…baseball!
What a joke this thing has become. It’s mostly about two things: longevity (and thus gaudy numbers) and where a player played.
Rich Gossage is the only inductee this year. Rich Gossage is deserving, and should be elected. But look at who is still waiting: Jim Rice, Bert Blyleven (best pitcher not in the Hall), Andre Dawson, and scores of great veterans who no longer get voted on, but must rely on the “veteran’s committee” to get in, such as the best hitter ever not currently in the Hall, Tony Oliva.
Why is Oliva not in? One, his career numbers are not “big enough”, which is not his fault, as he played much of his career on bad ankles, bad heels, and terrible knees…injuries so bad they probably shortened his career by 6 years (and therefore by 1,000 hits, 500 RBI, 150 homers, and certain first-ballot induction). Should injuries be the reason he’s not in the Hall? Absolutely not. He was the best hitter in baseball from 1965-1973. The most feared combination of power and average. Are there other reasons he’s not in the Hall?
Certainly. Reason #2 is he spent his entire career in Minnesota. Don’t get me wrong, lots of Hall of Famers played in “smaller” markets for their entire career. But they had the huge, gaudy, extra-large stats that only come from playing 20+ years and because of that were no-brainers. But guys like Oliva, in which the voters have to know enough about baseball history to look beyond the stats, suffer from not being a Yankee or Dodger for at least part of his career.
If Tony Oliva had played even two seasons in New York or Los Angeles, he’d already be in the Hall.
As it is, the Baseball Hall of Fame is not a legitimate entity in my eyes. Not until Blyleven, Rice, and Oliva are in. When they’re in, then I’ll care about it and someday might give my money to it. Until then, the baseball hall matters not to me. Not one bit.
So, the scoreboard is: I won’t watch baseball until the steroids are gone, and I won’t take my family to visit the Hall until the right players are in. Baseball…America’s once-great pastime…is on a terrible slide.
4 responses so far ↓
1
Anon E. Mouse
// Jan 8, 2008 at 6:12 pm
BJ,
Baseball is not owned by MLB.
Instead of pointing out all the bad things about MLB, why don’t you go to some youth or college games and report on the positives you see there? You obviously love the sport, so instead of bashing it incessantly, why not try to find the positive side?
2
Floyd
// Jan 9, 2008 at 1:56 am
“So, the scoreboard is: I won’t watch baseball until the steroids are gone, and I won’t take my family to visit the Hall until the right players are in.”
Baseball’s gonna miss you. Who we want in the HoF and who gets in will never match up, and when steroids are gone, the next best drug will be the one that everyone is taking.
3
mortonmalaise
// Jan 11, 2008 at 12:50 pm
There’s an old saying that applies here. If you have to make a case for someone to be in the Hall of Fame, they don’t belong there.
4
bjstone
// Jan 13, 2008 at 10:25 pm
A couple of things:
1. Every hall of famer has to have a case made for them. Even the greats. Someone has to make their case for them.
2. But even if you SHOULDN’T have to make a case, that’s EXACTLY my point with Tony Oliva. You shouldn’t have to make a case for a hitter so great. Explain Eddie Murray, Phil Rizzuto, Don Sutton, etc. The list of players less-capable than Oliva but who are already in the Hall is quite large.
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