Welcome to Cooperstown, Wade and Ryno
Congratulations to the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, longtime Red Sox and Yankees third baseman Wade Boggs and popular Cubs second sacker Ryne Sandberg.
No surprise in either case, other than the fact that it took Sandberg three years to be voted in (this was the first year of eligibility for Boggs). Both were among the premier players of their generation at their respective positions.
Boggs was easily a shoo-in: a career .328 average; 3010 total hits; five American League batting titles, four of which he won in years when he led both major leagues in batting. Sounds like a Hall of Famer to me. The only strike against Boggs was his long-term affair with a woman not his wife (like that never happens in professional sports), which became rather nasty when it came to public light.
Sandberg is a tougher call only because second baseman are primarily defensive players, with the odd exception of a Bill Madlock or Jeff Kent, and therefore must be evaluated on the basis of overall contribution rather than strictly on the numbers. Sandberg was for a while the best second baseman in the National League, winning nine Gold Gloves at the position, plus the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1984. I'd have voted for him without qualm.
Of the other players on the HOF ballot this time around, I would also have thrown a vote to each of the following players, none of whom garnered enough support to gain election: Bruce Sutter, the superstar relief pitcher who helped create the "closer" role in modern baseball; Jim Rice, the great Red Sox outfielder; Rich "The Goose" Gossage, another stellar reliever who was even more imposing than Sutter; Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, the power-hitting, sure-fielding outfielder for the Expos and Cubs; and Jack Morris, the Tigers pitcher who was indisputably the American League's best starter during the 1980s.
Frankly, I continue to be baffled that all five of these worthy gentlemen remain outside the Hall looking in. It is far easier to make a case for each of them to be included than it is for any of them to be excluded, and I consider myself a tough grader when it comes to HOF nominees. Dawson, in particular, should have been a first-ballot lock. Rice continues to be denied mostly because he was an unpleasant guy who alternately snubbed and antagonized sportswriters — a stupid reason, in my view, but there you go.
Each year when the Hall of Fame balloting is announced, I'm always curious to see the bottom of the list, where reside the players who collected insufficient votes to remain on the ballot for another year. Usually, this group consists of players whom no self-respecting baseball writer should even consider checking off, but there is always a smattering of incomprehensible support for guys like Black Jack McDowell (four votes), Tom Candiotti (two), and Jeff Montgomery (two).
I was, however, pleased to see that Chili Davis picked up three votes. Chili doesn't belong in the Hall, but he was a much better player than he ever received credit for being. The numbers he put up during his 18-plus seasons with five teams (most prominently the Giants and Angels) prove it: 350 home runs, 1372 runs batted in, and a career slugging percentage of .451. Those aren't Hall of Fame totals, but they're extremely respectable. Chili has nothing to be embarrassed about when he shows his grandchildren his baseball card.
No surprise in either case, other than the fact that it took Sandberg three years to be voted in (this was the first year of eligibility for Boggs). Both were among the premier players of their generation at their respective positions.
Boggs was easily a shoo-in: a career .328 average; 3010 total hits; five American League batting titles, four of which he won in years when he led both major leagues in batting. Sounds like a Hall of Famer to me. The only strike against Boggs was his long-term affair with a woman not his wife (like that never happens in professional sports), which became rather nasty when it came to public light.
Sandberg is a tougher call only because second baseman are primarily defensive players, with the odd exception of a Bill Madlock or Jeff Kent, and therefore must be evaluated on the basis of overall contribution rather than strictly on the numbers. Sandberg was for a while the best second baseman in the National League, winning nine Gold Gloves at the position, plus the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1984. I'd have voted for him without qualm.
Of the other players on the HOF ballot this time around, I would also have thrown a vote to each of the following players, none of whom garnered enough support to gain election: Bruce Sutter, the superstar relief pitcher who helped create the "closer" role in modern baseball; Jim Rice, the great Red Sox outfielder; Rich "The Goose" Gossage, another stellar reliever who was even more imposing than Sutter; Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, the power-hitting, sure-fielding outfielder for the Expos and Cubs; and Jack Morris, the Tigers pitcher who was indisputably the American League's best starter during the 1980s.
Frankly, I continue to be baffled that all five of these worthy gentlemen remain outside the Hall looking in. It is far easier to make a case for each of them to be included than it is for any of them to be excluded, and I consider myself a tough grader when it comes to HOF nominees. Dawson, in particular, should have been a first-ballot lock. Rice continues to be denied mostly because he was an unpleasant guy who alternately snubbed and antagonized sportswriters — a stupid reason, in my view, but there you go.
Each year when the Hall of Fame balloting is announced, I'm always curious to see the bottom of the list, where reside the players who collected insufficient votes to remain on the ballot for another year. Usually, this group consists of players whom no self-respecting baseball writer should even consider checking off, but there is always a smattering of incomprehensible support for guys like Black Jack McDowell (four votes), Tom Candiotti (two), and Jeff Montgomery (two).
I was, however, pleased to see that Chili Davis picked up three votes. Chili doesn't belong in the Hall, but he was a much better player than he ever received credit for being. The numbers he put up during his 18-plus seasons with five teams (most prominently the Giants and Angels) prove it: 350 home runs, 1372 runs batted in, and a career slugging percentage of .451. Those aren't Hall of Fame totals, but they're extremely respectable. Chili has nothing to be embarrassed about when he shows his grandchildren his baseball card.
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 4:56 PM
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