11/05/24
January 12, 2009
Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice make this year's MLB Hall of Fame: Henderson is a first-time ballot inductee while Rice was on his final year of eligibility.
Whoah! That post came out all screwy. Sorry.
posted by NoMich at 09:32 PM on January 12, 2009
So explain to me why it is that McGwire lost votes in his third year- more than half of the votes he had last year. Did that many voters have a change of heart?
And again I ask, the 5.2% of people who left Rickey Henderson off the ballot- shouldn't they be stricken from voting? I mean, what case can they make for leaving the guy off the ballot? Le sigh. The BBWAA are, as always, a bunch of talentless clods wishing they were on the field instead of pathetic rejects in all facets of life.
posted by hincandenza at 11:04 PM on January 12, 2009
Tell us how you really feel, Hal.
And how does Tim Raines go down in percentage of vote received? I guess I can understand that he's up against a guy this year in Henderson who played the same position (LF) and filled the same role (lead-off hitter) and did it better, but it's not like his merits changed between last year and this or that there was an influx of worthy players this year. 22.6% is just embarrassing (for the BBWAA, not Raines).
posted by holden at 11:33 PM on January 12, 2009
Rickey Henderson would just like to say that Rickey Henderson would like to thank all those that voted for Rickey Henderson. Sincerely, Rickey Henderson.
posted by owlhouse at 12:37 AM on January 13, 2009
Rice's election makes me wonder how many other Hall of Fame members were elected in their 15th and final year of eligibility. They would represent the bare minimum standard for getting in, if you judge worthiness by how quickly they made it.
I'm kinda glad he got in, because he was one of the storied hitters of my adolescence. But the numbers do instantly raise the question of why Andre Dawson and Tim Raines aren't in.
posted by rcade at 08:18 AM on January 13, 2009
I can better understand the 5.2% who left Henderson off the ballot than the one writer who decided to spend one of his votes on Jesse Orosco.
posted by Jugwine at 08:26 AM on January 13, 2009
I can better understand the 5.2% who left Henderson off the ballot than the one writer who decided to spend one of his votes on Jesse Orosco.
Just as Tommy John (who actually was a quite good pitcher, but not HOF material) presumably gets more votes than he should by virtue of lending his name to a medical procedure, Jesse Orosco deserves that solitary vote for being the uber-LOOGY by which all other LOOGYs should be judged.
posted by holden at 11:07 AM on January 13, 2009
On the third day of christmas, My true love gave to me, Taaaaah-my John. Two Jay Bells, 1 Orosco, And a Dan Plesac on the ballot.
posted by dfleming at 02:33 PM on January 13, 2009
Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven should both make it in the next few years. I'm really happy that Jim Ed Rice finally made it in. Some said his credentials were not enough, but there's a lot more to performance than just numbers. As for the writers who did not vote for Henderson, at least one had a somewhat valid reason, that being that he felt Henderson occasionally "dogged" it. This writer also said that Henderson deserved to be in the Hall, just not on the first ballot. Another voter said something to the effect that nobody should be unanimously voted in, thus he did not vote for Henderson. A bit snarky, that.
I can't wait to hear Henderson's speech at his induction ceremony. It should be a hoot.
posted by Howard_T at 02:35 PM on January 13, 2009
Ricky Henderson is the greatest of all time.
Yay for live preview being back!
posted by curlyelk at 03:07 PM on January 13, 2009
For a writer to feel that he is so important that he controls whether or not someone enters the hall on the 1st ballot, or if they do so unanimously, is to grossly over-estimate their position on the planet.
posted by dviking at 09:44 PM on January 13, 2009
Rice's election makes me wonder how many other Hall of Fame members were elected in their 15th and final year of eligibility. They would represent the bare minimum standard for getting in, if you judge worthiness by how quickly they made it.
Ralph Kiner and Red Ruffing both made it in on their respective last years of eligibility.
I believe Kiner is considered to be a defensible choice -- very good for a very short period of time (only a 10 year career) with a pretty fantastic 4-5 year peak; got out of the game in time to avoid a Jim Rice-like decline in his latter years. Ruffing, on the other hand, is generally considered to be one of the more marginal pitchers elected to the Hall by the writers (there are way worse players elected by the Veterans Committee, however) -- he was a Yankee and played over 20 years, though, which allowed him to accumulate some pretty high counting stats.
posted by holden at 02:44 PM on January 14, 2009
Player Total Votes Percentage Rickey Henderson 511 94.8% Jim Rice 412 76.4% Andre Dawson 361 67.0% Bert Blyleven 338 62.7% Lee Smith 240 44.5% Jack Morris 237 44.0% Tommy John 171 31.7% Tim Raines 122 22.6% Mark McGwire 118 21.9% Alan Trammell 94 17.4% Dave Parker 81 15.0% Don Mattingly 64 11.9% Dale Murphy 62 11.5% Harold Baines 32 5.9% Mark Grace 22 4.1% David Cone 21 3.9% Matt Williams 7 1.3% Mo Vaughn 6 1.1% Jay Bell 2 0.4% Jesse Orosco 1 0.2% Ron Gant 0 0% Dan Plesac 0 0% Greg Vaughn 0 0%