Brewers/Braves Walk of Fame 2012

[RockCoCougars]

Once again, no one received the votes.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/136811373.html

 

If you ask me, this process is a sham, and begs tons of questions. Who is the idiot who keeps voting for Wes Obermueller? Why did Jerry Augustine receive more votes than George Scott once again (or why did he get any votes at all)? Why is Larry Hisle getting so many votes when he had one good season in Milwaukee? Most importantly, when did these voters start watching baseball? I could go on all day... I think that it's time to strip these experts of their voting privileges.

[Glennron]

Looking at those percentages you'd think this was to get into Cooperstown.

[RockCoCougars]

These voters make the BBWAA look like geniuses. How long is it going to take for whoever is in charge of this sham to realize that these people aren't going to change their voting patterns? The results look roughly the same as last year, and they belie the fact that these people aren't very knowledgeable of Milwaukee baseball history.

[1992casey]

Worse than the Brewers results is the fact that nobody seems to be doing any homework on the Braves. Del Crandall certainly deserves to be included. Johnny Logan probably deserves to be included. And Joe Torre, who isn't on the ballot at all, deserves consideration.

[RockCoCougars]

For the Braves, Adcock and Crandall are locks. Johnny Logan as well for me, since he was his generation's Jim Gantner.

 

For the Brewers, I'd say that Bamberger, Scott and Higuera are shoo ins. I'd personally vote for Oglivie, Plesac, Caldwell, Slaton and Moore as well at some point. Good god, this is the Miller Park walk of fame, not some exclusive club. It's not like they are giving these guys millions of dollars for the rights to induct them or something. One or two guys should be going in per year for the first several years, instead of nobody.

[1992casey]

Adcock definitely belongs.

[endaround]

It looks to be about 39 people voting. Which basically means all it takes is 10 idiots to block anyone.

[RobertR]

I've always said that awards typically reveal more about the voters than it does about those that are awarded. Apparently the voters are a bunch of people that know nothing about baseball, and think they're voting for the actual Hall of Fame.

 

The process is broken. Frankly, the Brewers should end this sham and just put whoever they want as an organization in the walk.

 

Robert

[1992casey]

The voters have typically been a combination of Brewers employees and members of the local press.

 

I'd be satisfied for now if they could clean up the Braves mess. It's obvious that the voters don't know anything about these players. When the Hall of Fame figured out that Negro Leaguers weren't getting in because people didn't know enough about the players, they set up a special committee to deal with it. That's what the Brewers should do with the Milwaukee Braves candidates.

[BrewCrewForever]

I wish we knew who all the voters were. Of course we know Haudricourt and McCalvy have votes, but how else?

 

Can't believe they don't elect a few of Higuera, Jenkins, Cirillo, Plesac, Babmberger, Caldwell or Oglivie. Just crazy.

[RockCoCougars]

How does Richie Sexson get no votes? The more I look at this list, the worse it looks. I really think that the fans could do a much better job. Maybe they should let season ticket holders vote or something. With the unwarranted love that guys have gotten who have been associated with the team in recent years (Augustine, Hisle, Schroeder, Sveum), it's obvious that team employees are voting...who are the two people who voted for Bill Castro? May as well vote for Larry Haney and Reggie Cleveland if Castro is deserving.

[Vgmastr]

I don't know, I could see some arguments for Schroeder. Not for his playing days, but the guy has been doing Brewers TV for 17 years now, I think that accounts for something. He's been through all of the lean years, just like us, and is obviously a fan. Him screaming "YES!" repeatedly after the final out in 2008 is one of my favorite memories from that season. Will he ever be as beloved as Uke? No, but if sticks around for another decade or so there's going to be a whole generation of Brewer fans who only know Brewers baseball with Schroeder on TV.

[RightFieldCoder]

Castro was a Brewer employee for a long time. He should get votes for the same reason as Schroeder.

 

Jenkins should be a lock for this. If he had been with us during one of our 2 good runs, he would already be in.

 

I'm not shocked Wes Obermueller got a vote. I'm shocked he was even on the ballet. Where did Ruben Quevedo place? Jose Hernandez should get votes before him.

[brettac1]

Burnitz should be in, too.

[JohnBriggs12]

Adcock definitely belongs.

 

So does Crandall who was the easily the best catcher in the NL for 5 or 6 years. In fact, he made 11 All Star games and started 9. Granted for 3 of those seasons, they had two games, but still he was arguably the top NL catcher in the era between Roy Campanella and Johnny Bench.

[Glennron]

Jenkins should be a lock for this. If he had been with us during one of our 2 good runs, he would already be in.

No kidding. Top 5 all-time in HR, RBI, Runs, Hits for the Brewers. Cirillo not being in is a joke too. I think these voters are confusing the Brewers for some storied franchise.

[patrickgpe]

the whole thing is stupid. first of all why the heck is brady clark on the ballot. secondly while the 90's were not the greatest time in brewer history, there needs to be some representation. we are not retiring numbers or putting statues in front of home plate. its simply putting someones name in the sidewalk. i don't care if its jenkins or burnitz, but there are players who had good careers in the 90's despite not having much team success.

[RockCoCougars]

Castro was an employee of the team for a long time, but when he played, outside of maybe two seasons he wasn't very good. Larry Haney was bullpen coach for about the same amount of time. Rock has been the announcer forever. I could see him warranting strong consideration if he stays on another 10 years or so. Larry Hisle is a good community guy, and if he wouldn't have ripped his shoulder out on a throw, he may have been right there. However, he only had one (it was a great one too) full season in Milwaukee, and he doesn't warrant any votes. As for Augustine, I have no idea what people are thinking. He was OK a few seasons in the 70's and was horrible thereafter. People associate him with the '82 team, but not many seem to know that he was dropped from the playoff roster. Due to the votes that these guys have gotten, I would bet that employees of FSW and the Brewers are voting. It's painfully apparent that most of them don't know what they are doing.

 

Why do they even have a walk of fame if they aren't going to add anyone to it? Bottom line, they need to change the process. The current voters are not going to change how they vote. I think that they should give each poster here one Brewers and one Braves vote. Induct the top vote getter from each next summer. It'd never happen, but I'm sure that we could do a better job than team employees/local media.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Obermueller gets a vote...that's hilarious.

 

Unlike some of you, I would vote for Augie!!! In my completely biased opinion I can't believe he hasn't made it already. I wish I could stuff the box for the guy.

 

Adcock & Logan should be in there for sure, especially Johnny not only as a player, but due to his commitment to keeping the Braves legacy alive after they were stolen from Milwaukee and since he's still alive. Don't wait until he's gone voters.

[RockCoCougars]

Augie is a very nice guy. I will say that.

 

As for Johnny Logan, I agree. I've heard that he's been having some health issues recently as well. The guy was a fixture for the Braves. He was kind of their Gumby. Not to mention that he's been a part of the Milwaukee baseball community for years, working for the Brewers as a scout and coach. Both he and Del Crandall should be honored while they can still enjoy it.

[dadofandrew]

Crandall should be in just for time spent, as a player, manager, broadcaster, and so on.

[jjkoestler]

Not to completely hijack the thread, but which Brewers from the last 5 years will make the Walk of Fame?

 

Braun

Prince

Weeks

Yo

Hart

Sabathia?

Hoffman?

[nate82]

Braun and Prince are probably locks. Weeks, Yo, and Hart have a chance while Sabathia and Hoffman I could probably find others more deserving than these two.

[JimH5]

George Scott played with the Brewers for 5 years.

Twice during that time, he lead the league in total bases, including 1975 when he also lead in HR and RBI.

He won a Gold Glove at 1B every year he was with the team.

He missed almost no time due to injury, and put up OPS+ seasons of 124, 144, 124, 140 and 121.

 

I wonder what made the voters exclude him? Only 5-years with the team? I don't know what else he could have done to merit inclusion.

He got 4 "yes" votes and 35 "no" votes.

 

Ben Oglivie was with the team for 9 seasons.

He won a HR title, was a regular on their only pennant winner, was a 3-time All Star, and put up OPS+ seasons of 143, 131, 153, 107, 118, 129, 100, 117 and 95.

He got 12 "yes" votes and 27 "no" votes.

 

But the huge omission is Del Crandall. . .8 time all star, 4 time Gold Glove winner, regular on 2 pennants and a World Series winner. He was on the Braves almost throughout their whole stint in Milwaukee. And then he served as Manager for 600 games during the infancy of the Brewers.

He got 8 "yes" votes and "31" no votes.

 

None of those guys even came close.

 

The guys currently on the walk are: Aaron, Fingers, Molitor, Yount, Selig, Cooper, Uecker, Dalton, Gantner, Thomas, Money, Kuenn, Mathews, Spahn, Quinn & Burdette.

 

If the voters are waiting to find more guys like that group, they won't induct anyone. Modern economics & sabermetrics aren't going to allow us to have guys with careers that are both great and long. Braun and Melvin are the only ones who could make it.

[1992casey]

Crandall is definitely the most egregious omission, even if you don't pad his Braves record with the years he spent as a Brewers manager and broadcaster. Breaking the Braves down into tiers:

 

Tier 1: Crandall and Adcock

Tier 2: Logan and Buhl

Tier 3: Joe Torre (not Frank)

 

I'd add Crandall, Adcock, Logan, and Buhl, with Buhl being the only one that might raise questions. Torre's longevity is significantly less than the others, but he should at least be part of the discussion.

 

On the Brewers end, Oglivie definitely should be included, with Scott and Jenkins at least being part of the discussion. My inclination would be to include all three.

 

Augustine? I dunno. If this were the Walk of Honor rather than the Walk of Fame, I'd definitely suggest that he should be included.