MLB Hall of Fame

In: Ken Griffey Jr, Mike Piazza
Yup.  Both guys are absolutely among the best of their generation and both are excellent examples of the sad soapy melodrama of the post-steroid years: Piazza almost didn't make it this far due to rumors of drug use while Griffey is perhaps the only unimpeachably obviously non-drug user of his time. And how can we say that about Griffey? Because he was always hurt! The 'steroids' that players used weren't truly about making them bigger and stronger (and certainly never made ANYONE better at the game of baseball), they were for keeping the players on the field during the day-in day-out grind of the long season. Griffey's last ten years or so were most notable because he hardly ever played. So you tell me: why is not using drugs so awesome? All it leads to is absence. Long live the drugs!

Over 50%: Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Trevor Hoffman, Curt Schilling
Hoffman did very well in his first year, pretty much implying he'll make it in the next year or two. Bagwell was a very good player, Hall of Famer? I dunno, I guess. I wouldn't be offended either way if he makes it or not. That's also what I think of Raines. Raines was a reliable top quality player for a long time, played on a lot of good teams. Saying he was the poor man's Ricky Henderson is really a much better compliment than it sounds like when you consider (as I believe) that Ricky was one of the single greatest players of all time. Seems like he's got a pretty good shot to get in next year. Schilling was one of the best pitchers I ever saw, totally deserves to be in the Hall but may not make it simply because he seems like the kinda guy that would vote for Donald Trump. That shouldn't matter but, hey, man, voters vote for the guys they like. And I suspect Schilling is not one of the guys that liked. Baseball writers know best, right?

Over 20%: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Fred McGriff
Bonds and Clemens were two of the best players of all time, not putting them in the Hall makes the Hall look like a dumbass waste of space. 'Nuff said. I always loved Edgar Martinez's game, a very classy player, the baseball version of Stefan Edberg. Martinez's case depends on how you view the DH as a position: if you think the DH is just as much as part of the game as any other position, then I'd say he was the best pure hitter of his time and a helluva good baller; if you think the DH is a travesty and not impactful enough, then Martinez probably doesn't have enough to get in. Personally, I'd put him in. Mussina absolutely deserves to be in the Hall. He played his entire career in the AL East (probably the best/toughest division every single year he played), won in the post-season, was a steady rolling reliable #1 starter on a lot of good teams and was one of the best I ever saw. Whereas Schilling has too much controversy to get in, Mussina probably doesn't have enough, some guys are too quiet for their own good. I always liked McGriff, one of my favorites to watch back in the day (saw him hit a homer at Fenway once) but, man, that guy could strike out like nobody's business. Good player, not a great player.

Survived til next year: Jeff Kent, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, Sammy Sosa
Kent was mostly overrated throughout his career, shouldn't have even made it this far in the voting in my opinion. Walker was a helluva hitter (saw him homer once too) but didn't have the longevity or the post-season heroics that would make him a Hall of Famer. I think Sheffield is worthy of the Hall, he put up some big numbers for a long time on a lot of good teams. But he took drugs--yeah, so did Jimi Hendrix and he's a Hall of Famer. A little puzzled that Hoffman got such a huge vote and Wagner, a pretty similar player really, gets just enough to keep going. All in all I guess Hoffman was better but not by that much. Sosa always annoyed the shit out of me as a player but hard to deny that he put up all-time numbers and, along with the now vanquished Mark McGwire, led one of the most memorable years in baseball history fueled by drugs....though no one seemed to care at the time. If you're a baseball fan, a baseball watcher, how can you not put Sosa in the Hall of Fame?

Eliminated: Alan Trammell, Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garciaparra, Mike Sweeney, David Eckstein, Jason Kendall, Garret Anderson
Trammell was a fine player but if he hasn't made it by now, I guess he's not gonna make it. McGwire, along with Sosa, played a big part in one of the greatest years in MLB history, a season that MLB desperately needed to reconnect with fans...MLB came back but McGwire and Sosa got sold out like bus stop floozies. Personally I think its a god damn shame they'll never get the credit they deserve but baseball writers apparently have more 'ethics' than the rest of us (though I've never heard of any writers having to pee in a cup). I never liked Jim Edmonds, always thought he was an overrated hot dog of a player. Nomar was a lovable player, had some great years but didn't really build the big numbers the way Jeter and A-Rod did. Sweeney, Kendall and Anderson were nice players in their day but not Hall of Famers. Eckstein had some nice post-season moments, those are great memories that'll keep warm for the rest of his life, but not a Hall of Famer.

Out after the 1st try: Brad Ausmus, Luis Castillo, Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Hampton, Mike Lowell, Randy Winn
Mike Hampton had a period where he was one of the finest SPs in the National League, then signed with the Rockies and pretty much torpedoed his career. Too bad. The other guys were all nice players but none were gonna make it much further than the first ballot.

Next year's newbies: Manny Ramirez, Pudge Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Vlad Guerrero, Danys Baez, Pat Burrell, Jason Varitek, Melvin Mora, Magglio Ordonez, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, JD Drew, Carlos Guillen, Julio Lugo, Derrek Lee, Arthur Rhodes, Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand, Freddy Sanchez, Javier Vazquez, Tim Wakefield
You know by now that I am convinced that steroids do not make you good at baseball (re: enhance your performance) and I couldn't care less what drugs people want to put in their bodies. So the fact that Manny Ramirez was one of the best pure hitters I ever saw is in no way disqualified by his two PED suspensions. Will he get in? I just don't see how that is even possible. Again: not putting him in only makes the Hall look petty and deluded....but he won't get in--probably won't even pass the first vote. I'd say Rodriguez is absolutely in, Guerrero and Posada might get in and I can see Wakefield and Ordonez getting some love over time. But I'm not feeling any of the other guys (though I gotta say Jason Varitek was always one of my faves).