absolutely should be in the hall. He was a very important cog in the Big Red Machine. He is credited for kicking down the door and bringing Venezuelans into MLB (see Izturis wearing number 13) and he is credited as being the first to make the throw from shortstop to first with one bounce (instead of a straight throw).

He has won 5 gold gloves, appeared in 9 All-Star games (winning the All-Star MVP in 1982), and two Silver Slugger awards.

Also, he’s credited with being the one who trained and groomed Barry Larkin to be his replacement at shortstop.

Alomar and Blyleven would definitely have my vote if I had one. If Alomar had played anywhere other than second base, he’d be out. I would also be likely to vote for Larkin and McGriff. If you include the playoffs, McGriff has 501 home runs and a World Series ring.

Depending on my mood, I could be persuaded to support McGwire and Dawson. Some days I feel Dawson did just enough to get in McGwire didn’t actually break any rules (Hell, there are many other cheaters and murderers in the Hall of Fame already). Other days, I feel Dawson could’ve done better if he didn’t play in Montreal and McGwire couldn’t do enough on his own with the performance enhancing drugs.

My ballot always starts with the same question: Is he the very best qualified player at his position currently not in the Hall of Fame?

1) Alomar. Weirdly underrated now, despite 14 basically consecutive years of just FU excellence. One of the 10 best to ever play the position, and certainly the best qualified non-HoFers. Also, Bobby Grich (who is totally deserving) can’t get in if guys like Alomar are shut out.
2) Larkin. Again, best available shortstop, and a top 10 guy at that crucial position.
3) Blyleven. The best qualified starting pitcher not currently in the Hall of Fame, and by some distance. See Rich Lederer for more.
4) Raines. Maybe not top 10 at his position (which is a pretty high bar, especially for LF), but an awesome leadoff hitter, and probably the best qualified left fielder (depending on where you put Minnie Minoso and Sherry Magee).
5) McGwire. Who’s the best qualified first baseman on the outside looking in? I find the position very hard to rank, since a lot of people have spectacular but short careers (McGwire, Will Clark, Dick Allen), each of those three have trivial-to-significant character issue, then there’s the slow-and-steady, poor-man’s-Eddie-Murray types like Fred McGriff and (later) Rafael Palmeiro. And before you know it, it’ll be time to deal w/ Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, Carlos Delgado, Jim Thome, Jason Giambi, and Todd Helton…. All that said, McGwire’s best 10 years were better than anyone else’s, so he gets my vote.
6) Trammell. Among shortstops with 6500 or more plate appearances, Trammell is 14th in OPS+ with 110 (the only qualified non-HoFer above him is Jim Fregosi w/ 112). He’s 15th in Runs (Donie Bush is the only non-HoFer ahead of him), 11th in Hits and RBIs (no one), 9th in HRs (Jay Bell). He was a World Series MVP, deserved the regular-season MVP in 1987, and played great for a long time. Certainly better than a lot of current Hall of Famers, and I don’t see anyone (besides Larkin) anywhere near him on the outside looking in.

The only remaining candidate on my bubble is Fred McGriff; I’d probably vote him in. He was a really great player for a very long time.

Lee Smith? I’d put Dan Quisenberry in way before him. Dawson? That’s just an ugly OBP, and there are better candidates in line ahead of him. Baines was usually very good, but how often was he great? Martinez didn’t have a long or high enough peak for a guy who didn’t play defense. Jack Morris was a helluva pitcher, and there are many such creatures (correctly) not in the Hall of Fame on account of they weren’t quite good enough. Mattingly is in line behind a l-o-t of people.

Dude was the number one big game pitcher from 1984 to 1991. How many championship teams did he lead the pitching staff for.
Oh and by the way I hated him when he played because he was so damn good.
As for Mc Gwire (another guy i didn’t like when he played);
The problem with the Hall today is no one is good enough for anyone. Either they played with a juiced ball or body or the expansion made things too easy or they didnt play for the Yankees or it wasn’t in an era when the press covered up every problem you have( do you think Mantle would be idolized today? No freaking way, he was a drunk, and a prick. he would be looked at as a failure because he didn’t set every record in the world)
Just because you are a douche doesn’t mean you weren’t great. Why would you “man up” to the losers in Congress? Because they called a meeting? What the hell right do they have to call baseball players before their adulterous immoral drug addict asses.
McGwire led the league in bombs 4 times and drove in 100, 7 times and was not a guy you wanted to face with the game on the line. Roid or no Roid he belongs in along with the rest of the juice monkeys of the era.
Because of the juice nobody gets in? ridiculous.
If Ty Cobb and the rest of the sheet wearers are in, these guys should be in. Because what is worse? Shooting yourself up? Or excluding an entire group of people because of their color?
I’ll take the roiders over KKK members every time.

Just Blyleven.

And on the topic of the Hall of Fame, Dick Allen and Bobby Grich should be in the Hall.

On a side note thought, I think Mattingly should be in if Kirby Puckett is in. Virtually had the same numbers. They were both big names in their time. I think he’s not in because he was a Yankee that doesn’t quite match up with other HOF Yankees. But if Kirby’’s there, then he should be too.

But I also think the Hall is a mess and I don’t put too much merit into it. There is too many shouldn’t be guys and a few should be guys and it’s just a mess. So screw the HOF.

1. Barry Larkin – my favorite player on my former favorite team. Total class act, and a guy who could and did do it all. Need power? He hit 33 HR in 1996. Need a high OBP leadoff guy? Barry had an OBP of .390 or higher six times, and was .371 for his career. Need speed? He stole 30+ five times (and was successful on 83% of his steal attempts for his career). Need Gold Glove defense? Check. And he’s good on TV, too (MLB Network), not that it matters.

2. Bert Blyleven – it’s a travesty that he isn’t in already.

3. Alomar – I don’t think there’s any real debate over his credentials.

4. Tim Raines – quite possibly the second best leadoff hitter. I was shocked that he isn’t in already, but he had the misfortune of having his career exactly overlap that of the BEST leadoff hitter ever, one Rickey Henderson. Oh, and if he’d played in NY, Boston, L.A. or Chicago, there wouldn’t be any discussion either. Unfortunately for Raines, he played in Montreal. His stolen base success rate was around 85%…substantially better than Henderson’s. Eleven seasons of a .390 or better OBP. A fun guy to watch.

That’s it. Apologies to Alan Trammell. I look at him and see a guy who never led the league in anything and never won a regular season MVP. A guy who was a pretty good player for a long time. But I’m open-minded, and I’d want to hear all of the arguments in his favor. Jack Morris was a good pitcher for a number of years, and was at his best when it counted the most, but he just wasn’t sufficiently dominant. Was he that much better than Dave Stieb, Frank Viola or even Steve Rogers? Isn’t the case for Morris really based on one admittedly fabulous game (which he would have lost had Lonnie Smith been paying attention)?

I don’t have a rational reason for excluding Fred McGriff, who hit a ton of HR at a time when some folks were hitting a ton and a half…on steroids. I’ve never heard McGriff linked to PEDs. Maybe he played for too many teams, even though many of those were good teams.

I’m also troubled by Lee Smith’s candidacy. He was a very effective closer for a long time. I’m not sure who was better in his era. If one-inning closers belong in the Hall (and I submit that eventually they will), you can’t ignore what Smith accomplished.

McGwire – frankly, a bit one dimensional, and there’s the whole PED thing (though I actually respect him for not talking to Congress). Let’s assume McGriff was clean. If McGwire had also been clean, I’m pretty sure McGriff’s accomplishments would dwarf McGwire’s.

Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines miss the cut for me because they basically didn’t play the field, and so their #s needed to be dominant as hitters. They were both good to very good, but not consistently excellent.

Finally, a sentimental vote for Kevin Appier, whose contributions to the 2002 championship cannot be overstated.

LOL

andre dawson should be the next expo in the HALL!!!!!. it’s yet to be determined whether vlad goes in as a ’spo or as a halo. i have no preference… but i wanna see him in angel red next year

left handed hitter played mostly for cardinals. Believe he was in right field when Edmunds was in center. Segui- Mariners? and Baltimore.

Had he played for a Baltimore or Cincinnati back in the 70’s, his victory numbers would have been off the charts and we would not be having these discussions.

And anybody who cusses on live TV gets my HOF vote, just for the hell of it. Even if I don’t have one.

(FYI, his brother is, bar none, the finest plumber in OC. I cannot recommend him highly enough!! Seriously.)

All time saves leader when he retired… not to mention mentor to Percival.