2013 Hall of Fame (non)Selection

Later today, the results of this year’s Hall of Fame voting will be in, and for the first time since 1996, it looks like nobody will be getting in. We have heard every reason thinkable from the many different writers who decided not to vote for certain players, or anyone at all. Those reasons range from “his stats aren’t good enough” to “he had a lot of back hair, so he was probably taking some kind of PED.” We’ve heard certain writers say that they would be handing in blank ballots as a protest for the players of PED use. This is my problem with the situation. How can we say with total certainty who did or didn’t do something, when there isn’t any evidence against them? How do we know who else was doing it during that era, whether it be a bench player, the starting pitcher giving up those HRs or anyone on the field? Personally, I think that there are at least 13 players on the ballot this year that deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, and none of them getting in would be a disgrace. To me, it makes the Hall of Fame a joke if these players don’t get in, just as it looks like a joke with Pete Rose not being in the Hall of Fame, but that’s a different story for another time. The Hall of Fame is supposed to be one of the greatest foundations of story in sports. How can you have a Hall of Fame without its greatest players to tell your kids about. When I visited the Hall of Fame a few years back, I had an amazing time, and wished I went back for a second day b/c there wasn’t enough time to see everything before closing. I loved the experience, and it is something that I would think I could share later on in my life. Unfortunately, I don’t know what I would say if I’m asked why Barry Bonds isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Craig Biggio, Tim Raines, Mike Piazza, Jack Morris, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Bagwell, Alan Trammel, Curt Schilling, Fred McGriff, Edgar Martinez, and Mark McGwire all should get in. You can only vote for 10 per year, so 3 of these would have to be left off for another year. Still, they all should get in at some point. Those that speak of Bonds’ and Clemens’ PED use do so without merit in my opinion. Bonds was a no doubt, first ballot Hall of Fame player before he ever did any of it. He still would have hit over 600 HRs regardless, and some argue that he is the greatest player they ever saw play the game. Clemens also has a similar case. The accusations against Clemens suggest that he did his PED use in Toronto. Before his stint in Toronto began in 1997, Clemens had pitched for 13 years and accumulated 3 Cy Young awards, an MVP award, and an additional 2^nd and 3^rd place finish for the Cy Young award. He was already a Hall of Fame pitcher. Clemens is likely the greatest pitcher that I have ever seen and it would be a travesty if neither he nor Barry Bonds got into the Hall of Fame. There is also new speculation about Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza that has absolutely no merit and is only being brought on because of who their peers were. Mike Piazza is arguably the greatest offensive catcher in the history of the game. If he isn’t a Hall of Famer, then I don’t know what is. The argument against McGriff is ridiculous. Some say that he shouldn’t get in because he didn’t hit 500 HRs. HE HIT 493! Are you really telling me that you aren’t letting “The Crime Dog” into the Hall of Fame because of 7 HRs?! He could have easily hit those HRs if it wasn’t for the strike shortened season in 1994, and regardless, 7 HRs is such a small number to keep someone away from the Hall of Fame. Biggio came up as a catcher, moved to 2^nd base, to center field, and back to 2^nd base, and all he did during that time was collect more than 3000 hits and put his name in history as an all time Houston Astros great.. He played the game the right way and for him to be part of this whole “protest” is an absolute shame. Tim Raines is probably the 2^nd greatest lead-off hitter of all time, and to leave him out because he played at the same time as Ricky Henderson, is just plain stupid. Jack Morris was probably the greatest pitcher of the 1980s and is synonymous with winning. He was dominant during his time and just because his ERA is where it is, shouldn’t deny him his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame. This is a guy that averaged 7 1/3 innings per start. That means he literally pitched into the 8^th inning every time he pitched. If the objective of baseball isn’t winning, then what is the object of the game? I don’t think he should be held out for going out on the mound and trying to win every time he went out there. Curt Schilling’s big time moments also speak for themselves, and he should be a Hall of Fame pitcher. Palmeiro and McGwire also deserve to be in, even with the PED use. Palmeiro didn’t just have the HRs. He also has more than 3000 hits, and that gets him in the Hall of Fame for me. Meanwhile, McGwire wasn’t one-dimensional. He was always a high OBP guy, along with the HRs. As you can tell, I would be OK with putting PED users into the Hall of Fame because we don’t know, and will never know, enough about the whole situation. We don’t know who did or didn’t do them before or during this period of time. We don’t know how which specific PED effected things either.  Its just the way the game was and I don’t think we should keep the greatest players to play this game out of the Hall of Fame because of it. If you want to put up a wing dedicated to just this era, then that’s fine. Put up information explaining everything, so we can walk through those halls in Cooperstown and read about these players. On their plaques, “admitted or found PED user” can be written to show that they might not have done everything cleanly. Do whatever you have to do, but don’t rob the fans of seeing the greatest players in the Hall of Fame.

*Please excuse the lack of paragraphs in this write-up. It was meant to be a quick assessment of some of the issues in Hall of Fame voting this year, and who I think should get in on this year’s ballot. Other articles will generally be in a more professional format, with better organization.