Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

What did he say, Zeke? Was he pissed? Diplomatic?

 

ESPN's Jim Caple has some suggestions for improving the election process. This was written before the results came out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/100106&sportCat=mlb


One of the interesting notes:
If you don't vote for someone that receives a certain amount of the vote (he suggests 92 percent), you lose your vote.

 

Mike, I would. In fact the last time I was there we didn't even mess with the plaque gallery.

The process is not polluted or broken. It's scandalous.

 

Fans should never have a say.
All living Hall members are the Veterans Committee and they're more petty than the BBWAA.

As for the blank ballots, I know someone who did that in the past, don't know what he did this year.
Gee can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think if you don't submit a ballot you lose your voting privilege. If a guy legitimately feels no one on this ballot is a Hall of Famer, I see no problem with a blank ballot.

 

I think you're right about having to submit a ballot to keep it.

I know this isn't the first year blank ballots have been returned. Hell, I'd bet there's at least one each year.

 

Happy to have the support he has, pointed to Greinke and Lincecum's Cy Youngs as correct decisions reflecting the change in conventional wisdom regarding wins, effusive praise for Dawson and spoke about how much it means to not only the player but his family and friends, said he certainly hopes he can experience what Dawson is experiencing right now.

Edit: Singled out Rich Lederer by name and thanked him for his support.

Costas and Gammons were adamant that he would be a fantastic Hall of Famer.

 

I do not believe non-voters lose the privilege. The percentage of ballots cast is never 100 percent of eligible members, and we'd hear about it if somebody lost their voting rights.

 

The spitting thing. I've read a few pieces in which the writer, who's a voter, said that under no circumstance would they ever vote in Alomar because he stepped over the boundary of decency with that face-spit.

 

What if they legitamately feel there is nobody that is hall worthy? I'm not saying that's the case here, I would have voted for Alomar, Raines and Blyleven.

 

Hell, it's worse than outdated: It's faux-outdated.

Nobody paid much attention to first-ballot selections until the last 30 years. Sure, the best guys got in as early as possible. But it wasn't an "honor," just common sense.

A Hall of Famer is a Hall of Famer. Period.