The Hall of Fame balloting broken down Zealot-style…
New Hall of Famer Andre Dawson’s most compelling statistic:
He’s one of three major league players who has 400 homeruns and 300 stolen bases. The other two? Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.
Andre Dawson’s least compelling statistic (and the one you hear cited by his detractors ad nauseum):
His lifetime .323 OBP. Enough said.
The 2010 HOF candidate most deserving to get into the Hall of Fame but didn’t:
My opinion?? Bert Blyleven. I’ve been on his bandwagon for a few years now. Come on, vote him in already! He has two more years of eligibility left. The good news is that since 1999, when he got 14.1% of the vote, his percentage has gone up every year with the exception of 2007. I predict that we’ll see Bert in the Hall next summer.
The reason Roberto Alomar didn’t get in his first year:
Three-fold. 1) the spitting incident didn’t help especially among the old guard of the BBWAA 2) the fact that some don’t want to vote anyone but the cream of the crop in their first of eligibility especially with reason #1 hanging around their necks and 3) I’ve heard this factoid bandied about… that Alomar was pretty much done by the time he was 35 or 36. Yes, I know… he started out (full time) in the bigs when he was 20 and subsequently put in a good 17 years of service in the majors but that kind of thing sticks with writers, I guess.
Craziest Hall of Fame vote:
Pat Hentgen 1 vote. To be fair, Hentgen won a Cy Young and won one World Series game but with 131 wins and a 4.32 ERA that can take you only so far.
The “It’s not crazy if there are two of us” award:
Eric Karros 2 votes.
and finally,
The 2010 candidate I thought was dissed this year:
Harold Baines. Should he have gotten in? I don’t know. But I was surprised that he barely hung on for next year’s ballot. Yes, I’m a Cub fan but Baines deserved more. An interesting stat: Baines had more career hits and more career rbis than any other HOF candidate.
1. Bert Blyleven. Maybe. I think he may be hurt by the “not a good teammate” reputation. I guarantee that he would never make the Hall in a poll of his former mates. The nickname “Cry-leven” had basis in his behavior. And in his reaction to the annual Hall of Fame snub.
Statistically, other than strikeouts (his 287-250 career W-L is not good), I think he’s a little light. Like Dawson, he is close. But for all the strikeouts, he only led the league once. He never led the league in ERA or wins. He only made 2 All-Star games and only won 20 games once.
I think that they will “put him in to shut him up.” Maybe next year.
2. Harold Baines. I think Harold Baines is Chili Davis. Or maybe “like Dwight Evans, except he couldn’t field.”
3. The Crazy Votes. Not a problem for me. These votes are used every year to argue that the choice should be taken away from the writers (I don’t think that’s where The Zealot was going). But a few people vote for the David Duke’s of the world every Presidential election, and nobody think the vote should be taken away from the citizenry.
I wonder who everybody on this board would choose as “My Crazy Vote.” Mine are Curt Flood & Roger Maris, both ineligible.
4. Final Comment: I think it’s time to “move on” and put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame.
Nothing better than Baseball Talk on a sub-zero degree morning.
Comments?
re BBWAA writers:
no, i’m not of the ilk that feel if a few writers make some questionable decisions on the HOF, that means “we should ban those writers from ever voting again” or that means “the BBWAA system is broken”. I hear those arguments every year.
Some of these arguments I hear regarding writers who vote for questionable players and some for writers who don’t for players that are obvious choices (see Cal Ripken).
Those fans just need to relax and understand that out of 400+ votes, there will be some “crazy” ones out there.
they are fun to talk about though. :)
As for Baines, he probably belongs in the Hall of Very Good.