Who is getting in the Hall of Fame?
To me the Baseball Hall of Fame is the most special. Maybe because of all of the pro sports, I love baseball the most. But I also think it is because the stat criteria has changed the least over the years of the major sports. Every position has stats that you argue one player over another. In football grading offensive linemen and some defensive guys is a little difficult.
Today at noon, the 2015 Hall of Fame class will be announced. When the
Bob and Chris Show comes on the air at 1, we will talk about who got and who didn’t. We’d like your opinion of that as well. At 1:15, we will have a voter – Ron Chimelis of the Springfield Republican – to talk with us about the voting and the trends he sees.
I think three first timers will get in. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz. Johnson should have the biggest vote total and might give Tom Seaver a run for the highest percentage. Of the returnees to the ballot, Craig Biggio was the closest last time getting 74.8 of the 75 percent of the votes necessary. With a limit of 10 it is not a lock that he will get the extra he needs.
To me the most interesting names on the ballot are Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Both got around 35% of the votes last time and neither will sniff the 75% of the votes needed because of their reported use of PEDs.
To me the Baseball Hall of Fame is about the history of the game and the best players should be in. I believe Pete Rose should be in, but still banned from baseball and his plaque should say so. I think Bonds and Clemens should be in but the plaque should read that they were believed to have used PEDs. When you go to Cooperstown the plaques are like an obituary. They tell the good, the bad and the ugly.
People ask me what I vote for. Like the College Football Playoff committee I use the eyeball test and ask myself the question: “Were they a dominant player in their era?” If the answer is yes, I vote for them. For me the list to prune people out of the Hall would be longer than the people who should be in that aren’t.
Any way it should make for an interesting discussion.
