My 2002 Hall of Fame ballot

The ballots for the 2002 BBWAA Hall of Fame voting have been mailed out, and the winners - those players who appear on 75% of the writers' ballots this year - will be announced in mid January. The following players would appear on my ballot if I were eligible to vote.

Ozzie Smith - Perhaps the greatest defensive shortstop of all time. When he first came up, he was an awful hitter, but he improved his offense tremendously over the years. It's quite possible that he will be the only player selected by the baseball writers this year.

Gary Carter - Was the dominant catcher in baseball for a decade as both an offensive and defensive force. Certainly a better play than Carlton Fisk, who was elected several years ago (though Fisk demonstrated greater longevity). There is no comparable catcher to Carter in major league history who is not in the Hall of Fame. One reason he's gotten so little support is that his great years were all in Montreal.

Bert Blyleven - Spent his entire career as a hard luck pitcher, playing for bad teams in hitters parks. There is no pitcher as good as Blyleven who is not in the Hall of Fame. What the baseball writers don't realize is that Blyleven's career has much more in common with Steve Carlton's than with Tommy John's or Jim Kaat's. Blyleven is third all-time in strikeouts; every retired pitcher in the top ten is already a Hall of Famer besides Blyleven.

Goose Gossage - The second greatest relief pitcher of all time, behind Hoyt Wilhelm. No modern reliever has combined such a dominating peak with such a long, successful career. Relievers are hard to rank, but if any belong in the Hall, Gossage does.

Keith Hernandez - Not as clear a choice as the first four candidates I endorse, Hernandez makes my ballot because of his incredible defense at first, which combined with his above average offense, gives him solid credentials for the Hall.

Alan Trammell - Another marginal choice. Trammell never excelled at any one area of the game, but he was a great all around player for two decades.

A number of other players on this year's ballot deserve serious consideration. Andre Dawson came closest of all the other players to making my ballot. Dawson is best remembered for his late 80s years with the Cubs, but it was his years as a great all-around player with the Expos that make him a plausible candidate. Other players worthy of at least a second look include Dave Concepcion, Len Dykstra, Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Jim Rice, Bruce Sutter and Luis Tiant. There's something missing from all of their candidacies, however - usually either a strong peak or a long period of sustained excellence. With rare exception, you really need to have both to earn election to the Hall of Fame.

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