Every January, Baseball gets the chance to celebrate what's great about the game, instead we get a funeral. America's past time is in desperate need of healing. Granted, the damage done from the steroid era is immeasurable, but why should we allow it to destroy the next 10 years of baseball? To begin the healing process, we need to focus on rewarding the guys that played the right way. Those that embodied what's best about the game. The players who gave us more than numbers, those that gave of us memories that were real.
Yet again, Bert Blyleven fell 13 wins short of making the Hall of Fame! Voters are still apparently waiting for him to make one last push. Opportunity came in 2009 when the Twins' lost Kevin Slowey for the season. After no speculation of a comeback, the Twins traded for Carl Pavano, in an instant the comma after Bert Blyleven became a period. Now he has company, as Fred McGriff will spend the remainder of his eligibility 7 home runs short of the same honor. The "Crime Dog" should get in for no other reason than passing on both the "creme" and the "clear"! Is that not worth 7 home runs? Also, let's not forget, he did work with legendary Tom Emansky and win a World Series!
There's an old saying "I wouldn't be a member of a club that wouldn't have me". Unfortunately, in this case, there is no other club for Blyleven, McGriff, Larkin, Lee Smith, and Jack Morris to join. It's truly sad to see players like Bert Blyleven annually beg and plea their case to a group of writers that never toed the rubber. These synical sports writers spend years trying to find every reason a player shouldn't get in. Wouldn't it be great if we focused on every reason a player should get in? When I pay $8 for a beverage at a game, is it much to ask that it be half full? I know it's overpriced and under-filled, but that's what sports fans do. (I would pay $800 for a beer if it the Timberwolves signed LeBron! )
Instead of turning the the next 15 years of Hall voting into a depressing re-hash of what we already know, here's the common sense solution to baseball's problem:
1.Lets take all the steroid players off the ballot for 10-15 years, put there names in a time capsule, and bury it. Some would call this ignorance, I call it gaining some much needed "perspective". The elapse of time tends to put things into context. On top of that, lets not play dumb and pretend like we need more evidence on certain players.
2.In the mean time, celebrate the good! Would it be such a horrible thing to put players in the Hall of Fame for reasons other than numbers and individual accomplishments? (Remember how good the late 80's, early 90's Reds, Twins, and Blue Jays were?) Maybe you also get rid of the rigid system of elgibility and make exceptions for guys like Tony Oliva. Shouldn't good guys get the benefit of the doubt sometimes? Especially when you make the All-Star Game in your first 8 seasons, wins 3 batting titles, rookie of the year, all in spite of injury.
3. Vote with your gut. I'm a huge "stat junky", but sometimes all stats do is get in the way. Stats certainly don't do justice to pitchers who threw against the steroid sluggers or the players who decided not to juice.
The good news for baseball is that there are is no shortage of living legends waiting in line to get in. I assure you, that line in not for Pete Rose's autograph booth across the street. There's plenty of guys who hit over 300 Home Runs in the 80's and early 90's (an era when 25 home runs was impressive!), who won multiple world series, who gave their bodies to the team they played for, and that played their best when the most was on the line.
I'm guessing Jack Morris' glove or shoes are in the hall of fame (or some other Relic), just not Jack himself. That's the epitome of what's wrong with the Hall. As a sports and Twins fan, I remember Jack Morris pitching 1 of the 5 greatest games in baseball history (Game 7, 1991 World Series). Yes, he might have only 254 Wins and career ERA of 3.90. But like Nolan Ryan and Blyleven, Jack gave his arm to the game, in the process giving up more earned runs. These guys took the rubber every fifth day no matter how their arm felt. At the very least, if your not gonna put Jack sell the Glove and Shoes to Topps! (If this relic card does exist and you happen to have it, contact me ASAP!!!)
It was an ideal concept to give sports writers a vote, but the unfortunate truth is that "good news" doesn't sell anymore. We're running low on Dick Vitale's, Bill James', and Peter Gammon's (Writers who's passion for sports is contagious). Sports writers need to take an honest look at what there industry has become. Mass media would have us believe that the world is constantly getting worse around us. In reality, they are the only thing getting worse. Meanwhile, I'm gonna keep on collecting (Non-Steroid Players), playing "MLB10: The Show" for hours on end when it releases (With the TWINS at TARGET FIELD!!!), playing Fantasy Sports, and enjoying sports the way I always have and always will.
On a side note, am I the only one who liked Sports Center best when it gave us box scores, stats, and highlighted the good in sports?
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