Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

Sirs, Madames,

I'd be interested to know if there's ever been a softer stretch than 2011 and 2012. I'm sure that there has been. (Don Sutton's year would be a good place to start looking.) I'm anything but an expert, with something like diminishing interest since the Bosox won their first Series. On gut and personal preferences and not numbers.
2011: I'd like to see Jeff Bagwell get in but I'm not optimistic that it would be a first ballot or anything close. Rafael Palmeiro's case on numbers is hard to argue against but he brings nothing but numbers to the table. I suspect that he might end up establishing a new HOF Mendoza line but more likely will wait and sweat it out.
2012: Bernie Williams might be the only one who even qualifies to get on the next year's ballot. Nobody gets in.
2013: Bonds, Clemens and Sosa ... well, maybe the induction ceremony can be held at Dick Cheney's former digs or some other secured, undisclosed location. Craig Biggio getting the HOF ahead of them would be like Jerry Mathers getting the Oscar ahead of Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and Cary Grant, which is to say, it feels adorable for a time but hard to feel good about in the long run. Schilling ahead of Clemens would necessarily punish the villian while unnecessarily reward the insufferable.
2014: Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas with Maddux being the first ballot guy.
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Again, just going on feel rather than numbers, I'd have Dawson, Raines, Baines, R Alomar, Bert Bly, Dale Murphy ... I was a huge fan of Larkin but I don't think he'll get in. A kiss of death for HOF is to be under-rated nationally when active. Likewise Lee Smith. Difference between tomes in the canon and cult classics.

o-<

 

take a look at how Robbie Alomar's numbers jumped during juicing years on a team known to be steroid users.

 

Who were the juicers on the Jays during their WS days? Maybe my vision is clouded as a Jays' fanboi looser but I don't recall any guys who stood out as users.

To me Alomar has got to be a lock. I saw plenty of him live during his Jays' days and he was unreal to watch. If he wasn't the best player in the game at that time there were damn few guys ahead of him.

 

Check out his Baltimore / Cleveland numbers in '97/ '98/ 99/ 00

 

Ah, OK, I get ya.

 

There is absolutely no evidence at all against Alomar. None. No voter should hold suspicions like that against him.

Hell, the guys we know used are going to start getting in soon enough, or do you really think Bonds, Sosa and Clemens aren't going to get in?

Better question, Boom. What about Alex Rodriguez? We know he used. Anybody with any sense knows it wasn't just in Texas. Are you going to hold him out, too?

 

By the time ARod comes due the whole story will have blown over.

Just sayin -- the steroid story goes well beyond the sluggers.

 

I also agree with buckdub on Martinez. Fantastic hitter, but just not enough numbers to get in as a DH.

Does Dawson really have that much better of a case than Raines? Does the one MVP award put him over the top there? I thought it was interesting how close they ended up in career OPS. Raines finished at .810, partially because he hung on way too long. Dawson's career OPS was .806.

 

Absolutely it does, but you've got nothing worth even considering when it comes to proof against Alomar. Hell, the sainted Jeter played with quite a few juicers in his career, too. No career spike? So what? Maybe he did it all along.

To be clear, I'm not accusing Jeter. I'm saying there is every bit as much evidence against him as there is against Alomar -- they both played with juicers.

And regarding Rodriguez, you're saying what he did is okay because you think the story will blow over by then?

 

Take away Sosa's 5 prime juicing years (1998-2002, 292 HRs) and he's borderline at best...just like McGwire.

 

There are more to hitting stats than HRs and total hits, too stats that make him look worse than he is. He built most of his value around doubles and walks.

22nd all-time in OBP
69th all-time in SLG

That's a HOFer.