Hall of Fame voting results are disappointing

<div style="text-align: justify;">The Hall of Fame ballot was stuffed with at least sixteen candidates worthy of HOF honors. Three got in. And while I have no qualms with the three players elected and should at least be happy that the HOF party in July will celebrate something more than dead people like last year, the lack of inclusion of so many others is vastly disappointing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is also disappointing that the vote has dredged up even more vitriol between the older writers and the "sabermetric crowd." Don't believe me? How about Jon Heyman saying <u>twice</u> on the <i>MLB Network</i> reveal show his disappointment that the said "sabermetric crowd" cost Jack Morris his election after fifteen tries? How about a Seattle-based beat writer <a href="https://twitter.com/gbakermariners/status/421000837801201664" target="_blank">defending</a> his stupid observation with the typical "I get paid to do this" snarky answers? How about others who during their HOF vote columns mention that it is not a Hall of WAR?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing that the PED issue is still the white elephant in the room. Without direction from the Hall of Fame itself, the writers become judge and jury over an entire era. And they are not alone as opinion polls of casual fans would not elect the PED-suspected writers either. See <i>Deadspin's</i> post on the ballot they purchased from a writer to see that the fans would not have elected Bonds and Clemens either. So the writers cannot be fully blamed here. There is enough blame all around including those that ingested or injected to get us in this mess in the first place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so an entire era is condemned to not include the best players of that era. Well, yeah, three players from that era were elected today, but only because the writers deemed them clean, as if we can really ever say that with certainty. And no matter what they did or did not do, Bonds and Clemens were two of the best players in the history of the game. What the heck is a Hall of Fame without those two and Pete Rose?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing that Biggio--a worthy candidate--is deemed vote-worthy and just missed by two votes when his clearly better teammate, Jeff Bagwell, missed my dozens of votes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing when voters still say things like, "I don't care what the numbers say, you had to be there and see them in action." Seriously?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing when so many voters when faced with sixteen great options only voted for one to three players on their ballots. Seriously?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing when Tom Glavine gets more than 90% of the vote because writers wanted him and Greg Maddux to go in together and then say that their vote is emotion-free. Emotion-free is the exact opposite of such pairings voting. And who said that being a journalist meant a lack of emotional investment? Was Walter Cronkite not a journalist when JFK was killed and when men landed on the moon and Cronkite truly displayed emotions at both instances? It's a stupid argument.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing when voters continue to state that a player's first ballot should be only considered when they were the best of the best. A Hall of Fame player is a Hall of Fame player. Ballot manipulation does not make any such sense. Either a player is or he is not. If he is, what difference does it make if you vote for him the first time?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is disappointing when statistical arguments for players like Mike Mussina and Tim Raines are rejected by half the voters or more because they are statistical arguments.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I agree completely with Mike Bates when he said that he has tried not to care about the Hall of Fame but cannot help but be passionate about what happens. How can you not be passionate about a sport that is in our blood to the point where we write about it every day? We have these arguments and we have <i>Deadspin</i> doing what they did because we feel powerless and held hostage by 571 keepers of the flame.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the way, I applaud Dan Labatard or whatever his name is. That took guts and, yes, passion!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another year of Hall of Fame results are in. I am glad for Glavine, Maddux and Frank Thomas. They deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. It is truly frustrating and emasculating that so many other deserving players will not be standing next to them in Cooperstown in July.</div>

Hall of Fame voting results are disappointing

The Hall of Fame ballot was stuffed with at least sixteen candidates worthy of HOF honors. Three got in. And while I have no qualms with the...

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Hall of Fame ballot is stuffed like a turkey

<div style="text-align: justify;">There were <a href="http://www.patfullerton.com/lh/movies/finemess.html" target="_blank">sixteen times</a> during their films together that Oliver Hardy said to Stan Laurel, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." That seems doubly fitting when considering this year's Hall of Fame ballot. Due to either total ineptitude or moral high horse-ism of the BBWAA, deserving candidates from the past several years are now lumped together with several newcomers and I count at least sixteen names on the ballot that should be no-doubt Hall of Fame members. And it is fairly easy to predict that only a few will be elected at most this year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are several obstacles this year's vote will face. First, half will vote for those either verified as PED users or rumored as such. Combine that with the artificial limit of only ten names on each ballot and half will be voting for people that the other half have stiffened their jaw against. This leaves only five other slots on the ballot they can vote for. So five other so-called "clean" players will not get in either. Add this to the blind part of the BBWAA vote that does not even cover or watch baseball and you have a mess.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and there is one other nasty bit of business. Many of those that are Hall of Fame deserving players are on the ballot for the first time and there is a large chunk of writers that do not like putting non-gods through on the first round. Oy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And it will only get worse in the coming years as even more superstars of the sport are introduced to the ballot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is my list of the sixteen definite Hall of Fame players on the ballot by rank:</div><br /><ol><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Barry Bonds</a></strong> - I don't care if you hate him or not. And I do not care if there is an asterisk by his home run totals. If he had been through playing after 2000 season, he was already a Hall of Fame player. He won three MVP Awards before all the questions came into being. What is a Hall of Fame without one of the best players of all time?</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Roger Clemens</a></strong> - Say what you will. The man was acquitted. As far as we know, he never failed a test. JAWS has him as the third best starting pitcher of all time. He blows away every Hall of Fame standard known to mankind. Again, what is a Hall of Fame without the third best pitcher of all time?</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/maddugr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Greg Maddux</a></strong> - He might be one of the few who gets in. According to JAWS, he is the tenth best pitcher of all time. And there has been no hint of any controversy about him. He won four straight <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngcy01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Cy Young</a></strong> Awards and from 1992 to 1998, his peak was breathtaking.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mussimi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Mike Mussina</a></strong> - Most people have no idea how insanely good Mike Mussina was during his career. His best years in Baltimore were largely ignored due to his team and in his Yankee years, people remember his awful year and his masterful and iconic last season, his first as a 20-game winner. Mussina according to JAWS is the 28th best pitcher in baseball history.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/schilcu01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Curt Schilling</a></strong> - Gosh, I hate this guy. But he was a Hall of Fame pitcher. In fact, JAWS has him higher than Mussina. And you can never forget his 11-2, 2.23 in the post season either. Schilling put up the numbers to be here this high on my list.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=piazzmi01,piazza001mik&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Mike Piazza</a></strong> - According to JAWS, Mike Piazza is the fifth best catcher in baseball history. Fifth. How can you not vote a guy like that in the Hall? He is the best offensive catcher ever. And he was not quite as bad defensively as people think. And when you think of his offensive numbers, consider that he never, EVER, played in a good park for hitters as his home park.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bagweje01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Jeff Bagwell</a></strong> - The sixth best first baseman ever? Yeah, I'll take me some of that. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is a Hall of Fame player.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=thomafr04,thomafr03&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Frank Thomas</a></strong> - The champion of the "clean" player. Yeah, whatever. Just give me numbers and Frank Thomas did just that. Forget that he was a DH for a long time. If you judge him just as a first baseman, he is the ninth best of all time. Slam dunk.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/glavito02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Tom Glavine</a></strong> - Did he benefit of an era with a lousy strike zone? Sure. But he was smart enough to use it and won 305 games. He was good in the post season and won two Cy Young Awards. The 30th best pitcher ever works for me. A definite Hall of Fame guy.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkela01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Larry Walker</a></strong> - The tenth best right fielder ever. If you finish in the top 15 as a position player after 150 years of baseball, then what can you argue about? Playing in Colorado? Give me a break.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/palmera01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Rafael Palmeiro</a></strong> - The poster boy for the PED moralists. His numbers are insane. "He was never the best," the saying goes. But there is something to be said for metronome production year after year after year. The eleventh best first baseman ever.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/trammal01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Alan Trammell</a></strong> - His low voting percentage year after year on the ballot is a crime. The eighth best shortstop ever deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=raineti01,raineti02&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Tim Raines</a></strong> - What is it that keeps him out? The coke thing? He was Ricky Henderson light and the second best lead-off batter in his time. Without the gaudy batting average, he was every bit the offensive player as <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=gwynnto01,gwynnto02&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Tony Gwynn</a></strong>.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=martied01,martin002edg,martin003edg&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Edgar Martinez</a></strong> - Let's face it, the DH is a position and he was the best at that position. His offensive numbers are unbelievable. And he was the one guy who could hit <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riverma01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Mariano Rivera</a></strong>. But even if you rate his numbers as a third baseman, he comes in as the eleventh best at that position in value all time.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/biggicr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Craig Biggio</a></strong> - Suffers a bit from moving around so much on the field. But he was a terrific lead off batter with over 1,800 runs scored in his career. The numbers are there. He was a HOF player.</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgwima01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Mark McGwire</a></strong> - He gets marginalized by the others on this list, but he is my last entry as a player on the ballot who should be in the Hall of Fame.</li></ol><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Those who fall just short for me: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgrifr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Fred McGriff</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sosasa01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Sammy Sosa</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kentje01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Jeff Kent</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/morrija02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Jack Morris</a></strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Definite No votes for me: <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Don Mattingly</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithle02.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Lee Smith</a></strong> and the rest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Definite Yes votes for me on the expansion vote (they change the name every year): <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/player_search.cgi?results=torrejo01,torre-000joe&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Joe Torre</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/coxbo01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Bobby Cox</a></strong>, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/larusto01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Tony LaRussa</a></strong>, Marvin Miller, George Steinbrenner and <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/simmote01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Ted Simmons</a></strong>. On the fence, <strong><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnto01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-www.blogger.com" target="_blank">Tommy John</a></strong>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, there are just too many candidates and there is no way you can get them all in with the voting the way it is. What a shame the mess this has all turned out to be. To quote one variation of Oliver Hardy's famous line, "Well, here's another nice kettle of fish you've pickled me in."</div>

Hall of Fame ballot is stuffed like a turkey

There were sixteen times during their films together that Oliver Hardy said to Stan Laurel, "Well, here's another nice mess you...

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