MLB Hall of Fame

There are four new members-elect of the Baseball Hall of Fame: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio.  Johnson absolutely was one of the best pitchers I ever watched, along with Nolan Ryan one of the only pitchers batters truly feared.  Pedro was amazing, man, he was effortlessly brilliant at his peak, Koufax-like numbers, and, like Brazilian soccer, fun to watch whether he won or lost.  Smoltz had a varied career, adapted himself to his opportunities as well as any player I can remember.  Biggio was never what I thought of as a Hall of Famer when I saw him play but he was consistently above average for years and years and played on a lot of good teams, in baseball that matters a lot.  No complaints on any of those guys but judging from the rest of the voting, I would make a much more lenient steward of the Hall.

The guys that didn't make it this year: Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, Curt Shilling, Tim Raines, Roger Clemens, Edgar Martinez, Alan Trammell, Barry Bonds, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Don Mattingly, Nomar Garciaparra

Of the guys that didn't make it this year I think Mike Piazza will make it next year, should've been in by now frankly but I think his support increases plenty enough for him to make it.

I'm not sure if the election of longtime teammate Biggio makes it easier or harder for Jeff Bagwell. I'd think it'd be easier but maybe not.  Bagwell struck me as the more dangerous of the two all that time they were together.

I'd vote for Tim Raines, like Biggio a good player for a long time, contributed to a lot of good teams over the years.

It appears that Curt Shilling will not make the Hall of Fame which is a joke.  Shilling was easily one of the best pitchers I ever saw--that particular eye test is important in Hall of Fame I think, as much or more than the numbers.  Did they seem like Hall of Famers when they played?  For Shilling that answer is hell yeah, of course.  Watching Shilling pitch with runners on base was one of my all time favorite things in all my years of baseball fanboyishness.  Annoying jerk, sure.  Political goofball, yup.  Idiot businessman, I guess so.  But his baseball playing was superior to a lot of guys in the Hall and he was one of the best I ever saw.  The fact that he wasn't chummy with the press corps shouldn't keep him from the remembrance he deserves.

You know who else was one of the best I ever saw?  Roger Clemens.  Barry Bonds too.  I don't care about steroids.  Steroids don't make you good at anything, they only make you bigger (sorta, actually you still gotta do that on your own).  Bigger is not necessarily better and there have been plenty of dudes busted for steroids that sucked at baseball.  But they don't get called in front of Congress.

Mike Mussina is another criminally underrated pitcher.  Not sure what the complaint against him is but he was a badass for a long time in the AL East, contributed to good teams, went deep in the playoffs, many time All Star, the guy was a badass.  He wasn't Pedro or Clemens or even Shilling but, let's say he was the Craig Biggio of pitching.  Still good enough to get into the Hall, it seems to me.

I'd vote for Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, again my disdain for the media's self-appointed morality-in-baseball czar kinda makes me root for both of them to get in.  Truth be told, I think McGwire is a borderline candidate, he had some monster years but for long stretches he was just Dave Kingman 2.0, but the argument against him inspires me to think him worthy.  And Sosa mostly annoyed me as a player but his numbers are pretty badass.  What?  Are we suddenly not into numbers any more?  I thought this was the golden age of statistical analysis...

I'm on the fence about Edgar Martinez (the sweetest right-handed swing of his generation), Alan Trammell (like Biggio, a good player for a long time), Larry Walker (great hitter but not sure he had the rich career of a Hall of Famer), and Gary Sheffield (had some monster years, good longevity, played on good teams, not a bad candidate).

Gotta give some love for Nomar Garciaparra who got enough votes to be invited back next year.  He had a coupla all-time great years but didn't really do it for the long haul like you like to see in a baseballer.  But still, the last Red Sox icon to get shooed away right before they win championships? Ouch!  That's gotta be worth some pity votes.

I wouldn't vote for Lee Smith.  He was the first real save guy, had some lights out years.  But saves have had too many badasses since Smith to put him in the top tier.

I wouldn't vote for Jeff Kent, personally I always found him to be waaaay more of an irritating jerk than Barry Bonds...that's gotta mean something.

Although he was one of my favorite players back in the day, I couldn't vote for Fred McGriff.  The Crime Dog had his days but I don't think he rose to that level.

Don Mattingly appeared on the ballot for the last time.  Kinda weird to think he's not in the Hall of Fame.  A great Yankee that everybody loved?  How he is not in the Hall of Fame?  I can see him getting put in by a veterans committee in the future.

Of the guys that didn't even survive the first cut, I got no complaints.  Even though I always thought Carlos Delgado was a badass, I can't say I look back on him as a Hall of Famer.  Nor the likes of Troy Percival, Aaron Boone, Tom Gordon, Darin Erstad, Brian Giles, Jason Schmidt, Cliff Floyd, Jermaine Dye, Rich Aurilia, Tony Clark or Eddie Guardado.

I would've put a lot more dudes into the Hall of Fame than the current gatekeepers.  But then again I was always soft on drugs.