Reactions to MLB Hall of Fame Vote
January 25, 2017
The 2017 Hall of Fame vote resulted in three great players getting in. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez became the first Ranger to be voted in, and only the second catcher after Johnny Bench to go in on his first ballot. A fourteen time all star, Pudge had arguably the best season ever as a catcher in 1999, finishing with a .332 average, 35 homers and 113 RBIs. Not to mention he remains as one of the best defensive catchers ever. Jeff Bagwell also sports a highly impressive career, flashing consistent average and power. With a .9480 OPS, Bagwell ranks 22nd all time. In his prime, you could mark this guy down from at least a .290 average, 30-40 homers and 100 plus RBIs. Tim Raines finished in the top 20 of the MVP race seven times, despite not being a “power guy”. A career .294 hitter, Raines is also fifth all time in stolen bases. He stole an incredible 71 bases in 88 games before the 1981 Player’s Strike abbreviated the season. No doubt these three deserve to be inducted, a remarkable class of players who accomplishment much in their careers.
I have two immediate thoughts following the vote. First, the Baseball Writers Association will face a heap of talent to choose from next year. Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman narrowly missed out in 2017 and seem to be locks. In addition, Chipper Jones enters, as possibly the best switch hitter ever, as does Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones and Johan Santana.
Second, it is interesting to see how the never-ending quandary of what to do with the PED users, and also Curt Schilling, will further complicate the packed ballot next year. According to Rule 5 of the Baseball Hall of Fame Selection Process, a player’s “integrity, sportsmanship, and character” must weigh into the decision. Despite that, it looks like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds will eventually get in. Clemens is up to 54 percent of the ballots from 45 and Bonds is up to 53 from 44 percent, and only three candidates have reached 50 percent of the ballots and not eventually reached the needed 75% benchmark to be inducted. This will be controversial and debated, but it seems to be more a matter of when than if at this point.
Cheating to gain an advantage in baseball has occurred forever. The Hall of Fame is laced with players with less than impeccable “integrity, sportsmanship, and character.” In fact, among the first Hall of Famers was Ty Cobb, who still remains as one of the dirtiest players ever. He used to sharpen his cleats in the infield before the game. One game after being hit by a pitch, he laid a bunt down and proceeded to knock a pitcher over and cleat him to the point where he was excessively bleeding. Another time he left the field to pick a fight with a handicapped fan who was jibing him. Is this intregrity? Or there’s the case of Hall of Famer Roberto Allomar fighting an umpire and spitting on him. There have also been players to cork bats, steal opponent signs, or spit on baseballs to add movement. Not to mention the degree of amphetamine usage that also used to give players a physical advantage during grueling 162 game seasons.
Being able to recover from injuries faster and have the ability to build more strength than the average player should weigh heavily against guys like Bonds, Clemens, and Manny Ramirez, but they are such legends I have no problem with them getting in. Not to mention that the Rule 5 of the Hall of Fame stating that they only take players of “high character” is a joke. The other fact to consider is although their actions were wrong, there were no repercussions taken by the league for PEDs until 2003 when Congress intervened. Bud Selig, the recently inducted Hall of Famer, by the way also, didn’t know about steroid use? Please. They used steroids in an era where many players did, some we know about and many others used them that went unnoticed. A parting thought on PED guys: Pudge was inducted even being cited in a book by Jose Canseco for anabolic steroid use.
As for Curt Schilling, he falls under the argument that the Rule 5 has been broken tons of times. He only received votes on 45 percent of ballots, a fall from 52 percent in 2016. In my opinion, his 11-2 playoff record should weigh over his inflammatory, and mostly stupid, views on Twitter.
Written by Will McGuinness