Since releasing my hypothetical Hall of Fame Ballot back in December (Alomar, Bagwell, Blyleven, Larkin, E. Martinez, McGwire, Palmeiro, Raines, Trammell, Walker), I’ve been silent on the Hall of Fame process (at least on here–I’ve done a lot of yapping, even with SI’s John Heyman, about the HOF on Twitter).
So, on the day the Hall of Fame results are announced, I thought I’d spill some Cyber Ink on what’s gone down of late:
The Jeff Bagwell Issue: This, frankly, annoys the hell out of me. William touched on this beautifully earlier but I just want to get my thoughts out here. That some writers have accused Bagwell without a single shred of evidence is appalling. Absolutely appalling. There is literally no other word or feeling for it. Enough people have said enough things much more eloquently than I will here, but I can’t help but be outraged and disappointed. Hopefully more writers allay my fears and in a few hours, Jeff Bagwell will be punching a ticket to Cooperstown.
On Blyleven: He needs to get in. I’ve made this case tons of times all around the Internet. Please, writers, PLEASE, get this right.
On Morris: I still see Morris as nothing more than a durable, above average pitcher. That’s not a Hall of Fame pitcher. The “you had to be there” argument to me is beyond ridiculous. To me, the Hall of Fame is about NOT having to be there. Being in the Hall of Fame means that I DIDN’T need to be there to realize how good you were. I wasn’t alive for much of the 20th century but I understand just how good the players who came before my time because their numbers are transcendent.
On the STEROIDS!!! Issue: I understand the trepidation when it comes to steroids. It’s a murky area and we all get a little queasy when dealing with such murky areas. I choose not to make a big deal about steroids, even when considering the Hall of Fame, because I am a skeptic. I am not convinced on the effect of steroids. I am not convinced that steroids affect players as positively as many would suggest. Does this make me naive? Maybe. Does it give me a bit of Ostrich Syndrome? Perhaps. My inflated ego, though, says I’m just a skeptic.
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5 Responses to Hall of Fame Hits
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TIQ IQ
The HOF voting continues to lose credibility when voters such as ESPN news editor, Barry Stanton, casts votes for BJ Surhoff but neglects Alomar, Larkin, Bagwell and Blyleven. What a joke!
Matt your a skeptic about steroids inflating stats????!!!!!!!!!!!? Let’s see, 3 players, past their prime, blowing past Maris’s record isn’t absurd? Players talking about weight training and cardio for hours before and after games and they still have energy to play their sport? Have you ever tried that? I have, and let me tell you that walking up a flight of stairs feels like an act of hercules. And that point is crucial, because nobody does that w/o ‘roids. Nobody does that w/ amphetamines either. I starting noticing back in the early ’80′s stories that some players were packing on 20-40 pounds of muscle on in the off-season. Doesn’t happen w/o the Juice. Anecdotes aside, look at graphs of players over let’s say, the last 25 years. If you take the top 10% (I picked that number because relatively few players make it past age 33) of players age 33+ and compare their numbers against their historical peers, well, there’s your smoking gun. BTW, back in the ’80′s Bill James showed how that hitters peaked at 27-28. Could players of the last 25 years be genetic mutations that are just coming into the spotlight? I think not…..
So what about the countless players who took steroids and had zero improvement? What about the expansion to thirty teams that could’ve possibly diluted the pitching field? What about the pushed in fences and small parks? What about the jacked up balls? I’m not saying steroids didn’t help, I’m saying that we can’t be sure of exactly how much they helped.
I am with Kevin on the steroids issue, but I can’t get all bent out of shape for someone voting for Mac or Raphy. I wouldn’t vote for them, but I do understand why someone would.
As for Bagwell. The guy made 4 All Star Teams and won 3 Silver Sluggers. He had 449 HRs and 2,314 Hits. I realize that he had an OBP over 400 for his career and 948 OPS, but based on the numbers put up during his career by the players around him he is not a no brainer. He also deflated like a baloon and has publicly said he has no problem with the use of steroids. If a voter wanted to wait a few years before granting him enshrinement into the HOF to see if more information comes out, or just to think about him longer i don’t see it as a crime. He was very good. But not the slam dunk you are making him out to be.
Blyleven – he is another “had to be there guy” I think the back of his baseball card plays better than he did. He was not the guy you feared facing the next day. He didn’t start all star games. He didn’t garner CY Young votes. Fame was not a word you associated with him. Where was his stretch of dominance. When was he a top 5 pitcher in the league? What % of his seasons were HOF seasons? Again, I wouldn’t vote for him but I see why some people would. I am just not that into the compliers. I look at Bert a lot like I look at Raines, only at least Raines had a 7 year strect of dominance in his time in Montreal. Blyleven, not so much.
Morris had a little more fame than Blyleven, but I wouldn’t vote for him either.
If I was to have a ballot:
In – Alomar, Larkin, Raines – Just missing – Blyleven, Morris, Trammel, Martinez, Bagwell; reserve the right to keep thinking about them – Palmeiro, McGwire. I reseve the right to change my mind but I don’t see it coming – Walker.
Lou and Kevin +1. I love it when people try and say maybe roids don’t help. Do you remember the year Kevin Freaking Elster got all hulked up? He hit 24 bombs and looked almost as big as Brady Anderson. Of course he got too big to field and broke down after but he did have that one good year.
By the stats many of the 90′s guys belong in, but it is just too much of an insult to my intelligence to sit back and say they were clean. As I posted on another thread 1 out of 7 guys tested dirty when the voluntary announced test was given. I pray that list goes public. There is just no way 30 guys all turned into Lou Gehrig during the 90′s when no one from the 80′s had those stats. Smaller ballparks, tighter balls, yadda, yadda, yadda LOOK AT THOSE GUYS BODIES. Baseball in the 90′s looked like a WWW Smackdown event.
I think the couple of unlucky guys who got caught never get in, the other guys where there is no “actual proof” will have to wait a couple of years as a penalty but they probably will get in.