Rice has always been borderline to me. He is definitely in the second (or third) tier of the Hall strata.
Andre Dawson should make it now, since he was very similar to Rice (better fielder and baserunner but not quite as good of hitter).
Blyleven continues to get shafted.
Same with Morris and Trammell.
And Freehan. ;)
Rice and Henderson make the Hall
Discussion in 'Sports Forum' started by Andy T., Jan 12, 2009.
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Henderson likely belongs, Rice can go either way, and no question Blyleven gets shafted again (Andy used to disagree with me about this). I still marvel that Murph isn't in.
Don't be surprised if you see this come up again soon on here. -
Ed -
:laugh: That's hilarious!!!!! And very true!
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One thing about Blyleven - I do support him being in the Hall, but he did benefit from pitching in his prime during the 1970's, which was more of a pitcher's era. And he never really sniffed a Cy Young Award. He was a compiler. He is very similar to Don Sutton, except Sutton played for better teams, and thus, had a better record. I think Blyleven is hurt by all the teams he played for, too. I think the thought some voters have (fair or unfair) is if he was so great, why did no one want to keep him very long? So while I think Blyleven should be in, I don't think he is a slam dunk, nor do I think it has been an utter travesty of justice that he hasn't got in yet.
But here's my prediction for next year - I predict both he and Andre Dawson get elected. It does not appear that there are any new guys on the ballot that are automatic first-timers, so 2010 will be the year for voters to make a correction and elect those two. I also think Morris will see an uptick in his vote % - maybe up to 50%. -
Both Andre Dawson, and Bert Blyleven both deserve to be there, along with some dozen others, starting with Mark McGwire, and the late 'Buck' O'Neill, as a 'contributor' if not necessarily as a player.
FTR, Big Mac's ratio of HRs per plate appearance exceed every other player in history, including Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron, and I believe Bobby Bonds, although I'm not sure about him, and his RBI ratio is among the best, as well. This is no one or two year "flash-in-the-pan" we are talking about, but a consistent slugger from Day One.
Unfounded and unproven suspicion about the use of a substance that was not even banned, unlike proven rule-breaking, and banishment from baseball, plus using the refusal to "rat out" someone else, to keep them out of the HoF, taints the Hall and should forever taint the Hall, however.
Give me a player in the Hall, whose on-field "credentials" might even be debatable, over these self-righteous off-field jerks with the ballots, or in theological terms, "legalists", every time. :(
Ed -
I think Ed makes a great question: should a player's on field performance and compiled stats trump all else?
I have another question that will be a seperate thread.