In last Sunday's News Journal, my friend and colleague, Martin Frank, wrote an excellent column about how the strong steroids suspicions surrounding Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds would prevent him from voting any of them into the Hall of Fame, if he had a vote. He doesn't, and neither do I.
Regardless of what you may think of sportswriters -- or the media, in general -- I can assure you the privilege of voting for the Hall of Fame isn't something any of us take lightly. That's why requirements for Hall voters begin with 10 seasons of covering Major League Baseball. I know several voters personally, and most of them spend weeks weighing the qualifications of Hall of Fame candidates before casting their vote. I don't know anybody who is casual about this process.
Personally, I believe in innocence until proven guilty. But the Hall of Fame rewards character as much as on-field performance. The behavior of McGwire and Sosa at the Congressional hearing and Bonds' ongoing behavior would cost them my Hall vote, at least on the first ballot. It's my personal protest of baseball's Steroid Era. After that, I'd have to make a decision.
McGwire hit 49 home runs as a rookie in 1987, and he did average 33 home runs per season over the next five years. He was injured for most of 1993 and '94, and after bouncing back with 39 homers and 90 RBIs in 1995, his career really took flight in 1996. Beginning that year, he hit 52, 58, 70 and 65 home runs and had 113, 123, 147 and 147 RBIs. After that, his body broke down, and maybe now, we know why. If you don't think McGwire was a Hall of Famer before 1996, are four seasons of Ruthian production (regardless of the cause of such production) enough to vote for him? I'm not so sure.
Believe it or not, Sosa had more prolonged success than Big Mac. During his peak four years (1998-2001), Sosa had 66, 63, 50 and 64 homers and 158, 141, 138 and 160 RBIs. But from 1995-97, he averaged 37 homers and 113 RBIs, and from 2002-03, he averaged 44/105. Overall, that's nine years with an average of 49/127. Still, even if you somehow dismiss the steroids rumors, Sosa was still caught corking his bat. Should a cheater be allowed in the Hall of Fame?
Based strictly on performance, Bonds has the best Hall of Fame case, steroids or not. If it's true that he didn't start using steroids until 1998, Bonds had Hall-worthy credentials long before that. But induction in Cooperstown requires a review of his entire career, so what do we make of his post-1998 performance?
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One word on Barry Zito, and the 7-year, $136 million contract he signed with the Giants this week.
Wow.
After seeing mediocre pitchers like Ted Lilly, Gil Meche and Jeff Suppan receive contracts worth $10-11 million a year, I thought Zito may get at least $18 million annually. But seven years is a lot (too much, actually) to give a pitcher, even one as durable as Zito.
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Happy New Year, everyone.
6 comments:
The day an NJ sportswriter gets a hall of fame vote is the day the hall becomes irrelevant
Scott, I'm not buying that sportswriters take a long look at Hall of Fame candidates. The East and West Coast writers are focused on their geographies (East coast can't stay up late, West Coast is, well, West Coast). The Midwest writers are postioned to see the most games and watch the most players (I lived in the Midwest most of my life). If the writers are so focused, someone needs to explain why Bert Blyleven is not in the Hall. Your thoughts?
Hey Anon 701, the NJ has had a staffer with a Hall of Fame vote for many years. This one particular former staffer with the vote, by the way, was one of the only people not to vote for Nolan Ryan when he became eligible earlier this decade (I personally disagreed with that). So I guess the Hall has been irrelevant for the past 20 years or so and we never knew it...
Hey Scott, excellent point in your blog. About your Zito comment, it reminds me of the 7-year deal the Dodgers gave Kevin Brown for $105 million, including 12 chartered flights for his family. His arm basically broke down within months of starting that contract and it was a colossal waste. My thought is Zito could go the same way.
And that's the problem, marty. You don't know you're irrelevant.
Andy: Most of the voters I know take great care studying the credentials of Hall candidates before casting their votes. That doesn't mean I agree with all of their choices (or omissions). But that's what makes sports fun. It's all subjective. ... In the case of Blyleven, the number that strikes me is the 3,701 strikeouts, fifth-most all-time. He only won 20 games once, but he played on a lot of second-division teams. Personally, I'd vote him into the Hall, and he may get there eventually, either by the writers' vote or the Veterans Committee.
Martin: Good comparison of Zito to Kevin Brown. If memory serves, Brown was fairly durable before the big contract, and anything but durable during those years. Also worth noting: Since he won the Cy Young in 2002, Zito is 55-46 with a 3.86 ERA, hardly numbers worthy of $19 million a year.
Anon: Past News Journal staffers have had HOF votes. Current and future News Journal staffers will have HOF votes. If the Hall has lost any prestige, you're the only one who has noticed.
Can you tell me who the eight knuckleheads are who didn't vote for Cal Ripken for the Hall of Fame? And why?
It's just pure baloney that they think because Babe Ruth didn't get 100 percent of the votes, or whoever, that no one else will, either.
I cannot for the life of me think of one compelling reason why Ripken shouldn't have been named on all of the ballots. And don't bring up character. That didn't stop Ty Cobb or any number of louts from being honored for their baseball achievements.
Just call them eight men out -- and I'm almost positive they're all crusty old (or middle-aged) men who think they're protecting America's game from some perceived attack of mediocrity or some other ridiculous notion.
Their voting memberships should be revoked. Which reminds me, why should writers and broadcasters be making news -- by selecting Hall of Fame classes -- instead of reporting it, anyway? Let real baseball people choose their Hall of Fame members.
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