I was doing some reading on ESPN and got to thinking about who I’d pick to make the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are two reasons to do this: 1) just a fun mental exercise and 2) to realize how entirely ruined baseball’s history is.
Here’s how it works, a voter gets to put a maximum of 10 names on his ballot and a player must be mentioned on at least 75% of voters’ ballots to get in. Of course no voter is required to put 10 names on his/her (but mostly his) ballot. In fact, if you want you could just hand in an empty ballot. Anyway, here’s who I’d put on my ballot.
These three are sure things so don’t require much explanation:
Andre Dawson – how is he not in yet? Sure he was prone to slumps but he was a great power hitter during his years with the Cubs (87-92). He almost made it last year, he will make it this year.
Barry Larkin – Possibly the greatest shortstop ever. He won the Silver Slugger Award 9 times, was an All-Star 12 times, and won an MVP award (95). It’s his first year on the ballot, but you have to figure that since he was one of the best shortstops of all time he’ll get in no problem.
Roberto Alomar – Possibly the greatest second baseman ever. He won 10 Gold Gloves, 4 Silver Slugger awards, and was an All-Star 12 times. More so than Larkin, you can hardly argue that of all the players in the history of the game at his position he was the best of all. So, even though it’s his first year on the ballot too, he should make it.
These ones are guys I would vote for, but who probably won’t get in (this year or ever):
Fred McGriff – this is his first year being considered for the HOF, but how could you not vote for this guy? He epitomizes the tagline; ‘long and storied career’. He came up in 1986 with the Blue Jays, then played for six other teams (including the Braves from 93-97) until he finished his career in 2004 with Tampa Bay. His ‘magic’ numbers aren’t great; he’s 7 homeruns short of 500 and he’s 10 hits short of 2,500 hits. Nevertheless, he established himself a true presence in the lineup throughout his career and was not on PEDs while doing it. So even though those numbers don’t stack up against some of his contemporaries, you’ve got to remember that he was clean when the guys out-slugging him weren’t. I doubt he’ll get voted in this year, his first year on the ballot, but eventually The Crime Dog will get in.
Dale Murphy – sadly, unlike fellow Brave McGriff, Dale Murphy will never make the HOF. He played for the Braves from 1976-1990, the Phillies from 1990-1992, and then ended his career in 1993 with the Rockies. As a Braves fan I’d put him on my ballot. He is without a doubt a Braves legend. He was an All-Star 7 times, won the Silver Slugger Award (highest batting average) 4 times, and was the NL MVP twice, winning it in back to back years (82 & 83). Like McGriff there is no doubt that he never took any PEDs. In fact, no one has ever been a cleaner player than Murphy. The problem, however, is that after he retired the steroids era inflated all the numbers and therein make Murphy’s career numbers seem weak. Thus, he’ll never stack up against the cheaters who tarnished baseball once he left it.
Tim Raines – he won’t make it but he was a 7 time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger once (86). In terms of lead off batters he is among the greatest, but HOF voters are all about the numbers and while his 2,605 hits are great as are his figures for doubles and triples and stolen bases, he won’t get into the HOF. It’s sad but true because he deserves it.
Don Mattingly – he has surprisingly unimpressive numbers and therefore probably won’t ever get in the HOF. He was a 6 time All-Star, won 9 Gold Gloves, won 3 Silver Slugger Awards in a row (85, 86, 87), and won the AL MVP once (85). He played his entire career with the Yankees (1982-1995) in a time when the Yankees sucked. In fact, Mattingly and the Yankees only made the playoffs once, in his final season, where the Yanks got in as a Wild Card and lost a decisive game 5 against Seattle in 11 innings. Despite his teams’ loss, Mattingly hit .417 with 6 RBI in his only playoff appearance.
The bottom line is that I think Larkin, Alomar, and Dawson will get in. The others I’ve listed are guy’s I’d like to see make it but who probably won’t because the steroids era has made it impossible to compare guys from different eras. The numbers made baseball great because it was a leveler. You could look at what guys did in various areas and compare them with only a few variables to consider. Now you can’t do that. Now the numbers lie.
So basically I’ve written this post because it’s probably the last time I’ll ever give a damn about the baseball hall of fame.
