Thursday, January 10, 2013

Hall of Fame Snub? Much Ado About Nothing

Yesterday, the BBWAA announced that they have chosen to not elect anybody into 2013's Class of the Hall of Fame. And with that, the entire internet blew up.

Like, really!  It exploded with tweets, facebook post, reddit screams and crying comment threads excoriating the inhumanity of leaving off this guy or that guy!  It was as if these superstars didn't have 15 years, that's 15 YEARS, to be admitted into Baseball's ordained class of greats.  But I assure you that this is nothing new, folks!  Really... This is nothing new.

Still, I read writer and after writer, many of whom I greatly respect, lament about how the BBWAA and the rules for admittance into the Hall of Fame are corrupt or in need of significant changes.  To that, I say "BS!"... To put it bluntly.

Let me tell you why by just listing how long it took other Hall of Famers to finally be admitted.  It's an impressive list, and should provide enough evidence as to why the intense grumbling yesterday was an overreaction amplified by social media.

Don Sutton 5th Year
Don Drysdale 10th Year
Duke Snider 11th Year
Eddie Mathews 5th Year
Yogi Berra 2nd Year
Roy Campanella 5th Year
Hank Greenberg 9th Year
Joe DiMaggio 4th Year
Dizzy Dean 9th Year
Mel Ott 3rd Year
Jimmie Foxx 7th Year
Lefty Grove 4th Year
Rogers Hornsby 5th Year
Cy Young 2nd Year
Tris Speaker 2nd Year
Nap Lajoie 2nd Year

Just look at that list!  Snider took 11 years- 11!  Drysdale- 10 years.  Even Yogi and Mr. Cy Young were not 1st ballot Hall of Famers. And possibly the greatest hitter of all-time, Rogers Hornsby, waited 5 years before getting his plaque.  Also, keep this in mind, less than half of current inductees were elected by the writers.  It truly is an exclusive club, and the writers have always treated it as a solemn duty that they do not take lightly.  Historically, if there was even a question as to the worthiness of a player the writers have always chosen to defer to special committees filled with other past greats.

In the game of Baseball patience is a virtue, and having to wait is in no way an indictment of a players career.

It just might be that in our age of mass, constant, and quick communications, it only seems like we have witnessed a travesty of monumental proportions.  I assure you, we have not.  Those that deserve to be in the Hall of Fame will be in, it just won't be on your timetable.


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1 comment:

  1. I agree, for the most part. I do think that there needs to be some rules-tweaking in the Hall. Maybe nothing major, but the rules have needed some updating for quite awhile now.

    ReplyDelete

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