Rickey, Rice are in

Guess the writers of Rice's era must have been the biggest assholes on planet earth. Because he got a grand total of 29.8% from the guys who, you know, actually covered his teams/his era. That's a whole hell of a lot of guys keeping him out purely on surliness.

Not that it's not WONDERFUL that everyone got all touchy-feely in his final years of eligibility and decided to give him a free pass.

This isn't a guy that was stuck on 70% for 14 years. Guy started ... STARTED ... at 29.8.

Foolishness.

 

Lollygagger after he left the A's the first time.

 

Bizarre.

 

I remember hearing that some voters would skip a guy on his first year of eligibility because the bogus "first year of eligibility" status had taken on a life of its own -- a status thing, as if people making it in Year 1 were somehow automatically a cut above. Think this got really silly when people were saying it about a guy like Willie Stargell, as if he belonged in the same breath with Ruth, Mays, Mantle, Aaron, etc.

I even accepted it, figuring that a few votes not cast for a guy like Gwynn or Ripken or Henderson wouldn't prevent from getting in anyway. And I shared the distaste for the "first year" club, as if those guys were riding in first class and other HOFers belonged in coach.

But then I saw where Henderson is the 44th guy to go in on his first year of eligibility, which ought to muddy the waters on "extra-greatness" enough to end the uncast-ballot-as-statement thing.

I guess we've still got several different types of guardians of the Hall: Those who think no one should go in unanimously because none of the game's previous legends have, those who don't want someone's vote percentage to top Tom Seaver's or Ripken's and those who don't vote for anyone in his first year of eligibility. Add in a few guys who had personal grudges with Henderson or disapproved of something he did or happened to be Lou Brock fans or whatever, and I can see getting 28 unchecked boxes, no problem.

I voted for Henderson, but I enjoyed my 15th consecutive year of not voting for Jim Rice. So we can have a deal on induction day: He won't have to thank me and I'll tune in only long enough to hear Henderson's speech.

 

Now maybe we can all move the love train to Blyleven -- another guy with no business being enshrined.

 

If there's still a board five years from now, you're on!

 

He absolutely does and he certainly deserved to be a more than 95 percent guy... The 28 voters who did not have him on their ballot should have their votes revoked -- particularly the moron who voted for Matt Williams.....

 

Rickey deserved a much higher percentage of the vote. Yes, he was...unique. He was also tremendously quotable, for what that's worth to a few selfish voters.

Never mind that he was the single greatest leadoff hitter of the modern era, the personification of modern baseball strategy and the holder of numerous hallowed records. Think about just how much he accomplished *after* he broke the steals record.

I cannot fathom failing to cast a vote for Henderson.

 

Rickey was 2-5 that game with an RBI and a RS. Just FWIW.

 

Henderson could have been a model citizen whose defense never declined and spent his entire career with one franchise and he still would not have gotten the unanimous vote because a few jackasses will never allow anybody to get in unanimously.

 

There are some intriguing names on next year's ballot....

Fred McGriff
Robby Alomar
Barry Larkin

I don't know if any of those three are locks.