First Ballot Hall of Famers
January 7th, 2010 | by Amit Lal |The results from the 2010 Hall of Fame voting were released on January 6, 2010, and only Andre Dawson exceeded the threshold of 75% for induction. Although I would not have voted for Dawson (Link), I don’t think he’s a horrible selection. What does surprise me is that the voters thought he was the best candidate on the ballot – I would have ranked him 8th, behind Blyleven, Alomar, Raines, Larkin, Trammell, Martinez, and McGwire.
But one reason why Dawson received more votes than Alomar or Larkin is that some voters refuse to vote for players who are on the ballot for the first time. Jay Mariotti, for example, stated that “To me…the first ballot is sacred. I think Roberto Alomar is an eventual Hall of Famer, [but] not the first time.”
Is there something to this? Should the first ballot be reserved for the inner circle Hall of Famers? Well, first of all, if many voters thought this way, the player wouldn’t stay on the HOF ballot, since 5% of the votes are required to return the following year. Luckily, most voters didn’t think that way. Second, is there really a difference between first ballot HOFers and those who were elected in subsequent years? Does anyone even know who the First Ballot HOFers are?
Here are some players who were not selected on the first ballot (AVG/OBP/SLG, ASG= All Star Games, WS = World Series Rings):
NOT First Ballot Hall of Famers
Rogers Hornsby, 2B: .358/.434/.577, 301 HR, 1584 RBI, 2 MVPs
Yogi Berra, C: 358 HR, 1430 RBI, 3 MVPs, 15 ASG, 13 WS
Mel Ott, 3B: .304/.414/.533, 511 HR, 1860 RBI, 12 ASG, 1 WS
Jimmie Foxx, 1B: .325/.428/.609, 534 HR, 1922 RBI, 3 MVPs
Cy Young, SP: 511 Wins, 2.63 ERA
Pete Alexander, SP: 373 Wins, 2.56 ERA, 1.12 WHIP
Lefty Grove, SP: 300 Wins, 148 ERA+ (#3 All-Time)
Others who were not selected in their first year of eligibility include Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, Eddie Collins, George Sisler, Willie Keeler, and Ed Delahanty.
Meanwhile, some of the players who were recently inducted on the first ballot include Lou Brock, Paul Molitor, Kirby Puckett, and Robin Yount. All solid players, but does anyone really think of them as inner-circle Hall of Famers? I don’t think so.
Are the First Ballot inductees really the best players in the Hall of Fame? No, since some of the greatest players in baseball history were not elected on the first ballot, while many of those who were aren’t really all-time greats. Let’s put an end to this silly idea of not voting for worthy players in their first year.
Tags: Andre Dawson, Hall of Fame, Roberto Alomar
By RockiesMagicNumber on Jan 7, 2010
Well, the issue is that Jay Mariotti is also a complete and utter moron. Most of the HoF voters are morons. It’s such a corrupt club of cronies (alliteration, anyone?) and real skill isn’t recognized. Frankly, I think the standards for the Hall are too low. Dawson was very good, but I don’t even consider him a Hall of Famer. He was a powerful force over the course of a few years, and then beyond that he was simply “very good”, and even then it’s a stretch. A .323 OBP does not even come close to representing a HoF baseball player. Him, Jim Rice, and any number of other “very good” players don’t belong in the Hall of Fame.
The problem with the Hall is that it’s become the Hall of Longevity and somewhat above-average performance, or it’s the Hall of “Well If He Hadn’t Gotten Hurt He’d Have Been Amazing So…” and that just doesn’t cut it for me.
That said, I simultaneously do and don’t think that Blyleven should be in the Hall. Going off of current standards, a HoF lacking Bert Blyleven is an absolute travesty and is the result of terrible dinosaurs who can’t appreciate excellent baseball players because of a lifeline to outdated, circumstantial evaluation that will prevent some of the real cream to rise to the top. However, if MY standard of “The best player” was upheld, Blyleven would not be in. Very good, but not Hall of Fame. Tom Seaver, Randy Johnson, Whitey Ford, Greg Maddux – those are Hall of Fame pitchers, guys who weren’t just “very good during a time”, they were the Best.
Thanks for the article.
By Amit Lal on Jan 7, 2010
The other ridiculous thing about Mariotti is that he voted for Blyleven and Dawson last year, but not this year. His reasoning was “if they haven’t gotten in for years and years I cannot vote them in now”. If he thought they were worthy last year, what changed his mind?
By RockiesMagicNumber on Jan 7, 2010
Exactly. The logic that goes behind a lot of HoF voting is like kids playing 4-Square with all the made-up rules. It’s absolutely absurd.
By Matt on Jan 19, 2010
I agree that Dawson falls just shy, and is neither an inspired nor horrible selection. Aside from his traditional counting stats and broad based skills, I think he’s perceived as a leader, good guy etc, and was glorified on WGN in an era when there wasnt nearly as much baseball on TV.
Voters withholding first year approvals is an issue, but less so than historically.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/how-joe-dimaggio-forever-changed-cooperstown-voting/
cheers
By Amit Lal on Jan 19, 2010
Matt – nice article, thanks for the link.