Time for another Hall of Fame discussion. ESPN has a list of the eligible candidates for this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class. You can vote with SportsNation by clicking here. The debate about who is and who isn’t a Hall of Famer is always a knotty one. So much subjectivity. But there are a couple of guys who have been long deserving in my opinion and the fact that they haven’t been enshrined yet is enough to make you wonder if the sports writers should be allowed to vote on this thing.
For the sake of discussion, here’s my ballot. As you can see, I’m not one of these guys who thinks the Hall is only reserved for immortals like Ruth, Mays, & Cobb. (If that’s you, then could you please explain to me how Rick Ferrell is a Hall of Famer? Seriously.)
- Bert Blyleven – 5th all-time in strikeouts. His 287 wins is good enough for 26th all-time. Sure he was league average his last few years, but for the better part of 22 seasons, dude was a horse. 293 innings pitched in ’85 alone!
- Andre Dawson – I still don’t understand the logic behind his 1987 NL MVP win, but the overall body of work is Hall-worthy. 35th all time in homers. 29th in RBI. 45th in hits. A cannon for an arm and a power-speed threat.
- Goose Gossage – Long before today’s era of the specialized bullpen, this guy was the quintessential fireman of the late 70’s & early 80’s when a team’s stopper would often pitch 2 or 3 innings per game. Bruce Sutter’s induction last year should pave the way for the Goose in ’07.
- Mark McGwire – I know, I know. The dude was all ‘roided up when he hit 70 back in ’98. But so was everybody else, including the pitchers. I just don’t see any way to discount what McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Clemens, and Palmeiro accomplished. Throwing out their records and pretending they don’t exist is just too naive. I still don’t think Big Mac gets in this year, but eventually, I think he makes it.
- Dale Murphy – He flamed out pretty quickly there at the end (2 homers shy of 400), but from 1978 to 1991, nobody hit more homers than Dale Murphy. Over that same period of time, he drove in more runs than anybody but Eddie Murray, Dave Winfield and Andre Dawson. A 4 time Gold Glove winning catcher-turned-outfielder. I guess the batting average hurts him. I still say he’s a HoFer.
- Robb Nen – His career was pretty short (10 seasons) but he was still dominant enough to rank 15th all-time in saves. With a 2.98 career ERA and an average of more than a strikeout per inning, we’re looking at one of the premier closers in the game. These guys always seem to be forgotten, but I think Cooperstown is finally ready to acknowledge the contributions of the late-inning guys.
- Tim Raines – It’ll be interesting to see how much of the vote Raines gets in this his first year on the ballot. He was dominant in the 80’s, stealing 70 bases a year from ’81 to ’86. He slowed considerably by the mid-90’s and he spent his last few seasons as a bench veteran and a pinch-hitter. But a lifetime average of .294 with 808 steals (5th all-time) and 2605 hits make him Hall-worthy in my book.
- Jim Rice – Maybe this will be the year the sports writers will get over the grudge they hold against Rice. In his era, he ranks first in RBI, first in total bases, second in homers, second in batting average, sixth in runs. Sure, the guy was prickly, but nobody held that against Ty Cobb. Bottom line: the guy could rake.
- Lee Smith – Same argument I used for Gossage and Nen. 478 career saves has to be worth something. Sure, he was the prime example of the 1-inning closer late in his career, but he pitched 80 innings a year 7 straight seasons in the early to mid-80’s. 8th all-time in appearances, 2nd in career saves.
Realistically, I think this will finally be the year for both Gossage and Rice. I don’t think McGwire has a chance this year, but maybe in another year or two. As for the others, we can only hope that someday they’ll get their due as well.
What about you? Who would be on your ballot?
already & not yet 
Even though he’s left my beloved Yankees, I still think Don Mattingly should be in the hall. I realistically understand his numbers weren’t what others in the hall are, but he was plagued by the strike season of 94, and back spasms. I’d have back spasms too if Steinbrenner was my boss, though.I agree with your other picks, however.
I can’t really get behind Nenn, but the rest I can see the reasoning. If Phil Rizzouto is a Hall of Famer, then all the guys you listed should be in as well. Especially my favorite player of all time, Murph.
Bill James, in his Historical Baseball Abstract, ranks Mattingly as the 12th best first baseman of all time, just ahead of Tony Perez, Will Clark, Dick Allen, Keith Hernandez and Orlando Cepeda. Cepeda and Perez are in the Hall. So he certainly has a case. It’d be interesting to see what his numbers would’ve been if the back pain hadn’t sapped his power. As it stands now, he only had about 5 sensational seasons which I don’t think will get him to Cooperstown. If he ever gets a managing gig, then maybe some success in that arena would enhance his candidacy.
I don’t think Nen ever led the league in saves, so I doubt he’ll have a legitimate shot at making it. But then again, Lee Smith only led the league in saves twice and he was the all-time leader until this year. The 1 inning save is pretty cheap, I’ll admit, and Nen is the poster boy for that era of stoppers, but he did it pretty well for a decade. As for Murph, he probably won’t make it either, but I think he’s definitely worthy.
I really agree that Rice should definitely be in the hall of fame. Rice was one of the best big hitters and always came through in the clutch. It’s ridiculous that he hasn’t gotten in before now.
Have you ever looked at the numbers between Puckett and Mattingly though? I just read some stats, and they are remarkably similar. Mattingly is actually ahead in many categories. Why Puckett and no Mattingly? Is it because of the hardware that Puckett recieved?
Dylan, Rice isn’t in because he was a surly jerk to a lot of people. But we’re not talking about the Hall of Nice. You’re right. He’s a Hall of Famer. Maybe he’ll get in this year. Lane, your Puckett / Mattingly comparison is a good one. A quick glance at the stats reveals a slight edge for Puckett in runs, hits and batting average and a much greater advantage in stolen bases. Mattingly hit a few more homers and drove in a few more runs. They were both considered excellent fielders, if I remember correctly. I guess the only thing Puckett had going for him that Mattingly didn’t was his postseason heroics. He had 5 homers and 15 RBI for the ’87 and ’91 Champs. Mattingly was in the unfortunate position of playing through a rare period of Yankee mediocrity. But the more I think about it, I think you can make a fairly compelling argument for Mattingly. Maybe ’94 really did cost him a Cooperstown plaque.
Is my e-mail address supposed to show up in the black bar in the top right corner of your blogpage when I type in your link?? Strange, but stranger things have happened.
Tara,Yeah, that’s just showing that you’re logged in to blogger. You should see the same thing at the top of the page when you navigate to any blogger page, like Sunny’s or your own. When I go to your page, I see my own email address in the header, just like you see yours when you come to my page.
I really think the Yankees were due to win in 94. Regardless, if they had gone on, it would have been Mattingly’s last probably, with his nagging injuries. I guess we’ll never know. Puckett obviously belongs in the hall, I just wish the voters could realize that Donnie is really the only reason anyone watched the Yanks those few years.
If the 94 season had finished like it was supposed to, there’s a very good chance you could’ve seen a Yankees / Expos World Series that year. Think how different the baseball landscape would’ve looked if that’d happened. Maybe Montreal wouldn’t have had to relocate to DC. But if that’d happened, Buck Showalter might not’ve been fired by Steinbrenner the following year and Joe Torre would’ve never managed the Yankees. Without his calming influence, maybe the Yankees don’t win in 96, 98, 99 and 2000. Who knows?