134 replies to this topic

[Don Quixote]

Was the Benitez voter from The Plain Dealer?

[SportsGuy]

People who leave off obvious choices to me are just as bad IMO.

Depends on why they left them off.

[Oriole85]

Depends on why they left them off.

The only reason that's OK in my books is if you don't think they are a HOFer. If you really don't think they are HOFers I can respect that. But to do so for your own personal reasons is an abuse of your voting powers.

[SportsGuy]

The only reason that's OK in my books is if you don't think they are a HOFer. If you really don't think they are HOFers I can respect that. But to do so for your own personal reasons is an abuse of your voting powers.

Personal reasons, IE i just don't like the guy is terrible.

 

But, if you are doing strategic voting to make sure some stay on, there shouldn't be any issue with it.  The bottom line is the rules dictate these types of scenarios and that is the fault of BBWAA and the HOF.

[Oriole85]

Personal reasons, IE i just don't like the guy is terrible.

 

But, if you are doing strategic voting to make sure some stay on, there shouldn't be any issue with it.  The bottom line is the rules dictate these types of scenarios and that is the fault of BBWAA and the HOF.

It's simple to me: vote for the 10 (or fewer) most deserving players. I think voters are more trustees of the process. I believe this is a similar process to judges upholding the laws regardless of their personal opinion (not saying that happens, it's supposed to). As DJ brought up, I agree with Joe Posnanski that leaving off a player like Maddux goes against the "spirit" of the rules.

[SportsGuy]

It's simple to me: vote for the 10 (or fewer) most deserving players. I think voters are more trustees of the process. I believe this is a similar process to judges upholding the laws regardless of their personal opinion (not saying that happens, it's supposed to). As DJ brought up, I agree with Joe Posnanski that leaving off a player like Maddux goes against the "spirit" of the rules.

In a lot of ways, I agree with that.

 

However, I think having a guy like Raffy off the ballot also goes against the spirit of the rules and if my vote means he stays on and a guy like Maddux gets 97.8% instead of 98%, so be it. 

[DJ MC]

The BBWAA revokes Dan LeBatard’s Hall of Fame vote, suspends him for a year

 

This is disappointing, but not surprising.

 

When you commit an act of civil disobedience, you go into the situation knowing the consequences and ready to accept them. You just hope that others will use your action as a call for whatever change you would like to see. We will see if that happens within the membership of the BBWAA.

 

And, as has been mentioned before, Deadspin claims to already be set up to do this again next year. So the BBWAA won't be able to sweep this under the rug, especially if more voters decide to do the same.

[SportsGuy]

LeBatard said today he shouldn't even have a vote...that he isn't qualified enough to have one.

[Mike in STL]

The fact that LeBatard had a vote is...highly questionable. (Terrible. You're better than that. Is that show even on anymore?)

 

Seriously though. He got his privilege stripped for not taking this seriously. Why stop there? Dozens more did the same. 

[Oriole85]

The fact that LeBatard had a vote is...highly questionable. (Terrible. You're better than that. Is that show even on anymore?)

 

Seriously though. He got his privilege stripped for not taking this seriously. Why stop there? Dozens more did the same. 

I believe it is... highly questionable describes the ESPN executives that still haven't canned it.

[DJ MC]

The fact that LeBatard had a vote is...highly questionable. (Terrible. You're better than that. Is that show even on anymore?)

 

Seriously though. He got his privilege stripped for not taking this seriously. Why stop there? Dozens more did the same. 

 

His father, the co-host on Highly Questionable, had a Heisman vote this year.

[Mike in STL]

 
His father, the co-host on Highly Questionable, had a Heisman vote this year.

Haha. The Heisman. Another joke. Character is part of the motto which guys are supposed to be judged on. Yet guys like Manziel and Newton with questionable character seem to win.

[DJ MC]

The BBWAA can't even write their own constitution correctly:

 

Did the BBWAA violate its own Constitution in disciplining Dan LeBatard? Maybe? I can’t tell.

[Pedro Cerrano]

The BBWAA can't even write their own constitution correctly:
 
Did the BBWAA violate its own Constitution in disciplining Dan LeBatard? Maybe? I can’t tell.

Ask them

[Icterus galbula]

BBWAA will eventually put it up like they did last year: http://bbwaa.com/13-hof-ballots/

 

Voters aren't forced to come forward, but a lot will.

 

 

This years ballots are now up (146 of them, for now at least)

 

http://bbwaa.com/14-hof-ballots/

[DJ MC]

A trio of Poz on the Hall:

 

Hall of Fame Recap

 

A Rose By Any Other Name

 

A Hall of Fame Idea

[DJ MC]

Maps: Which Of Our Readers Were The Biggest Homers In The HOF Vote?

 

All of this is the wisdom of the crowd at work—when a lot of people vote on a thing, favoritism tends to get averaged out.

[Oriole85]

CBS Sports: Hall of Fame reveals cap selections for plaques of 2014 inductees

 

http://www.cbssports...-2014-inductees

 

The other two -- La Russa and Maddux -- are going to get plaques with blank caps.

Here's the rationale, via the Hall of Fame's official website.

“The Museum staff works with each inductee by suggesting an appropriate logo option, or no logo at all,” said Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “For those whose most compelling contributions clearly took place with one team, a logo makes sense. For those whose careers were built significantly among multiple teams, not having a team logo is equally acceptable. Regardless of the selection, a Hall of Famer belong to every team for which he played or managed, as well as every fan who followed his career.”

 

It seems logical to say that Maddux should be wearing a Braves cap and that the plaque itself could mention his involvement with the Cubs. But here is Maddux's statement:

“My wife Kathy and I grew up in baseball in Chicago, and then we had just an amazing experience in Atlanta with the Braves. It's impossible for me to choose one of those teams for my Hall of Fame plaque, as the fans of both clubs in each of those cities were so wonderful. I can't think of having my Hall of Fame induction without support of both of those fan bases, so, for that reason, the cap on my Hall of Fame plaque will not feature a logo.”

[SammyBirdland]

Just saw an interesting Greg Maddux stat:

 

 

Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters during his career and only 310 saw a 3-0 count.  177 of those were intentional walks.

[You Play to Win the Game]

Just saw an interesting Greg Maddux stat:

 

 

Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters during his career and only 310 saw a 3-0 count.  177 of those were intentional walks.

 

Wow. Just wow.