If you haven't been following, every year in early January, the Baseball Writers Association of America announces the results of their Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Announcing who actually was voted in (by receiving 75% of the vote) and of course, those that will have to wait til next year (or never).
A player must have been retired for 5 years before they can become eligible for voting. So last year, most of the 1st year class was tainted by PED's (Bonds, Clemens). This year, however, were some very deserving candidates.
Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald, as well as a couple of national shows on ESPN & ESPN Radio, has become so disillusioned with his fellow BBWAA members & their voting habits, that he decided to turn his ballot over to the hands of an online poll via Deadspin. Readers voted for the 10 players they felt were worthy of induction, & LeBatard filled out his ballot accordingly. The readers voted for a perfectly fine selection of players, & other than Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens, there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
Then Deadspin announced who they got the vote from, & all hell broke loose. After a day of defending himself, LeBatard had resigned himself to the fact that he was probably going to lose his vote. Well today the BBWAA announced that he was, in fact suspended from the BBWAA for a year, & he had lost his privilege to vote for the HoF forever.
Meanwhile, these sanctimonious jackasses in the BBWAA still see fit to use this vote to grandstand for whatever cause they see fit. Greg Maddux, a player whom many felt could possibly become the first player ever to garner 100% of the votes, was not listed on 16 or the 571 ballots cast. One member of the BBWAA, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, cast his vote for one player - Jack Morris (who coincidentally was up for election for his 15th & final time). His reasoning? He couldn't be sure who did & didn't take PED's, so he wouldn't vote for anybody who played during that era. One problem, the back half of Jack Morris' career was played during that era. Nice try asshole.
So I'll point out the one statement from the previous paragraph that I find incredible & quite telling:
No player ever, EVER, in the history of the BBWAA voting for the Hall of Fame, has been elected with 100% of the vote.
Ever.
Babe Ruth? 95% Cy Young? Barely got in at 76%. DiMaggio - 89%. Ted Williams - 93%. Mickey Mantle - 88. Willie Mays - 95. Hank Aaron - 98. Tom Seaver - 99. Nolan Ryan - 99.
Cal Ripken Jr. CAL freakin RIPKEN was left off of 8 ballots when he was elected. If that isn't telling, I don't know what is.
Something needs to change. I'm not sure how, but these self-important jackholes need some adjusting somewhere.
A player must have been retired for 5 years before they can become eligible for voting. So last year, most of the 1st year class was tainted by PED's (Bonds, Clemens). This year, however, were some very deserving candidates.
Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald, as well as a couple of national shows on ESPN & ESPN Radio, has become so disillusioned with his fellow BBWAA members & their voting habits, that he decided to turn his ballot over to the hands of an online poll via Deadspin. Readers voted for the 10 players they felt were worthy of induction, & LeBatard filled out his ballot accordingly. The readers voted for a perfectly fine selection of players, & other than Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens, there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
Then Deadspin announced who they got the vote from, & all hell broke loose. After a day of defending himself, LeBatard had resigned himself to the fact that he was probably going to lose his vote. Well today the BBWAA announced that he was, in fact suspended from the BBWAA for a year, & he had lost his privilege to vote for the HoF forever.
Meanwhile, these sanctimonious jackasses in the BBWAA still see fit to use this vote to grandstand for whatever cause they see fit. Greg Maddux, a player whom many felt could possibly become the first player ever to garner 100% of the votes, was not listed on 16 or the 571 ballots cast. One member of the BBWAA, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, cast his vote for one player - Jack Morris (who coincidentally was up for election for his 15th & final time). His reasoning? He couldn't be sure who did & didn't take PED's, so he wouldn't vote for anybody who played during that era. One problem, the back half of Jack Morris' career was played during that era. Nice try asshole.
So I'll point out the one statement from the previous paragraph that I find incredible & quite telling:
No player ever, EVER, in the history of the BBWAA voting for the Hall of Fame, has been elected with 100% of the vote.
Ever.
Babe Ruth? 95% Cy Young? Barely got in at 76%. DiMaggio - 89%. Ted Williams - 93%. Mickey Mantle - 88. Willie Mays - 95. Hank Aaron - 98. Tom Seaver - 99. Nolan Ryan - 99.
Cal Ripken Jr. CAL freakin RIPKEN was left off of 8 ballots when he was elected. If that isn't telling, I don't know what is.
Something needs to change. I'm not sure how, but these self-important jackholes need some adjusting somewhere.
