I read Ball Four! Great book! I also read Baseball Cop, Game of Shadows, The Rocket That Fell To Earth, and probably another 200 baseball related books over my lifetime. There is a difference between performance maintaining, and performance enhancing. Should we throw Joe DiMaggio out of the Hall because he drank an inordinate amount of coffee for the caffeine rush? Also, being a racist or a drunk NEVER helped a player hit the ball farther or run faster. The integrity I speak of is regarding the outcome of the games, not the players playing it. Unless and until a player influences the integrity of the game I have no concern with him as a person. The man up stairs will sort that one out.
Thanks for sharing your ballot and your thinking on the voting! I'm really glad you mention you will vote for Helton next year. He is clearly a well qualified candidate at 1B if one includes defense, at which he was excellent, and can figure out how to use park adjusted figures to realize he really was a great hitter even after adjusting for altitude. Honestly, with defense considered, he's a much better candidate than Ortiz, and much better than Kent, who is really a borderline 2B with defense included. He just wasn't great enough for long enough with the bat to overcome a slow/late start to his career. Rollins I don't see as anywhere near HOF level for a SS. Yes, he had great speed (triples and SB), and played great D early in his career, but the best five year peak he can put together with the bat is a 105 OPS+, barely above average. Overall this leaves him as a Hall of Very Good player for me, very low peak, lots of good seasons, just not enough great ones.
Solid ballot. The notion that the powers of MLB and the union were complicit in the steroid era is spot on. And Selig IS in the HOF…along with Pudge who, after looking at his year-to-year stat lines, appears PED questionable at best.
Writers, and I believe Tom Verducci is one of them, who use the gray of the character clause to eliminate HOF candidates should be ashamed of themselves.
I would also say this:
With advanced metrics giving HOF worthy players a possible edge in getting in—it’s time to reevaluate pre PED players like Dwight Evans, Dale Murphy, Fred McGriff, Tommy John, Dave Parker, and Fred Lynn another look. Just my opinion.
I read Ball Four! Great book! I also read Baseball Cop, Game of Shadows, The Rocket That Fell To Earth, and probably another 200 baseball related books over my lifetime. There is a difference between performance maintaining, and performance enhancing. Should we throw Joe DiMaggio out of the Hall because he drank an inordinate amount of coffee for the caffeine rush? Also, being a racist or a drunk NEVER helped a player hit the ball farther or run faster. The integrity I speak of is regarding the outcome of the games, not the players playing it. Unless and until a player influences the integrity of the game I have no concern with him as a person. The man up stairs will sort that one out.
Why do so many of you voters ignore the facts?
http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?num=19&page=steroidsExc&redirected=true
Thanks for sharing your ballot and your thinking on the voting! I'm really glad you mention you will vote for Helton next year. He is clearly a well qualified candidate at 1B if one includes defense, at which he was excellent, and can figure out how to use park adjusted figures to realize he really was a great hitter even after adjusting for altitude. Honestly, with defense considered, he's a much better candidate than Ortiz, and much better than Kent, who is really a borderline 2B with defense included. He just wasn't great enough for long enough with the bat to overcome a slow/late start to his career. Rollins I don't see as anywhere near HOF level for a SS. Yes, he had great speed (triples and SB), and played great D early in his career, but the best five year peak he can put together with the bat is a 105 OPS+, barely above average. Overall this leaves him as a Hall of Very Good player for me, very low peak, lots of good seasons, just not enough great ones.
Solid ballot. The notion that the powers of MLB and the union were complicit in the steroid era is spot on. And Selig IS in the HOF…along with Pudge who, after looking at his year-to-year stat lines, appears PED questionable at best.
Writers, and I believe Tom Verducci is one of them, who use the gray of the character clause to eliminate HOF candidates should be ashamed of themselves.
I would also say this:
With advanced metrics giving HOF worthy players a possible edge in getting in—it’s time to reevaluate pre PED players like Dwight Evans, Dale Murphy, Fred McGriff, Tommy John, Dave Parker, and Fred Lynn another look. Just my opinion.