Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Released

Cal Ripken Jr. is over rated.

My vote at SS goes to Tram.

 

I hope you're joking. Otherwise, you know nothing about baseball.

 

Someone remind me: Is the vote for Tommy John (the pitcher) or for Tommy John (the surgery)

 

Can't it be both?

On a related note -- Does James Andrews even warrant consideration? How many careers has he saved over the years?

 

You're kidding right? Tram was a good player, but not more deserving of the HOF than Ripken. Read on:

Batting Average: Ripken .276. Tram .285.
Hits: Ripken 3,184. Tram 2,365.
Home Runs: Ripken 431, Tram 185.
Runs: Ripken 1,647. Tram: 1,231.
Steals: Ripken 36. Tram 236.
Gold Gloves: Ripken 2. Tram 4.
MVP awards: Ripken 2. Tram 0.
All-Star appearances: Ripken 19, Tram 6. Who cares. I don't place much stock in the All-Star Game anyway.
RBI: Ripken 1,695. Tram 1,003.
Extra-base hits: Ripken 1,078. Tram 652.

And we can't forget Ripken's most impressive contribution to baseball - 2,632 consecutive games played.

 

Bert Blyleven
Rich Gossage
Alan Trammell
Tony Gwynn
Cal Ripken Jr.

Lets compare Trammell to some other likely Hall of Famers
Total stats
Trammell: .285/.352/.415 (BA, OBP, SLG), 2365 H, 185 HR, 1003 RBI, 236 SB in 20 seasons
Yount: .285/.342/.430, 3142 H, 251 HR, 1406 RBI, 271 SB in 20 seasons
Ripken: .276/.340/.447, 3184 H, 431 HR, 1695 RBI, 36 SB in 21 seasons
Sandberg: .285/.344/.452, 2386 H, 282 HR, 1061 RBI, 344 SB in 16 seasons
Larkin: .295/.371/.444, 2340 H, 198 HR, 960 RBI, 379 SB in 19 seasons

Trammell's numbers are just as good as any of them. He did not hit as many home runs, but hit a fair share of doubles (averaged 29 per season) and drove in runs. He was a Gold Glove winning SS (80, 81, 83, 84) and should have been the MVP in 1987 (finished second to George Bell, because Bell hit 47 HRs; Trammell had a great OPS and led his team to 98 wins). If Sandberg is in, Trammell should be in as well.

 

Yes

 

not that it impacts his HOF chances, but how much better would ripken have been had he taken off 10-12 games a year over the second half of the year? i think the streak hurt him (and the orioles) in the last five years or so.

 

My picks in bold.

Players that, if they receive one vote, that writer should lose his vote: Bichette, Brosius, Fernandez, Witt.

 

I'd vote for Gwynn, Ripken, Gossage and Blyleven. I hope McGwire doesn't make it. And I hope the same disappointing fate awaits Bonds five years after he retires.

 

The emotion of steroids doesn't mean a damn thing to me in this. The cold facts are what mean something to me, and McGwire was at times a .220 hitter.

When Bonds comes up, I don't think you'll be able to say the same thing. (Hmmmm. On second thought...)

 

Pope, thanks for posting that. I was going to do the leg work, but I'm in the middle of a high school basketball preview.

Anyway, both also won a World Series. But what did Cal do after he won his, as a rookie? The Tigers were pushing for the playoffs in 1987 and 1988. Not to mention Trammell's defensive contributions as one half of one of the greatest double-play tandems in history.

Ripken's fame is a product of The Streak.