2013 MLB Hall of Fame Screechfest

Exactly.

Also why I didn't vote for Palmeiro.

 

Not to bring this thread back to life just when it seemed to have died, but I had to post this Rob Neyer thing about Jack Morris...

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2013/1/14/3876166/jack-morris-2013-hall-fame-results

The most interesting note was way at the end. Neyer points out that Morris got just 22 percent of the vote when he first appeared on the ballot.

The Morris defenders make such a big deal about "You had to see him," and "it's more than numbers," yada yada yada, but back in 1999, when many more of the voters had actually seen him, and before we were so inundated with numbers, Morris got much less support than he gets now.

Makes you think that all the people who are jumping to his defense now are doing so just to spite the "numbers guys." If they really believed in him, why didn't they vote for him 10 years ago?

 

I believe that's absolutely the case.

 

My first thought was that it was crazybuckets to not consider Biggio great. Dude put up .400 OBPs at premium positions.

Then I started to dig into the value metrics, and I could totally see it. Neither B-R nor Fangraphs has him with more than four 5-win seasons. None of the defensive metrics liked him very much.

 

Because way too many voters have an exaggerated view of their own self-importance and think they should be able to hold sway over someone's fortunes by deciding not only if a player is Hall of Fame worthy but also whether he has waited long enough. That's pretty much indisputable based on the evidence from the most recent election.

 

More evidence that the current defensive metrics suck.

 

Biggio was consistent. Never great. Never bad. Just consistent.

 

Especially considering his position, Biggio was pretty great for a six-year stretch from 1993-98

 

Yeah. That's why he's in the top 2 percent of players of all time.

To be a HOFer, in my book, you've got to be in the top 1 percent. If he'd done it for 8 years instead of six, he'd be there.

 

the guy is a fucking expert, isn't he?

 

And I'll argue that considering the 140 years of history, the 12 or 13th best second baseman of all-time out of 17,000 players is a worthy selection.

 

He's not a terrible selection. I have no beef with anyone who voted for him, and he's going to get in the HOF eventually.

Just not my kind of guy for the HOF.