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It's Never Too Early To Talk About MLB HOF Balloting

JackWESQJackWESQ Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭
I think the 2008 MLB Hall of Fame ballot will be made public the last week of November. Here's a list of the returning candidates and their percentages from last year:

* Harold Baines - 5.3%
* Bert Blyleven - 47.7%
* Dave Concepción - 13.6 %
* Andre Dawson - 56.7%
* Rich "Goose" Gossage - 71.2%
* Tommy John - 22.9%
* Don Mattingly - 9.9% - OUCH! Thread on Mattingly & HOF: Mattingly HOF Thread
* Mark McGwire - 23.5%
* Jack Morris - 37.1%
* Dale Murphy - 9.2%
* Dave Parker - 11.4%
* Jim Rice - 63.5%
* Lee Smith - 39.8%
* Alan Trammell - 13.4%

And the newly-eligible candidates:

Luis Alicea, Brady Anderson, Alex Arias, Rod Beck, Andy Benes, Mike Benjamin, Dennis Cook, Delino DeShields, Shawon Dunston, Chuck Finley, Darrin Fletcher, Travis Fryman, Rich Garcés, Chris Haney, Dave Hollins, Bobby J. Jones, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch, Tom Lampkin, Darren Lewis, Mike Magnante, Dave Mlicki, Mike Morgan, Robb Nen, Hipólito Pichardo, Tim Raines, Armando Reynoso, Henry Rodríguez, Lee Stevens, Todd Stottlemyre, Greg Swindell, Mike Trombley, John Valentin, Randy Velarde, Ed Vosberg, and Mark Wohlers.

Is it me, or can you see NONE of these players being elected. Of the carry overs, I guess Gossage could get in. He received 71.2% last year. And the new players, Raines should get in, but won't come close.

So if no one gets elected, does that mean there is no 2008 Hall of Fame weekend?

/s/ JackWESQ
image

Comments

  • Gossage has a great shot. and Blylevn should be in, but they wont do the right thing.
  • yankeeno7yankeeno7 Posts: 9,248 ✭✭✭
    Maybe due to who's eligible, they will let McGwire in.
  • Goose should get in this year, maybe even Rice and possibly Dawson. Of the new comers, Raines would definitely get my vote. I don't see McGwire getting in (at least not this year) and Blyleven is almost at the top of the fence, should get in eventually. Outside of that, I don't see anyone else getting a sniff of the HOF door.


  • << <i>Maybe due to who's eligible, they will let McGwire in. >>



    I hope so, but I think he waits 2-4 years, with his % increasing each year. Im guessing he hits high 40's/ low 50's this year
  • what if mcgwire % goes down? would that signal he has no shot?
  • ernie11ernie11 Posts: 1,945 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not a single newcomer, with the possible exception of Tim Raines, merits serious HOF consideration. This makes it likely that a holdover is going to get in, like Rice, Gossage, Dawson, etc. It'll be interesting. Gossage appears to be the likeliest - what, he had 71% last year?
  • EstilEstil Posts: 7,058 ✭✭✭✭
    I'd say Blyleven (287 wins, 3701 K's, and SIXTY SHUTOUTS not good enough for ya?) and McGwire (still no credible evidence he ever took 'roids after all this time) are the most deserving, in that order. Looks like Gossage is much too close to get denied now. I'm really sad that it appears Mattingly's bubble is about to burst, though. image
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  • stownstown Posts: 11,321 ✭✭✭
    This could be Jim and Bert's year!
    So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,492 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I figure Gossage will be the only one voted in this year
  • I think Raines should get in... although I agree maybe not on his first ballot. I just looked up his stats on baseball-reference and was shocked at the numbers from his rookie season 1981. Do you realize that the guy had 71 SB's (and only 11 CS) in only 88 games? That's pretty damn amazing! If you look at all of the HOF monitor stats, Raines is actually just below the avg HOF member on most of them. I think what should put him over the top is his amazing carreer SB% of 84.7%! That appears to be the top success rate among the top base-stealers of all time.
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  • Man is that list of newcomers horrible. I think that Raines will be the only one to make the cut. Not for election but just to stay on the ballot. As far as election goes I see only Gossage getting in although it is far from a lock. Since this year is so weak how about the veterans committee finally putting in some of the stars of yesteryear that deserve it. Santo , Kaat , Hodges and Oliva are just a few that should be in there.
  • DeutscherGeistDeutscherGeist Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭✭
    Goose seems so close and I think it has a lot to do with so many unworthy candidates. The votes are not being spread thin. Since the new crop of eligible candidates is led by Tim Raines, the competition remains low. When I think of Tim Raines, I think of a Rickey Henderson type player in terms of athletic merits.
    Henderson, Tim Raines and Kenny Lofton are all the same type of players with some variation between them. Players like Delino Deshields, Marquis Grissom and Brady Anderson showed some promise for awhile but fizzled away too quickly.

    It all depends on how the voters view the stats. Tim Raines can be shown to be hall worthy depending on what stats you use. At the very least, he was an excellent first rate player that any team could use.
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  • Brian48Brian48 Posts: 2,624 ✭✭✭
    I really hope Jimmy Rice and Goose gets in this time around.
  • RonBurgundyRonBurgundy Posts: 5,491 ✭✭✭
    Blyleven, Gossage, Morris.



    Ron
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  • TreetopTreetop Posts: 1,474
    Lets face it guys, There shouldn't even be a list for this year. Nobody is even worthy of a 50% vote, let alone 75%.

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  • ernie11ernie11 Posts: 1,945 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Lets face it guys, There shouldn't even be a list for this year. Nobody is even worthy of a 50% vote, let alone 75%. >>



    I think some of these guys mentioned belong in the HOF, but there are no obvious "locks" for the HOF this year - they're all invite debate.
  • Gossage and Blylevn most certainly deserve strong consideration.
    Saying that no none deserves 50% is just a tad ignorant of the talent and worth of a lot of people on that list.
  • metalmikemetalmike Posts: 2,152 ✭✭
    I'm rooting for The Hamilton Assassin" Mr. Joe Nuxhall. classy guy. Reds announcer since 1967. Youngest player ever. AND a wrassler lol. Mike
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  • SDSportsFanSDSportsFan Posts: 5,136 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Blyleven, Dawson, Gossage and Rice.



    Steve
  • Blyleven and Raines definitely deserve to be in the Hall-of-Fame. As much as I would like to see them be elected, I would rather see the second tier -- Rice, Dawson -- not make it and continue with the high standards

    McGwire not making it simply shows how the sports writers are complete idiots
    Tom
  • baseballfanbaseballfan Posts: 5,456 ✭✭✭
    i think gossage finally gets in this year
    and maybe rice
    but with these voters who knows
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  • << <i>what if mcgwire % goes down? would that signal he has no shot? >>



    If it goes down, his chances of ever getting in also go waaaaaaaaaaaaaay down. good question.
  • MorgothMorgoth Posts: 3,950 ✭✭✭
    Just read Canseco's book and I think there is enough there to put some serious suspicion on Mark. Will we ever get a confession from Mark? Maybe, if he think's it's the only way to get in the HOF or if he knows it will be leaked anyway. Canseco basically say's that McGwire taught Giambi how to do roids, now Giambi is the only player to talk to Mitchell, wonder what they talked about?
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  • markj111markj111 Posts: 2,921 ✭✭✭
    Today's Neyer Column:

    The new Hall of Fame ballots have been sent to the voters, and soon we're going to start seeing a lot of arguments for and against. I've made my feelings pretty clear over the years: if I were enfranchised, I would vote for Tim Raines, Bert Blyleven, Goose Gossage and Alan Trammell. Jim Rice is borderline; Jack Morris is not.

    More on them later, I'm sure (if you just can't wait, I agree with this guy about Rice and this one about Morris). Right now, though, I do want to mention one more thing ...

    Raines was a great player. He's not going to be elected, mostly because he was overshadowed by Rickey Henderson and because one of his two key skills -- getting on base and scoring runs -- is undervalued by Hall of Fame voters. Frankly, the people who think Raines belongs in the Hall of Fame are the same people who think David Wright probably got jobbed in the NL MVP voting this past season. And most of us don't get to vote for either honor, which is why Wright finished fourth and Raines won't be listed on more than 35 percent of the Hall of Fame ballots.

    There's nothing I can do about that, any more than I've been able to convince the voters, for lo these many years, that they're wrong about Blyleven. But if any voter is reading this, I would like to offer this ... It's going to be mentioned, in one place or another, that Raines had a drug problem early in his career, and I suspect that a few voters, whether they'll admit it publicly or not, will hold his cocaine addiction against him. He has admitted, among other things, sliding headfirst into bases to avoid breaking the vials of cocaine stored in his uniform pants pocket.

    Got it. Not a pretty image. That would have been in 1981 or thereabouts. In 1982 Raines checked into rehab, and as far as we know he's led an exemplary life since. But forget about the 25 years since 1982. Let's return instead to the early 1980s, when a lot of baseball players were hooked on the white stuff. One of them was Paul Molitor, who's been up-front about his involvement in that scene, and his addiction.

    Four years ago, when Molitor was first eligible for election, he was listed on 85 percent of the ballots cast and went straight into the Hall of Fame, no questions asked and cocaine not mentioned at all.

    I happen to believe that Raines was almost exactly as valuable, over the course of his career, as Molitor, and I've got the numbers on my side. But forget about that. Today all I'm asking of the voters is that if they didn't hold illicit drug addiction against Molitor, they don't hold it against Raines. We can argue about the merits of his case. But let's at least stick to those.
  • dallasactuarydallasactuary Posts: 4,337 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I happen to believe that Raines was almost exactly as valuable, over the course of his career, as Molitor, ... >>


    He's right about that; Raines was better than Molitor, but just by a little bit.

    Right now, Ron Santo is the best player to be passed over by the HOF voters and he may always be. If he ever does get in Raines will take over that spot. I agree with the writer that Raines is unlikely to get the suport of much more than a third of the voters; I also strongly believe that anyone who would vote for Jim Rice (or, lol, Jack Morris) before Tim Raines should never again be allowed to vote (or write about baseball). I think there is a critical mass of writers who take some sort of perverse pride in their complete ignorance of any and all useful statistics; before this "he had lots of RBI, he had lots of wins, he must be good" crowd dies off they may do a lot more damage. That is, if Bruce Sutter's induction has not already rendered the Hall beyond repair.
    This is for you @thisistheshow - Jim Rice was actually a pretty good player.
  • TheVonTheVon Posts: 2,725
    Yes, only you and Skinpinch/Hoopster should be allowed to vote for the HOF because everyone else in America is ignorant.
  • no offens von, but they make very valid points.

    Ron Santo and Bert Blyleven both belong in the HOF, the numbers back up Raines as well (compared to a lot of folks already in the hOF)
  • No offense taken. I don't have a strong opinion either way on Santo or Blyleven being in the Hall; I just grow weary of other people accusing the rest of us of being ignorant if we choose to value different aspects of the game.
  • dallasactuarydallasactuary Posts: 4,337 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Yes, only you and Skinpinch/Hoopster should be allowed to vote for the HOF because everyone else in America is ignorant. >>


    I wouldn't have put it quite so bluntly, but thank you. And the HOF thanks you.







    {Wait, that was sarcasm, wasn't it? Oh, you sly dog! You got me good.}
    This is for you @thisistheshow - Jim Rice was actually a pretty good player.
  • stownstown Posts: 11,321 ✭✭✭


    << <i>No offense taken. I don't have a strong opinion either way on Santo or Blyleven being in the Hall; I just grow weary of other people accusing the rest of us of being ignorant if we choose to value different aspects of the game. >>



    While dallas does get off looking at stats, he and skin's demeanor are completely and totally different.

    If dallas called someone ignorant in the past, it was either said in jest to a fellow poster or a generic beyatch slap to HOF voters.

    / $0.02
    So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
  • Bottom9thBottom9th Posts: 2,695 ✭✭


    << <i>Lets face it guys, There shouldn't even be a list for this year. Nobody is even worthy of a 50% vote, let alone 75%. >>



    Are you serious?? I know there's no sure fire lock but there are definitely some guys that merit SERIOUS consideration.

    I think Gossage and Rice have the best chance. I still don't understand why Blyleven is not in. His stats are very worthy.
  • JackWESQJackWESQ Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭
    I'll acknowledge that this will probably be the most lame post in this thread, but with regards to Bert Blyleven and why he is not in the HOF, I'll just say that he doesn't pass the "smell test." When I think of HOFers, I think of greatness and domination for an extended period of time and for some reason, I just see Blyleven in that realm. And even more unscientific (is not down irrational), I can't see a plaque in Cooperstown reading "Rik Aalbert Blyleven" (his real name). A quick check at baseball-reference demonstrates that Blyleven finished in the Cy Young voting four (4) times in 22 years, two thirds, a fourth and a seventh, won 20 games once (also lost 17 that year) and was twice an All-Star. One things that does stand out of that he tossed 60 shutouts; good for 9th place. (Speaking of shutouts, see list below.) Good resume, but I won't lose any sleep if he never makes it.

    Active Shutout Leaders; Age in Parentheses. Downright scary, given the record is 110. Of course, to record a shutout, you have to pitch a complete game and that doesn't happen anymore.

    1. Roger Clemens (44) 46
    2. Randy Johnson* (43) 37
    3. Greg Maddux (41) 35
    4. Tom Glavine* (41) 25
    5. Mike Mussina (38) 23
    6. Curt Schilling (40) 20
    7. Pedro Martinez (35) 17
    8. John Smoltz (40) 16
    9. Chris Carpenter (32) 12
    David Wells* (44) 12
    11. Tim Hudson (31) 10
    Mark Mulder* (29) 10
    13. A.J. Burnett (30) 9
    Roy Halladay (30) 9
    Jamie Moyer* (44) 9
    Kenny Rogers* (42) 9
    Jason Schmidt (34) 9
    Aaron Sele (37) 9
    19. Bartolo Colon (34) 8
    Matt Morris (32) 8

    /s/ JackWESQ
    image
  • dallasactuarydallasactuary Posts: 4,337 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>A quick check at baseball-reference demonstrates that Blyleven finished in the Cy Young voting four (4) times in 22 years, two thirds, a fourth and a seventh... >>


    A just-as-quick check of baseball-reference (if you know where to look) demonstrates that Blyleven DESERVED the Cy Young Award in 1973 and should have been in the top 5 half a dozen more times. The list of pitchers with Cy Young Awards who were nowhere near the best (or among the 10 best) pitchers when they won is legion - Jim Perry, Mike McCormick and Lamarr Hoyt come quickly to mind. What those pitchers had in common was not pitching greatness but that they led the leaue in wins; that was by far the single best predictor of the Cy Young winner for decades, and its relation to being the best pitcher is imaginary. Blyleven never led the league in wins; that is why he never won a Cy Young Award and it is a very poor reason for keeping him out of the HOF.

    Quick Quiz: who was better in the postseason, Blyleven or Jack Morris?

    This is for you @thisistheshow - Jim Rice was actually a pretty good player.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,695 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A main reason why Blyleven did not win as many games as some of the other more popular pitchers during that era was that he also played most of his career on some pretty bad teams. If he had pitched for better teams, he'd eclipsed 300 wins easily. It's remarkable he won as many games as he did, actually.


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  • There's no doubt Blyleven should be in the HOF. Think this will be an interesting era in the HOF balloting. The "steroid" era players will be eligible and plenty of older players at the same time. Will be intersting to see how everything will shake out.
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