Was anybody left out of this year's Hall of Fame election? It depends on who you ask. See the complete voting results here. The two biggest names left off the list were Goose Gossage and Mark McGwire. Gossage narrowly missed the magic 75% vote with 71.2%, finishing 3rd in voting. McGwire was snubbed at 23.5%, ninth in voting.
There are two standards I look at when considering if a player should be in The Hall. One is the established standard (however tight or loose that may be or have become) derived from the history of voting and the list of inductees. The other is my own standard, which is generally higher. When I look at the list of those in the Hall, I see names that I would not put there. My ideal is to have a list of not the greatest of all time, but the greatest of the greatest.
That said, I think that of the list voted on, Gossage will eventually make the Hall. The steroids controversy aside, I believe McGwire would have made the cut on this ballot, although with votes in the high 70's or low 80's. Personally, I would put both of these players in the Hall, but by the slimmest of margins. It remains to be seen how McGwire will fare in the future, but if history is any indication, his sins will be forgiven and future voters will embrace him.
I think Gossage's problem with induction has been that he was a transition player with respect to his role. The relief pitcher was still developing as a major role, and it takes time to not only develop new standards for these new positions, but to accept those standards.
Albert Belle didn't even get 5%. A-Rod's stats are only marginally better. I suppose he'll have to play longer to get the career milestones that gets one inducted. Jim Rice hit over.300 for his career and slugged over .500, and his chances are looking more and more remote.
ReplyDeleteWho among today's players and managers would you put into the Hall?