The Hall of what?
The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown seems to be the most prestigious Hall of Fame in sports, and it hasn't changed this year. Only 3 of the worthy candidates represented the 2017 Hall of Fame class. But, was it fair? Ivan Rodriguez, Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell were all deserving but were they more deserving than the other candidates who didn't get in? Have the Baseball Writers of America become biased and has this vote become a personal preference and not focus on the numbers?
One name that was seen enter the Hall of Fame recently was, Bud Selig. But why? Sure he made baseball turn the corner and was one of the longest tenure commissioners of baseball, but didn't he influence the steroid era. If baseball isn't ok with Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens getting into the Hall of Fame, how can they be alright with Bud Selig getting in? During the "Selig Era" he continued to get away with a blank stared lie that he was unaware of steroid usage during the late 1990's, regardless of the FBI telling the MLB of McGwire's PED usage. Just like Roger Goddell with the Ray Rice video, Selig knew about steroids in the game of baseball yet kept it to himself so Major League Baseball and himself could make more money.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and MUSEUM is a museum of baseball's greatest accomplishments. In Cooperstown they have Barry Bonds' 73 home run record on display, and they have Pete Rose's 4256 hits on display but not the players. If the Hall of Fame is a museum based on the greatest players and events of all time in baseball history, then why aren't the greatest players in the Hall of Fame. The steroid era was obviously a dark time in baseball, but it was a time in baseball, just like the Chicago Black Sox scandal. Sure, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens probably did steroids, but wasn't everybody else during that era. Both Hall of Famers this year, Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell, were both linked to PED usage during their careers, but they became first ballot Hall of Famers. Even Mike Piazza made it last year and he was linked to PEDs his entire career. So, if Bonds would've finished with 500 home runs we he have flown under the radar like a Bagwell did or a Piazza did. Because Bonds is the greatest home run hitter of all time it's too much for the baseball writers to handle.
Another guy who is being hurt by public image is Curt Schilling. Baseball writers have admitted that Schilling is a first ballot Hall of Famer...if it wasn't for his stances on politics and what he says about certain people. How is that any inclination to keep him out of the Hall? Like I said before it's a MUSEUM! It's for the best players in the world for what they during their baseball career, not afterwards. If this were the case then how is OJ Simpson in the NFL Hall of Fame, or how is Ray Lewis looked at as a Hall of Famer after he was accused of killing a man, or how is Ty Cobb in the Hall of Fame for being a racist and a terrible teammate? Schilling's votes have dropped 7 percent for what he has said on twitter, but if you look at his numbers... he's a Hall of Famer.
one of the tweets thats keeping Schilling out
Another problem with the Hall of Fame is the biases writers have. Player A is in the Hall of Fame but Player B is not. Player A and Player B have similar numbers but only 1 is in the Hall of Fame, why is that? Mainly because of the public perception. Tim Raines should've been a first ballot Hall of Famer, but he had to wait ill his last year on the ballot to get in, beside the fact that he is only second to Ricky Henderson in most categories. Let's just compare a couple of players now.
Hits | Home Runs | RBI | AVG | OBP | OPS |
2176 | 284 | 1205 | .303 | .384 | 137 |
178 | 23 | 99 |
Hits | Home Runs | RBI | AVG | OBP | OPS |
2247 | 309 | 1261 | .312 | .418 | 147 |
177 | 24 | 99 |
Let me explain the columns first... The top row are the players career numbers and the bottom row and the players averages for a 162 game season. The guy on the top played 14 seasons in the MLB and the player on the bottom played 17 seasons. One played on the field every day in his career, the other played designated hitter for more than half, where all you have to do is hit the ball and not worry about anything else. One of the two players above is considered for the Hall of Fame, the other is not.
Edgar Martinez played 17 seasons in MLB, was a 7 time All-Star, a 5 time Silver Slugger, played most of his career as a designated hitter, and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting only twice. Edgar Martinez is still being consider a Hall of Famer and actually looks like he will get in the Hall in the coming years. Edgar Martinez are the stats on the bottom.
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The other player played 14 seasons in MLB, was a 6 time All-Star, a 2 time Silver Slugger (harder to do at 1st than DH), was a Gold Glove winner, and finished in the top 10 of MVP voting 5 times, including finishing runner up. This player is no longer considered for the Hall of Fame because not enough writers voted for him. WHY? The numbers are pretty much the same and if this player would have played 3 more seasons, he would've surpassed Edgar Martinez in probably every category. I may be a little biased supporting this player but the numbers don't lie. In case you haven't figured it out this is WILL THE THRILL CLARK.
My point with this article is the baseball Hall of Fame has almost become a popularity contest, like the NBA ALL-Star game where Zaza Pachuli can be second in the voting. The Hall of fame has no longer become about the numbers or about the baseball player they were. It's become about their character, and how popular they were among writers. Should it even be called the Hall of Fame or the Hall of WHAT?
