The Hawk was inducted into the Hall of Fame, which makes me happy. I’ve been voting for Andre Dawson all along.
This year I voted for Roberto Alomar and Barry Larkin. I’m not a believer in making someone wait – if you think they’re a Hall of Famer then vote for them, first year, eighth year, whenever. But plenty of voters think only an elite group deserve a Hall of Fame vote on their first appearance on the ballot.
Mark McGwire got 10 more votes than he did last year. He received 23.7 percent of the vote, slightly up from last year. That surprises me.
I would have predicted he would get even fewer votes, considering how lame he’s been at handling his new spotlight. Back in October, Tony LaRussa hired the tainted slugger as his hitting coach and promised that McGwire would address the media on a conference call. Still waiting for that to happen.
If McGwire’s evasiveness before Congress hurt his case with voters, which seems to be the thinking, I wouldn’t think his current invisibility act helped his cause. But maybe the ten who voted for him just got weary of the story. Or think that being LaRussa’s hitting coach is Step One on the Road to Redemption.
I don’t withhold my vote from McGwire because of his stance in Congress – though I was appalled by it – but because I don’t think he’s a Hall of Famer. He hit a lot of home runs. I’m pretty sure I know why he hit so many home runs. On my ballot, that makes him interesting, but not a Hall of Famer.
I’m glad to see that Hank Aaron is offering his input on the Hall of Fame. I’ve long been a proponent of a blue ribbon panel of living Hall of Famers to help solve the steroid issue, in relationship to Cooperstown. This is too big and difficult an issue to just be passed off to the voters for a thumbs up or thumbs down. I’m not holding my breath to see if Bud Selig comes up with a solution.
What a fraud.
How long ago was it that you wrote that would not vote for anyone unless the HOF wrote some rules to clarify the whole steroid business? You even allude to it above. But, of course, that was nonsense. You just needed to sound tough. You really don’t have any convictions. And like McGwire, I guess you are not here to talk about the past.
Spot on David. This chick is a complete idiot.