America are responsible for voting in the members of the Hall of Fame.  I know that being a writer is probably a very difficult job and that they probably receive a lot more criticism than they deserve.  Sometimes you have to write things that just get a reaction out of people.  However, when voting for the HOF, these writers should not be looking to get a reaction, to make a point, or to be pushing some sort of personal agenda.  The BBWAA needs to be looking at a ball player’s body of work and judging whether or not that player is deseving of enshrinement.

I find it incredibly odd that Alomar is judged to be unworthy of enshrinement at this time due to his unfortunate spitting incident.  Being, quite possibly, the greatest player to man second base EVER should guarantee being a shoe in for first ballot success.  Apparently not.

I find it distressing that the man who sits in 8th place on the all time homerun list can’t find his way to the podium to make his acceptance speech for his enshrinement because the BBWAA has decided to become judge and jury on whether or not McGwire broke any of the (at the time) non-existent rules of baseball and the use of hgh.

Most of all I find it frustrating that Bert Blyleven, a man who didn’t have any issues with spitting on umpires or using banned substances, is entering into his 14th year of HOF eligibility.  For whatever reason the writers figure that being 5th all time in strikeouts, 27th all time in wins, and 9th all time in shutouts just makes him a good ball player. 

The BBWAA is wrong on all accounts.  5th all time in Ks, 27th all time in victories, and 9th all time in shutouts makes you a HOFer.  583 dongs makes you a HOFer.  Being the best (or at least being in the conversation as one of the best) at your position makes you a HOFer.

It’s funny because in order to get into the Hall you have to overcome all obstacles and make the big leagues.  Then you have to crack the starting lineup or rotation.  After that you need excel at your position to the point where people actually think that you are one of the best that has ever played the game.  In order to vote someone into the Hall all you have to do is be a member of the BBWAA for ten years.  I am sure that there is a process to becoming a member and you probably have to be a respected member of the press but I hardly think that gives the right to keep obvious choices out of the HOF, especially if the reasons revolve around personal biases.

On a complete side note.  I understand that there has never been a unanimous Hall of Famer.  That got me to thinking…who would be most likely to be the first unanimous HOFer?  It wouldn’t be Bonds…he is linked to the ‘roids like no one else.  It won’t be A-Rod…he had to come clean for his PED usage.  Who could it be?  It would have to be someone who is one of the greatest of all time.  It would need to be a person who is universally well liked.  This player would have to be loved by his teammates and those who played against him.Ken+Griffey+Jr+Press+Conference+DRjUf9p_4ePl.jpg

The first unanimous HOFer will be none other than Junior (five years after he retires, of course.)  Unless the BBWAA completely drops the ball….AGAIN.

Hopefully, this will be my last blog about this year’s Hall of Fame vote.  There are only 88 more days until the season begins.  I am more than ready.

Baseball Immortality and Infamy

It is the time of year that we think of who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  It is also the time of year when we start thinking of the nominees who are not considered worthy of the Hall.  I have always been a fan of Mark McGwire and believe that he should be voted into the Hall.  However, as my cousin very rightly reminds me, that opens the door for others like Sammy Sosa when he reaches his eligibility in a few years.  I guess that would also open the door up to Rafael Palmeiro who, we all can remember, pounded his fist and said very definitively that he did not use PEDs.  Of course, we found out later that he did.
If you look at the all time homerun leader list you will see that nine of the top 20 are not in the HOF.  Those nine are comprised of McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Bonds, Thomas, Thome, Ramirez, A-Rod, and Griffey Jr.  Aside from McGwire, the rest are either still playing or have not reached their eligibility year yet.  Another commonality is that each of these players has over 500 homeruns.
Ignoring performance enhancing drugs, I don’t think that there is anyone who would deny entry into the Hall of Fame to any of these nine players.  However, we know that at least six of these guys in all likelihood have used steroids.  I don’t think that I have heard any link of steroids to Frank Thomas and Jim Thome and I am pretty darn certain that Junior has never touched the stuff.  Does that mean that the rest don’t make it to enshrinement?  Does that mean that the Hall will be missing players like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez?  If Big Mac doesn’t make it in then I don’t see how the rest will be voted in.
Besides Big Mac’s alleged use of PEDs, people will point to his batting average as an excuse not to let him in.  People will do the same with Sosa.  Those people should take a look at Hall of Famers like Reggie Jackson and Harmon Killebrew. 
We can all be reasonably, if not totally, sure that Big Mac, Slammin’ Sammy, Palmeiro, Bonds, A-Rod, and Manny have at the very least dabbled in PEDs.  The question is: will this prevent the all-time homerun leader from getting enshrined?  One day A-Rod will probably break Bonds’s record.  Will this mean that the two top homerun hitters ever will be excluded from the Hall of Fame?
Everyone knows that steroids are bad.  Everybody knows that a large percentage of baseball players have used.  However, the players in question (aside from Manny, who actually got suspended) didn’t break any laws or even any rules of the game.  All of the positive tests and accusations have taken place before there was a ban or any punishments put in place.  Instead of pointing fingers and placing blame, we should accept that this is an indictment on baseball in general.
I say’ “LET BIG MAC IN WITH HIS 583 DONGS.  LET SLAMMIN’ SAMMY SAY AN ACCEPTANCE SPEECH IN SPANISH JUST IN CASE HE FORGETS HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH AGAIN.  LET OUR ALL-TIME HOMERUN LEADERS HAVE THEIR DAY IN THE SUN.”  These are the guys that I grew up with.  I will always remember the race between McGwire and Sosa and all of the excitement that surrounded it.  Nobody can say that these were not great ballplayers who dominated the major leagues for years.  Let the Hall of Fame celebrate the greatest ballplayers of our game.
I LOVE BASEBALL.