HOF Expansion Era Ballot

[jerichoholicninja]

I really hope at some point the voters collectively just vote in anyone deserving based purely on stats and awards. None of those guys have been banned from baseball like Pete Rose was.

 

Good idea. They should just put everyone who played from 1980 to whenever testing started on a ballot and have the voters vote yes or no to each and whoever gets say 75% yes votes gets in. Then move on.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I really hope at some point the voters collectively just vote in anyone deserving based purely on stats and awards. None of those guys have been banned from baseball like Pete Rose was.

 

While I agree that the main basis should be the playing record...........

 

5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

 

That does specifically mention that integrity sportsmanship and character are part of the criteria.

[gregmag]

I really hope at some point the voters collectively just vote in anyone deserving based purely on stats and awards. None of those guys have been banned from baseball like Pete Rose was.

 

While I agree that the main basis should be the playing record...........

 

5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

 

That does specifically mention that integrity sportsmanship and character are part of the criteria.

I know this is an old debate, but Ty Cobb and Cap Anson don't have an ounce of integrity, sportsmanship, or character between them. Actually, it's two old debates: (1) is juicing worse than exacerbating the color line / throwing the 1919 Series / drunken physical abuse / whatever, and (2) should the fact that old guys lack a qualification cause us to overlook that missing qualification in new guys. I don't have a great answer to either question. What I do believe, strongly, is that we do ourselves a disservice if we think those character standards actually have any relationship to the population of the Hall of Fame. They don't. There are more than a few utter scumbags in the Hall of Fame -- with Tony LaRussa the latest and one of the worst -- and the sooner we realize that talent for hitting or throwing a baseball has zero relationship to being a good human being, the better off we all are.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I really hope at some point the voters collectively just vote in anyone deserving based purely on stats and awards. None of those guys have been banned from baseball like Pete Rose was.

 

While I agree that the main basis should be the playing record...........

 

5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

 

That does specifically mention that integrity sportsmanship and character are part of the criteria.

I know this is an old debate, but Ty Cobb and Cap Anson don't have an ounce of integrity, sportsmanship, or character between them. Actually, it's two old debates: (1) is juicing worse than exacerbating the color line / throwing the 1919 Series / drunken physical abuse / whatever, and (2) should the fact that old guys lack a qualification cause us to overlook that missing qualification in new guys. I don't have a great answer to either question. What I do believe, strongly, is that we do ourselves a disservice if we think those character standards actually have any relationship to the population of the Hall of Fame. They don't. There are more than a few utter scumbags in the Hall of Fame -- with Tony LaRussa the latest and one of the worst -- and the sooner we realize that talent for hitting or throwing a baseball has zero relationship to being a good human being, the better off we all are.

 

 

I don't disagree with any of that. HOWEVER, the CURRENT guys who are voting have drawn their line in the sand using that standard, and until something changes, the current PED guys aren't getting in because of it.

[Invader3K]

My big problem is that none of those guys have actually been convicted of anything or been banned from baseball or even suspended because of it. Being accused of something doesn't equal conviction.

[jerichoholicninja]

My big problem is that none of those guys have actually been convicted of anything or been banned from baseball or even suspended because of it. Being accused of something doesn't equal conviction.

 

This is so true. If voters say they won't vote for Palmiero because he tested positive that's fine. If they won't vote for McGwire because he admitted taking steroids, fine. But to not vote for someone because they played in an era when most everyone was taking steroids without any shred of evidence that that player was taking something is shameful.

[DuWayne Steurer]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10116177/rick-reilly-torre-la-russa-cox

 

Boom