In January the Hall of Fame will announce it’s newest members as voted on by the baseball writers. There are 26 names on the ballot. Writers are allowed to vote for up to 10, but may leave the ballot blank.
This is one of the more interesting ballots in a long while. There is no clear-cut sure-fire gotta-go-in player on the ballot, but there are a lot of really nice players that show up on this one. On the theory that I would get 10 votes if I was a baseball writer, here’s the 10 men I’d support, in alphabetical order:
Roberto Alomar-arguably the finest 2nd baseman of his era.
Bert Blyleven-why the heck hasn’t he gotten in already?
Andre Dawson-the revelations of the steroid era make his numbers look even better than they did when he retired.
Barry Larkin-heck of a shortstop, good hitter, pretty fair team leader, and an MVP.
Edgar Martinez-the epitome of a DH. They even named the award after him. Great, great hitter.
Don Mattingly-the personification of grit and determination on the ballfield. Short career, but great numbers in the career.
Fred McGriff-OK, he didn’t make it to 500 homers, but there’s no taint of steroids on him. Led league in home runs twice, key component on the Braves winning teams of the 1990s. He gets dispensation from those horrid baseball drills commercials he made. As a spokesman, Fred made a great 1st baseman.
Dale Murphy-2 time MVP, great hitter, good center fielder, just short of 400 home runs.
Tim Raines-has a batting title and was a great baserunner. His nomad phase will probably hurt his chances.
Alan Trammell-OK, ignore the managing and look at the player. He was great shortstop and a fine hitter, losing the MVP vote to George Bell once.
There are a couple of others I’d like to see there (Morris, Ventura, Lee Smith), but I only get 10 votes.
Tags: Alan Trammell, Andre Dawson, Barry Larkin, Bert Blyleven, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Hall of Fame, Roberto Alomar, Tim Raines
Verdun2's Blog 
November 30, 2009 at 3:27 pm
We agree on the bulk of these players. Blyleven needs to find a way to break the Hall of Fame voters obsession with 300 wins. No starter has been elected at all since Nolan Ryan in 1999, and no non-300 game winner has been elected by the writers since Ferguson Jenkins in 1991 (the Veteran’s Committee picked Hal Newhouser in 1992, Vic Willis in 1995, and Jim Bunning in 1996).
November 30, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Jenkins got in with 75.4% of the vote. Only Al Simmons made it with a lower percentage, 75.38%.
November 30, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Agreed. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in the next few years when Smoltz, Schilling, Martinez (Pedro), and Mussina all become eligible. None of them got to 300 wins, but all were significant pitchers.
v
April 7, 2014 at 9:19 am
I’d never heard the nomadic phase as a deterrent to a player getting in the Hall as you mentioned with regards to Raines. I guess there was a period of time when the jumping from team to team became the norm, but lately, these 7-8-9 year extensions seem to be shifting things back to the Yount and Ripken longevity with one team. I had never thought about it before. It does seem to suggest there’s something wrong with the player. Why else would a team let them go? I guess money is the answer.
I alwasy go back to Prince Fielder and the Brewers. The way free agency is set up seems very fair. The team that drafts the player enjoys their best years at bargain prices.