Baseball Hall of Fame

It's that time of year again.  That's right, the voting for the baseball Hall of Fame is going on now and the results will be released in early January.  I'm a big baseball fan and consider the Hall of Fame to be one of the most interesting aspects of the game.  First, a little background:

The Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown, New York, which is where the sport is said to have been invented in 1839 by future Civil War hero Abner Doubleday.  (In actuality, Doubleday was nowhere near Cooperstown at the time, and baseball basically evolved from other ball-and-bat games.  But the powers-that-be wanted an "All-American" origin story, and they weren't about to let facts get in the way.)  Anyway, the Hall of Fame was established and dedicated in that quiet town in 1939.  I had the opportunity to visit there one time about 15 years ago and had an amazing time.  In addition to plaques for all the honorees, there are seemingly endless displays of rare and interesting artifacts from the game's history.  Anyone who is a baseball fan owes it to themselves to make the trip at least once.

Every year, elections are held to choose new members of the Hall of Fame.  Voting is done by professional sportswriters who have covered baseball for at least ten years.  Players must be retired for at least five years to be eligible.  Voters can select up to ten players out of the list of about forty candidates.  Those who get a "Yes" vote on 75 percent of the ballots are then inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in July.  Those who get listed on between 5 and 75 percent of the ballot will stay on the ballot next year (up to a maximum of fifteen years of eligibility).  Those who fall below five percent are permanently dropped from the ballot, though there is a Veterans Committee to consider players who did not get elected the conventional way.

This year's ballot is considered to be perhaps the most controversial ever.  Several of the greatest players on the ballot have been linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).  The two top candidates, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, have on-field accomplishments and statistics that place them among the all-time legends of the sport.  Absent these accusations, both would easily be inducted.  There are also several other first-time candidates who deserve recognition.  Overall, this year should be a grand celebration of some truly great baseball talent.

However, the issue of steroids has reared its ugly head.  Most of the current candidates played during the so-called "steroid era" of the 1990s.  At that time, home run records fell and accusations started to be whispered concerning almost anyone who developed a power swing.  The problem was, there was little or no drug testing in the sport at that time.  A few players have come forward in subsequent years to either admit their own use or point the finger at former teammates.

In actuality, it is pretty much impossible to know who did what and when in regards to cheating.  This is not stopping certain voters from declaring themselves to be judge and jury on the issue, refusing to vote for certain candidates on the basis that they "just know" who is guilty.  I think that this is grossly unfair to the players and to the institution of the Hall of Fame.  Please note: I am not condoning cheating, or trying to sweep the issue under the rug with an "everybody does it" attitude, but instead dealing with the reality of limited knowledge and trying not to turn the entire process into a steroid witch hunt.  I feel that it is important for the Hall of Fame to recognize the best players in baseball history.  To exclude those who dominated the sport for extended periods of time based on rumor and suspicion would be doing the sport a grave injustice.

If I had a vote, I would try as much as possible to base my decisions on actual on-field issues.  Since voters can vote for a maximum of ten players, these would be my choices, in order:

1. Barry Bonds (all-time home run king)
2. Roger Clemens (perhaps the greatest pitcher of the past 50 years)
3. Craig Biggio (3,000 hits and played key defensive positions)
4. Mike Piazza (the greatest hitting catchers of all time)
5. Tim Raines (second greatest base stealer ever)
6. Alan Trammell (helped revolutionize the shortstop position, paving way for Ripken, Jeter, etc)
7. Sammy Sosa (great home run hitter whose only connection to steroids seems to be his daring to not speak perfect English in front of a Congressional committee)
8. Jeff Bagwell (great hitter whose career was shortened by injuries)
9. Curt Schilling (helped pitch two teams to world championships)
10. Edgar Martinez (feared hitter who played mostly as a designated hitter)

In addition, there are a few more players on the ballot who I think deserve induction, but I don't have room for them on the ballot:
Rafael Palmeiro (500 home runs and 3,000 hits, but did test positive for PEDs)
Mark McGwire (lots of home runs, but other parts of the game were weak)
Fred McGriff (good power and defense)

I wish there was room on the ballot to vote for two long-time Yankees: Don Mattingly and Bernie Williams.  Unfortunately, each is likely to appear on fewer than five percent of the ballots, and therefore be removed from future consideration.

Finally, here is my prediction for what the actual results will be:

Craig Biggio and Jack Morris will each get about 80 percent of the vote and be inducted.  Bonds, Clemens, and Piazza will each be between 40 and 50 percent and have to wait until next year.  Other deserving candidates won't come close.