Worst Hall of Fame ballot ever? Worst Hall of Fame ballot ever.

Fans shouldn't vote. That's absurd.

I like how the NFL does it, except it should be made public who votes for who.

One writer from each city and a handful of "at-large" voters.

I think you'd see a lot less of this kind of bullshit.

 

Mizzou, I say this with all respect for the Football Hall election committee, some of whom are good friends of mine, but there's WAY more bullshit with their elections than there is with the baseball voting. I could cite examples of real pettiness, but in fairness, I'll say that one Hall committee member, a friend and a most respected colleague, said he would NEVER allow a kicker to be elected, because they weren't football players.
Suppose a baseball voter said the same thing about relief pitchers.

 

Trust me, I've heard my share of stories about what goes on in that room. The thing is, I don't think they would act like that if they were held accoutable for it. Hell, let the NFL Network televise it.

But the NFL doesn't have issues like (I'm trying to think of the NFL equivalent of BJ Surhoff) getting HOF votes.

 

Guys like this get votes every year. It's the ballots that leave off undeniable HOF guys like Rickey Henderson that are at issue.

 

MLB.com writers votes:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110104&content_id=16389462&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb


And the football Hall of Fame is total bullshit....writers "presenting" nominees and pitching them to the rest of the "select" committee.

 

I'd argue that Robbie Alomar should be undeniable

 

I agree the "presentation' aspect of how the NFL does it is pretty stupid, but I like the idea of "experts" discussing and arguing the merits of certain players.

 

And don't forget they are required to have at least 6 inductess a year .. even if there aren't six deserving guys.

 

Yeah, I think for baseball, you would definitely have to change that in most years.

I just think it's ridiculous that if you cover baseball for 10 years, you get a HOF vote for life. How about you get one until you're done covering baseball?

 

Anyone who says Barry Larkin belongs in the "Hall of Very Good" loses credibility with me. Maybe he does if you judge him against the modern shortstop. But judged against his peers, he was most definitely elite.

 

Hoo boy! Barry Stanton is participating in a live chat on ESPN.com, and has said he will explain his vote.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof11/news/story?id=5988529

 

Larkin is borderline, but should eventually get in. I still think there's another Reds shortstop who should get in before him (Concepcion).