RIP Sid Hartman

Agree.

We had five slots on this year's modern ballot for three inductees.

We also had three first-year, first-ballot, must-elect locks for the Hall.

I voted for those three and put my ballot in the mail.

It'll be easier to get in next year.

 

And the 5 slots on the Modern Ballot were for people who were already voted down by the writers. The Modern Ballot and the other two are a slap in the BBWAA’s face. Cronyism at its best.

 

In my sport, I guarantee you none of my colleagues, not one, stopped and thought, "I'm going to keep _____ out of the Hall of Fame because it's his first year of eligibility."

I'm not sure how to get that kind of knuckleheaded self-aggrandizement out of baseball.

As often happens in elite institutions, a Hall vote in baseball has become a referendum on the importance of the voting body itself, rather than the player.

 

In some years in the 30s 20-25% of position player plate appearances are by Hall of Famers. It's been the Hall of Pretty Good for 30 years. It's not modern players watering things down (this image was before last induction).

 

Generally speaking, the rules have been liberalized rather than tightened. The basic qualification that most chapter heads are using these days -- there's a bit of leeway either way -- is that you're covering baseball as a full-time employee of an outlet, print or online, that is accredited for baseball's big events.

 

I’m not sure what Plate Appearances have to do with one’s worthiness for HOF, but your point belies one of the worst arguments. Just because voters may have made poor decisions in the past we should continue making bad decisions?

 

How many of the following do you think are Hall of Famers?

Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
John Smoltz
Craig Biggio
Mike Piazza
Jeff Bagwell
Tim Raines
Curt Schilling
Roger Clemens
Barry Bonds
Lee Smith
Edgar Martinez
Alan Trammell
Mike Mussina
Larry Walker
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa

Because that’s 12 guys who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and five who haven’t...yet.

They were together on the ballot….all of five years ago.

 

Threadjack back to dogs. My father, a dog lover, worried about getting a dog who would survive him. The solution. Beagles, for some reason, are the most popular test dog. So a lot wind up in shelters. A beagle will be your best friend and beagles work in smaller spaces. My parents looked through shelters for a mid aged (4-6) beagle. And beagles work in smaller spaces. It worked well. So much so that my son did the same thing when he looked for a dog.

And my Sid Hartman reference. My grandfather moved up to a Minneapolis paper in 1945 from Billings. My mother was entering the fourth grade at the time. She died at 81 in 2018. So my grandfather and Hartman started in Minneapolis journalism the same year

 

Don't think this was posted yet .... good read

I helped Sid Hartman keep up his column. He saved my life.

 

Ummm ... Go up two posts?

 

I was an umpire... certified blind!