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Oh, Those Baseball Writers

By on 1.8.13 @ 6:07AM

Tomorrow we find out who — if anyone — from the steroids era gets into Cooperstown.

On January 9, we will find who (if anyone) the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) have selected to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York this summer.

This year I am taking a greater interest in the vote than usual. I do so for two reasons.

The first reason is because of my visit to Cooperstown last September. Although I have been aware of the Baseball Hall of Fame since childhood, I now have a physical connection to Cooperstown I did not previously possess. Now that I have seen the plaques of the 300 men comprising of MLB and Negro League players, managers, executive and umpires it forces me to give more thought as to who should and should not join them in Inductee Row. Naturally, this brings me to my second reason. The 2013 ballot is arguably the most controversial in Cooperstown’s 75-year plus history. The players appearing on the ballot for the first time include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, Kenny Lofton, David Wells, Steve Finley and Julio Franco. Despite the credentials of these players, it could mark the first time since 1996 the BBWAA does not elect anyone to the Hall of Fame.

Bonds, Clemens and Sosa have long been under the cloud of suspicion of the so-called Steroids Era. Indeed, Bonds and Clemens were put on trial concerning their lack of candor for their alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. While it could be argued that Bonds and Clemens compiled statistics sufficient to warrant inclusion in Cooperstown before steroids were believed to become factors in their career, I suspect Bonds and Clemens will not be inducted this year or in the next fifteen years. If Mark McGwire is any indication, Bonds, Clemens and for that matter Sosa, they will be lucky if they get 25% of the vote. Or they could end up like Rafael Palmeiro and drop off the ballot altogether. Oh, those baseball writers.

It’s hard for me to take the BBWAA seriously when they enthusiastically bestowed Bonds with four consecutive National League MVP Awards between 2001 and 2004 when his head and shoe size expanded faster than the federal government. It’s hard for me to take the BBWAA seriously by punishing players for allegedly doing things that were not prohibited by Major League Baseball at the time.

But let’s suppose that Bonds, Clemens and Sosa used performance enhancing drugs. Longtime Cincinnati Reds beat writer Hal McCoy argues that Bonds, Clemens and Sosa “cheated to gain an unfair advantage.” A decade ago, Jose Canseco claimed that 85% of MLB players took performance enhancing drugs. Let’s say half that number is true. If even half of all big league players were taking steroids then Bonds, Clemens and Sosa did not make for much of a competitive advantage. So it’s hard for me to take the BBWAA seriously if its writers argue that steroids on the one hand gave Bonds, Clemens and Sosa an unfair advantage but, on the other hand, argue they were pervasive. It’s a classic case of having their cake and eating it too.

The problem with steroids in baseball is that perception equals reality. Houston Astros’ slugger Jeff Bagwell never tested positive for steroids nor was he named in the Mitchell Report but that hasn’t prevented various members of the BBWAA to accuse Bagwell of using performance enhancing drugs despite not having any evidence to back up such claims.

I have a feeling that Mike Piazza will become this year’s Jeff Bagwell. Even though Piazza never failed a drug test nor was named in the Mitchell Report, his name has been linked to steroids by rumor and innuendo. Oh, those baseball writers.

Let me go back to Bagwell for a moment. The player with the best chance of being enshrined into Cooperstown this summer is Bagwell’s friend and teammate Craig Biggio. The catcher turned second baseman collected 3,060 hits in a 20-year career with the Astros. Biggio belongs in Cooperstown but I’m sure he and Astros fans would prefer if he were to be inducted with Bagwell. Biggio and Bagwell go together like peanut butter and jelly. Unless, the BBWAA has evidence Bagwell acted improperly there is no reason to deny baseball fans peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh, those baseball writers.

As a Red Sox fan, I wonder about Curt Schilling’s chances. No steroids issue here. But a bloody sock turned into a bloody mess when his video game business went belly up last year. Unlike his ankle, Schilling’s business could not be sutured back together. Will his financial troubles keep him from getting into the Hall? Oh, those baseball writers.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few of the players who have been waiting for years to get the call from Cooperstown. Holdovers from previous ballots include Jack Morris, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell and Dale Murphy. A two-time NL MVP, it is Murphy’s 15th year on the ballot. Unless the longtime Atlanta Braves slugger and Gold Glove outfielder receives 75% of the vote from the BBWAA, Murphy falls off the ballot. In 2012, Murphy received 14.5% of the vote and has never topped 25%. And to think that Murphy never took steroids. Barring a miracle, there’s a good chance that the only way Murphy will ever be inducted would be through the Veterans Committee. Oh, those baseball writers.

Like Brooklyn Dodgers fans, we might have to wait ’til next year when 300-game winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine join the ballot. Chicks might dig the long ball but they’ll be making speeches in Cooperstown and McGwire won’t. Nor for that matter will Bonds and Clemens.

Oh, those baseball writers.

Photo: Keith Allison (Creative Commons 2.0).

About the Author

Aaron Goldstein writes from Boston, Massachusetts.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (71) |

Jack in Wi| 1.8.13 @ 6:45AM

I have Henry Aaron's bat under my bed, along with a pump action shotgun, a bowie knife, and a sword. I got Henry's bat when I was a groundskeeper for the Milwaukee Braves back in 1960. The groundcrew used to have a game on the field, at the stadium, after the season was over. After the game the the boss of the crew opened up the bat cabinet and gave every crew member a bat. By chance I ended up with Hank's. So I don't think Barry's Bonds or Sosa should be in the Hall. Pete Rose did his records without any help from pills. They kept him out for no reason. They can keep these guys out too.

Jack in Wi| 1.8.13 @ 7:03AM

Aaron: I just read a great baseball book called ' Bushvile Wins ' by John Klima. It is about the the Milwaukee Braves and how they beat the Yankees in 1957 in a great series. Lew Burdette won 3 games in that series and pitched 29 straight scoreless innings. He beat Babe Ruth's record when he was a Red Sox pitcher. It also tells the story of the Braves move from Boston an how this started the whole move to make basball a truely national sport from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The move to Milwaukee was such a huge success that soon the Browns moved to Baltimore, the Athletics to Kansas City, the Senators to Minnesota, and of course the Dodgers and Giants to the West Coast. The hero of the 1957 series Lew Burdette belongs in the Hall of Fame. I got to see a lot of great Hall of Fame ballplayers up close and personal from Spahn, Mathews and Aaron on the Braves to guys like Ernie Banks, Willie Mays etc. on the opposition teams. I also got to see a lot of great Packers and others, now in the football hall, when they played some of their games, in Milwaukee.

Stormy| 1.8.13 @ 9:58AM

Nippy Jones - Shoe Polish Hero

Lew Burdette - Greatest spitball pitcher of them all. I was told by a reliable source that he did...Del Crandall.

TLP| 1.8.13 @ 4:15PM

This is Stupid.

Anyone using Steroids should be Banned from the Hall of Fame.

They broke the rules. THEY CHEATED.

Allowing Bonds, McGuire, Sosa, Palmero, and the rest, to reap the rewards of their Cheating.

I look at it as, a jockey, in the Kentucky Derby, driving his horse around the track in an SUV.

A NASCAR Driver, having a Rocket Car, when everybody else had a Regular Race Car.

If you CHEATED?

You don't get in.

Roger Maris had an asterisk next to his Home Run Record FOREVER, because the Schedule was increased by 10 Games.

Now, these PUNK Sports Writers wanna enshrine these CHEATERS?

Bullsh*t!

Sean| 1.8.13 @ 7:22AM

The problem with the HoF is that entry to it has been watered down. Baseball writers and most sports writers in general are a bunch of leftwing nut jobs.

Bob K| 1.8.13 @ 10:52AM

Can't argue with that! They are no different than most other journalists.

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 11:47AM

Yes!

Just watched all nine innings of Ken Burns' Baseball on the MLB Network last month.

I forgot how propagandized that otherwise great documentary was.

Let's put it this way, Doris Kearns Goodwin received quite a bit of face time so...

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 7:23AM

OK Jack, I won't interrupt your Onanistic auto-responses(look it up) but if I stole Hammerin Hank's Hammer I think I'd keep it to myself...
And you know if it wasn't for playing 1/3 of the Season in the Artic he'd have 200 more homers, and Barry Bond's would still be chasin him, with a head about the size of "Mr. Met"...
But Aaron, you just sort of glossed over "the most recent(2006) MLB player to have faced a pitcher who also pitched against Ted Williams"
Ah, the memories from that storybook 2007 Atlanta Braves season, when Dick Chaney was still shooting hunting companions in the heart and Barak Obama was taking John Edwards sloppy seconds...
And I loved Julio Franco because he was the last Atlanta Brave who was older than me.....
But look at the stats, .298(which for all intents and purposes is .300) 2586 hits, and thats with playing 5+ seasons in Jap-pan, but numbers don't tell the real story.
1: Hit over .400 in 2 seasons*
2: Oldest player to hit a Grandslam(2005) Homerun(2007)
3: second oldest(!)(who's the first?) player to steal a base.
4: only player except Pete Rose and Ty Cobb to have over 4200 hits*

and as amazing as facing Roger Clemons at age 49 is, being from the Dominican Repubic, Julio is probably 5-6 years older than his "Baseball Age"
So go ahead, vote for your Macrocephalic Cheaters, I'll be giving Julio some chin music down by the School yard....
Frank "Lefty" Drackman

Jack in Wi| 1.8.13 @ 7:40AM

You seem to be the biggest follower of Onan on this site Dreck. Remember God struck Onan dead. Your comments are always onaniastic, and mostly nonsensical. I am not for putting any of the steroid boys in the Hall of Fame.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 8:13AM

Jack, did you ever PLAY baseball??
I'm razzing ya, giving ya "The Business", the Needle... and did you know "To Jerk Off" in German is "Onanieren"? Probably why they lost the war.
Just think, Ardennes, December 1944, Kraut soldier says, "Ich muss mich onanieren" to his Kraut buddies, gives away their whole position...
and just saying, why do people think claiming to have attended certain sporting events is Noteworthy/Interesting?
Does anyone give a crap that I watched the first half of Superbowl VIII?(then went outside to smoke cigarettes with my friends, hey smoking was preferable to Vikings/Steelers)
But Jack, I sense you're a good soul (in the sense that Jerry Sandusky is a "good soul") I bet after a few Goldstar Darks, you'd loosen up, and tear down Tel Aviv's gay clubs...

Frank

Occam's Tool| 1.8.13 @ 1:48PM

And you are the biggest fellator of Jihadists on this site, Jack. I prefer Frank to you.

Sosa and Bonds do not deserve the Hall. But Lee Smith does. One of the greatest relievers of all time.

Jack in Wi| 1.8.13 @ 5:54PM

You boys seem love to use a lot of homoerotic allusions in your writing. It must be because you have alot of experince in that kind of stuff. Well big, homely, fatties have a lot of trouble getting women. But you boys can always pay for it like Eliot Spitzer.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 8:20AM

umm to clarify, before Jack gets all hot and bothered because Iran hasn't nuked Jew-rusalem yet..
I "loved" Julio Franco in the way that Gale Sayers "loved" Brian Pickolo, in a manly Non-Homo way(and if it had been Gale Sayers who caught the Cancer would there have been a Tear-Jerker movie? Hell no)

Frank

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 11:55AM

Wow, I haven't thought about Julio Franco since he played for the Rangers in the '80's. He was borderline over the hill BACK THEN!

How about adding Jamie Moyer and Ricky Henderson to your Past Their Prime But Still Doin' Fine List.

CJW| 1.8.13 @ 7:52AM

Maybe a separate wing of the HOF for steroid records?

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.8.13 @ 8:23AM

...or perhaps they could be enshrined, instead of in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, at the Hall of Fame maintained by the manufacturers and distributors of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone...

CJW| 1.8.13 @ 8:36AM

Great idea. Put it in Hollywood, another wing for boobs (breasts, not the Hollywood lefties), and muscles.
Arnold could be first inductee.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 8:17AM

Julio Franco would be the second Dominican player to make the HOF...
Who was the first?
No fair Googling(Like I did)

Frank-O Drackman

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 11:56AM

Wow, you REALLY like Julio's Franco, don't you?

JmsA| 1.8.13 @ 12:57PM

Juan Marichal, the guy that whacked someone over the head with a bat, was inducted into the Hall in 1983.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.8.13 @ 8:31AM

I believe Ted Williams (a man who lived for a while in Boston), like Mr. Goldstein had many disparaging things to say about baseball writers, as well (and he might tell them to you if Dr. Drackman agrees to defrost his head).

Al Adab| 1.8.13 @ 8:32AM

Schillings performance with both the Diamondbacks and Red Sox, World Series (2) and the sock, merit selection to say nothing of his numbers. Steve Finley, clean cut, long career but weaker numbers. Piazza, no steroid use so that's up to the writers, but he should likely be in. As to the others, no matter the numbers, they are tainted by HGH, and so on. Sad, but that is how it should be. What about those who used before the ban and stopped when it was banned? Should there be consideration there?

CJW| 1.8.13 @ 8:39AM

Ferguson Jenkins is in HOF, and I believe he had a cocanine/drug conviction while playing. OJ is in HOF, I guess they don't expel players once in, even for murder. Or the crime must be directly related to performing the sport, i.e. work related.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.8.13 @ 8:54AM

Schilling has been in my Hall of Fame, not just for his time with the Phillies, or the events that you duly note, but for something he did in 2004 that didn't involve a bloody sock.

He was sitting on the couch at "Fox & Friends", reminding people to go out and vote in the Presidential election, and then added (despite his playing in John Kerry's home state) "Vote for Bush".

TLP| 1.8.13 @ 4:17PM

Donnie Baseball should be in the Hall of Fame.

Period.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 8:51AM

OK, trivia time,
this player is 8th in All Time Stolen Bases(742)
played for 29 seasons, and is the oldest MLB player to steal a base(at age 49!)
Stole 129 bases in a season, causing a rule change.
He also coached, managed, and when his eyes went bad, umpired.
Too old to fight against Jack's buddies in WWI he still served, teaching Baseball to the English, who promptly went back to that stupid Cricket after we saved them.
OK, he did make 822 errors at third, not exactly Brooks Robinson...
Who I be talkin' bout' Willis?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Frank

Doctor Right| 1.8.13 @ 9:26AM

Wee Willie Keeler

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 9:28AM

Doctor Right, Wrong, Wrong, Right,
You're as wrong as letting Homo's adopt...

Frankie "the Nose" Drackman

Stormy| 1.8.13 @ 10:05AM

Arlie Latham

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 10:47AM

Lucky Guess

Jack in Wi| 1.8.13 @ 10:07AM

Dreck: Over 40 years ago I had the pleasure of spending an evening with George McBride, then in his 90's. He had started in baseball in about 1900 and ended his career as manager of the Washington Senators, where he played for most of his career. He knew all the great ones and was a team mate of Walter Johnson. He was one of the greatest infielders of his day and one of the worst hitters. Did he tell me some stories. His mind was excellent for someone in his 90's

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 10:46AM

Did he tell you some stories??
I don't know, I wasn't there.
Jack, there's this new invention called "The Question Mark" check it out.

Jack, like MY Hero Cheech Marin(stein) said,
"A Mind is a terrible thing"
OK, Cool, you met a team mate of Walter Johnson(who dat?, just kidding).
THAT's not interesting.
Some of his stories might be, you know, like how they put Salt Peter in the Atlanta Black Crackers sunflower seeds, or Atomic Balm in Ty Cobb's Jock.
But "Jacks Evening with George"???? about as much fun as your average NBA game...

Frank

Crassus| 1.8.13 @ 7:41PM

During my younger days one of my frequent drinking companions was Tracy Stallard, who served up the pitch that Roger Maris hit for his 61st home run in 1961. The Red Sox rewarded him for that dubious distinction by trading him to the Mets.

Derek Leaberry| 1.8.13 @ 9:17AM

My picks- Bagwell, Biggio, Lofton, Piazza and Trammell.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 9:26AM

Talk about your outrages,
Billy("Sliding Billy")Hamilton,
912 career stolen bases(Ty Cobb only had 892)
.344 career batting average(same as Ted Williams)
.922 career fielding average(OK that sucks, but did you ever see the "Gloves" they played with)
and most he made was $3,400 in 1892 for the Phillies(some things never change) which would be like, umm $50,000,000 today.
Dudes not in the HOF, and Travis Jackson(only 4 seasons of >140 games played) is??? Oh the Inhumanity!!!!!!!!

Frank

Al Adab| 1.8.13 @ 11:16AM

Think how great, truly great, some of the old timers would be today with the training machines and ortho surgeries. Then what about someone like Mantle. How much better if they had knee surgery back then?

Randy Johnson anyone?

Crassus| 1.9.13 @ 10:55PM

Billy Hamilton was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1961. Check it out, Frank.

Stormy| 1.8.13 @ 10:06AM

Dale Murphy gets no love, because he was too clean cut. He never used steroids, and he won two back to back MVPs playing for lousy teams.

TLP| 1.8.13 @ 4:18PM

Dale Murphy should be in the Hall.

No question about it.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 10:40AM

and just another example of Man's Inanity to Left Handers.
Tommy John, 288 career Wins, more than 49 pitchers currently in the Hall, and thats with missing a season due to duh, his "Tommy John" Surgery. If he was right handed and played in Baw-ston he'd have been elected 20 years ago...

Frank

Albert Constantine Jr.| 1.8.13 @ 10:51AM

At least he enjoys the accolade of having a surgical procedure named after him. That is right up there with ALS being known as "Lou Gehrig's disease".

TLP| 1.8.13 @ 4:20PM

Tommy John should be in.

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 12:00PM

I say put in Charlie Hough. The knuckleballers get no respect. Let's change that!

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 12:23PM

for what? co-winner of "Ugliest Pitcher Ever" with Kent "Pretty Boy" Tekulve???

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 2:03PM

Granted, they might not be as cute as Julio but they sure can make the ball dance :-)

TLP| 1.8.13 @ 4:20PM

Charlie Hough should be in.

Doctor Right| 1.8.13 @ 12:07PM

Baseball...meh.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 12:25PM

Your Penis...meh
its what your wife said anyway...

Frank "there's no swapping wifes in baseball, oh yeah, there is" Drackman

Doctor Right| 1.8.13 @ 1:46PM

Your insecurity is showing.

And your borscht-belt shtick is hilarious, but not for the reasons you think it is, Shecky.

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 2:01PM

You can catch him live @ Stitches Comedy Club in Mobile Alabama on Monday night.

He'll be opening for Simbad. No drink minimum. Come on in, the doors are wide open. Bring the kiddos. They need warm bodies in seats!

Doctor Right| 1.8.13 @ 2:18PM

I'd rather be water-boarded than watch another unfunny, moronic stand-up comedian.

Most of them are decidedly untalented morons. Like Frank.

Occam's Tool| 1.8.13 @ 4:48PM

The double play trio of Tinker to Evers to Chance is in---none of them deserved it.

Tommy John deserved it. Elroy FACE is not in the HOF, and he was a superb reliever.

By the way, Shecky Greene is my father's best friend's cousin. (A guy gets to be 50, a lot of people get to be within his scope)

C'mon, Dr. R and Frank, let's be nice to each other---we have Obama wanting to put in people for SecState/CIA Director, and SecDef people only a jihadist could love.

Fergie's conviction, I believe, came after his playing days, and he had a NIGHTMARE of a life.

Crassus| 1.8.13 @ 7:37PM

Frank Chance deserves inclusion because of his achievements as a manager. He did win four pennants and two World Series. Ever and Tinker--probably not.

cuban pete| 1.8.13 @ 7:48PM

These are the saddest of possible words,Tinker to Evers to Chance.
A trio of bear cubs fleeter than birds,
Tinker to Evers to Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble by turning a Giant hit in to a double.
Words that are loaded with nothing but trouble.
Tinker to Evers to Chance.

From memory.Years ago.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 5:31PM

Showing? You mean like a Psychiatrist who's so insecure he calls himself "Doctor" even when using an Alias??
THATS Insecure...

Frank I'm an M.D. but I don't, I mean didn't brag about it, unless it is I mean was, a hot chick

Doctor Right| 1.8.13 @ 6:47PM

You asked, genius.

I'm not surprised you're pretending to forget that fact. it goes with your personality.

You're utterly transparent, Frank. Your childish humor and limitless vulgarity mask deep-seeded feelings of insecurity and confusion about your own masculinity.

Frank Drackman| 1.9.13 @ 8:13AM

Genius? Umm I'm more like what they call today "Gifted" and I'm not talkin bout the kids with the club foot and lazy eye, thats why I was able to get into a Lucrative, I mean "Procedural" specialty instead of grinding out a living writing Simbalta scrips...
And wanta be honest, how many wifes have cheated on you? I'm thinkin.......3, that you know about anyway.
Frank "Analyze THIS" Drackman MD(Mentaly Deranged)

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 12:27PM

Fritz Peterson and Mike Keckich should get their own wings, or at least honorable mentions for their accomplishment in 1973...
I still think it was a Steinbrenner publicity stunt gone bad.

Frank

Sir Al Roker| 1.8.13 @ 2:34PM

Hey, I shit my pants in the White House!!!!!!!!

Bob Grant| 1.8.13 @ 4:58PM

Indeed,

I heard that, Roker. What a hoot. And the fact that you shared it with the World makes you awesome.

If only you coulda waited another 7 years or so you coulda left a little present for Mother Robinson to clean up.

I weather lingo I suppose you had a Black Blizzard going on "down under"...

RAM| 1.8.13 @ 2:52PM

For argument's sake, lets say that steroids were so commonly used then in MLB land that users gained little competitive advantage. The problem then is: didn't their records get pumped up unfairly relative to the records of players from other eras? In historical perspective, some of these megastars might have been first class batboys.

Joe D.| 1.8.13 @ 3:12PM

It’s hard for me to take the BBWAA seriously by punishing players for allegedly doing things that were not prohibited by Major League Baseball at the time. - Just remember it was still cheating, that why they were band, at the time, from the olympics.

A decade ago, Jose Canseco claimed that 85% of MLB players took performance enhancing drugs. Let’s say half that number is true. If even half of all big league players were taking steroids then Bonds, Clemens and Sosa did not make for much of a competitive advantage. - There is no proof here. Just a sour faced cheater, Cansecos word. Oh and he would not be trying to justify his own use would he?

Come on Aaron, wrong is still wrong, except if you are a liberal/progressive/socialist in politics.

Joe D.| 1.8.13 @ 3:15PM

By the way, Lee Smith, Piazza, Bagwell and Biggio would make a good quarte this year. I don't know if Trammell, Murphy or Schilling have enough to make it in. They were great players but, I don't think, quite hall of famers.

Occam's Tool| 1.8.13 @ 4:53PM

Lee Smith---no steroids, just a good heater. Trammell was a superb fielder, and Dale Murphy should get in because he was excellent and a class act.

Of course, the classiest men ever to play baseball were Christy Mathewson, Hank Greenberg, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, and Stan Musial. Funny thing? All of them are also HOFers.

Occam's Tool| 1.8.13 @ 4:54PM

I forgot to mention Ernie Banks and Billy Williams---also very high class guys. My dad likes Billy in particular; knows him personally.

Butch| 1.8.13 @ 5:21PM

Dock Ellis, for the single greatest achievement in the history of major league baseball.

Frank Drackman| 1.8.13 @ 5:29PM

the No-Hitter on LSD!?!?!?!
Dock was Da Man!

Frank

Crassus| 1.8.13 @ 7:34PM

Albert Belle has Hall of Fame credentials and he's not even on the ballot. The reason--he consistently told the media to f*ck off. Bill Conlin is in the writer's wing of the HOF and he's been accused of child abuse by members of his own family. He's never been charged because of the statute of limitations. Oh, those baseball writers.

cuban pete| 1.8.13 @ 7:50PM

Billy Pierce. Had he played on the east coast he would have been in the Hall years ago.

Bob S| 1.8.13 @ 10:52PM

It's ok Aaron, I have a hard time taking your baseball opinion seriously too.

spike59| 1.9.13 @ 5:48AM

it's a 'baseball opinion'...how seriously SHOULD it be taken?

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