Who Should Make the Hall of Fame?
LOOK AT THE BALLOT AND ADD YOUR PICKS AND PANS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION...
In my perfect "Small Hall" Blyleven, Raines and Trammell get the call.
In facing the reality that some real turkeys (Jim Rice, Ryne Sandberg) have made it into Cooperstown, it is hard to shut the door on those deserving based on their superior careers to the lesser enshrined members.
Here are the nominees worth commenting on, followed by the rest of the ballot that is undeserving...
Roberto Alomar - YES. In my perfect world Small Hall I would say NO but in the real world where Ryne Sandberg is in the HOF, Rob-HIV gets a YES vote.
Bert Blyleven - YES, and if I only had one vote Bert would get it.
Andre Dawson - YES. In my perfect world Small Hall I would say NO but in the real world where Jim Rice is in the HOF, Dawson gets a YES vote.
Barry Larkin - YES. I would vote YES knowing it would at least keep him on the ballot, as he has an uphill battle having played in the shadow of Ripken and Ozzie, but it is important to lay a foundation and see how the consensus builds. I have no faith in the Baseball Writers to get any of these votes right.
Edgar Martinez - NO. This guy was such an Angel killer that I want to vote for him to ensure that he stays retired, but NO.
Mark McGwire - NO. He was a one-dimensional player and the gaudy numbers are byproducts of the juice. If Dave Kingman is not in the HOF, McGwire should not be either. Add to that the issue of character, which I believe is one of many important factors that should lead to enshrinement in Cooperstown, and seeing as he could not man up in front of congress, screw Mark McGwire.
Tim Raines - YES. If I only had two votes he would get my other vote. His tragedy is that he played in the shadow of Rickey Henderson.
Alan Trammell - YES. He makes my Small Hall with Bert and Raines. His biggest career mistake was not doing a hand summersault onto the field each opening day.
Kevin Appier - No; Harold Baines - No; Ellis Burks - No; Andres Galarraga - No; Pat Hentgen - No; Mike Jackson - No; Eric Karros - No; Ray Lankford - Who? No; Don Mattingly - No; Fred McGriff - No; Dale Murphy - No; Jack Morris - No; Dave Parker - No; Shane Reynolds - Who? No; David Segui - Who? No; Lee Smith - No; Robin Ventura - No; Todd Zeile - No
And here is hoping that the Veterans Committee adds Bobby Grich to the Cooperstown Roster.