Hall of Fame announcements just came out. We forgot to
debate.
In essence, then, a belated analysis of the candidates have become the status quo. So, after taking a glance at this year's results, take in what we think. Dave is in favor of preserving the elitism of the hall. As for me, I'm a traditionalist and like to uphold the high standards, but regular readers may know that I can be an awestruck gee whiz writer when it comes to baseball.
Dave
I would've voted for Gwynn, Ripken,of course Jack Morris, and I think I said Gossage last year? Don't quite
remember. But those would be my 4.
My buddy at work just came over to inform me that Bobby Bo got 2 votes.
"Shit, it's all good. Ain't no thang," as Bobby Bo would say. (note: I
have no idea if he actually said it, only that this is what his body
languauge after every pop-up showed going through his mind)
Who the hell votes for these guys?! I can see some people voting for
anybody who got 50 or more votes - that shows reasonableness, to have
that many people agree with you. But come on - Paul O'Neill, Bret
Saberhagen, Dante Bichette?! Good players, had some very good seasons,
but it's just irresponsible. This bothers me way too much. And Jack
Morris didn't get in, again, which as it does every year, has ruined my
day. Daaaahh.
Kanka
I'll start by noting that last year I showed Goose Gossage's numbers next to Bruce Sutter's, and they looked very similar. I'm not taking a stand either way, just presenting a fact. Some quick thoughts:- I started from the bottom of the list and worked my way up. It was
hilarious to see Brosius get 0 votes... until I saw the 12 for Paul
O'Neill. - Growing up, my friend Scott always wanted to be Jay Buhner. I think
it came from a combination of Scott having a shaved head and
originally being a Ken Griffey, Jr. fan. By the way, Buhner and I
share a birthday. - Wow, Tony Fernandez got 4 votes? What, are there exactly 4 Canadian
voters? (Fernandez was the second baseman for the Blue Jays.) - Was Orel Hershiser not that good? I thought he dominated for a few
years. Don't I ask this every year? - Don Mattingly. Dah. Although, when Peter Gammons made his
acceptance speech for his Baseball America Lifetime Achievement Award,
he said that he made a major turnaround from his anyeurism after he
received a gold cross from Mattingly. He even pulled it out of his
shirt during the speech. - Fernandez, Hershiser, and Baines were all picked up by the Indians
during their "window of opportunity" in the 90s. Belle came up
through the minors.
