The 1st National HOF in the USA was the Baseball HOF. Like all things….it has changed over time.
…opening in 1936, walking in the Front Door proudly was the original class of Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson. They were the true superstars of the baseball world. Currently, there are two ways to enter the HOF 1) election by a 75% vote of the members of the Baseball Writers Association, who have been given the task of choosing players whose careers ended in the past 10 years or 2) selection by a Veterans committee, now called ERA committee, who choose players who were overlooked by the BBWA (Baseball Writers Assn)
…To me, the entire idea that a small committee that’s formed to find the “overlooked” guys becomes almost like a “pity” party. Neither should this ERA committee feel compelled to vote “in” a player(s) every year. This ERA committee has 16 members. Is that a true cross section of the overall voters (400)? I would think that the ERA committee should have at least 25% of the voters (100 voters) to ensure that the “homer” factor doesn’t push in marginal players.
…many fans point out the weakest player and then claim, “well….joe Blow is “better than him” so he should be in the HOF. I view entrance into the HOF to be for extremely talented players who performed for a number of years at a very high level. The idea of comparing a prospective HOF’er to the weakest player in the HOF lessens the quality of the HOF.
…These rules have been tweaked but I feel more change is necessary for add credibility to the “modern” game. For example—NO longer should it only the baseball writers who follow the team daily. There should be TV analysts, national writers, baseball commentators who SHOULD be included in the voting process.
…I find it a bit strange for fans 20-30-50 years after a player was in the MLB to supersede the actual eyes, experience, expertise of the Induction committee. Sure…we have analytics. Does that tell you EVERY thing? Like, how many games were won because of a key hit? Or does it tell when those HR’s were hit in a close games or blow outs? Several other outstanding qualities and plays can’t ALWAYS be measure by analytics alone. If people think the analytics alone is the basis for the vote….why have human voters? Just have the computer spit out the numbers. Analytics ARE a part of the process but NOT the be all and end all of the process.
….the “Era” committee replaced the Veterans Committee—THANK GOODNESS. The Veterans committee has “voted in” most of the weakest players in the HOF. Yes…there are rare occasions when a player maybe missed. However, with the extended 10 year period, those swing-misses should be very limited. Here is the most egregious (there are many, many more) examples of the Vets Committee’s damage:
… catcher Ray Schalk—CWS 19 seasons. Part of the 1919 CWS scandal. He was never became involved in that conspiracy. Lifetime avg .253; 11 hr in 18 seasons. Was on Vets Committee list for 16 years before being inducted in 1955. Falls far below the minimum standards in every batting statistic. He clearly doesn’t belong in the HOF. There are several others of this same ilk that were installed by the Vets Committee.
…Further with the tiny size of the ERA committee, I believe that there is often a “quid pro quo” between the voters that admits TWO marginal players.
….I believe that ALL the players voted “in” by the Vets, Era Committee should be in their own place in Cooperstown. Regular HOF elected member met the close scrutiny of the voters & reeived 75% votes which is now 400 voters. Last election there were 401 voters so 301 were necessary for HOF election. If 101, or more, voters say NO….no admission to HOF. The Era Committee also require 75% votes. But, there are only 16 members on that committee. Hence, 12 writers can overturn the findings of the 101+ voters. It isn’t the same…why pretend that it is the same?
…now all this discussion began in the Lou with the Case of Ken Boyer. Some, maybe, many StL’ers think Boyer belongs in the HOF. I do not. Let’s compare Boyer to other 3B not in the HOF. Using one of the newer stats—WAR/162(Wins Above Replacement for 162 games), Boyer is 29th. He trails 10 HOF’ers. Other Non-HOF 3B holding higher numbers in this category are: 3b Scott Rolen ranked #16; 3b-1b-dh Dick Allen-#20; 3b Adrian Beltre #23. Another category-OWAR—Offensive wins above average-Adrian Beltre is #7; Dick Allen #8, Sal Bando #13, Boyer #14. The number of times in the Top 5 of MVP voting for retirees-Sal Bando-3X; Dick Allen & Terry Pendleton, Bobby Bonila, Matt Williams-2x. Boyer won MVP in 1964. That was his ONLY time in the Top 5 MVP voting. In Home Runs-Andre Beltre has 477; Craig Nettle-390; Gary Gaetti-360; Dick Allen-351; Scott Rolen-316; Ken Boyer 282. I could cite most other categories that has Boyer beneath 2 other Cardinal non-HOF’ers— Dick Allen & Scott Rolen. Boyer was a good player, probably a “leader” and a good man on the talented Cardinal teams of 64, 67, 68. But he was not, from my view, a HOF’er. Further, I think Scott Rolen & Dick Allen have stronger cases than Boyer. If you’re using only analytics, Allen should already be in the HOF!!
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