Baseball Writers Not Always Fair

The Baseball Hall of Fame voting process has become a forum for making political statements, instead of objectively evaluating a player’s baseball career. Many of the voters employ subjective, personal reasons and consider outdated tradition when casting a ballot, and it’s time that this practice comes to an end.

Recently, I was watching a Mets/Padres game when Rickey Henderson stepped to the plate. The Mets announcer, Howie Rose, began commenting on Henderson’s career numbers, and certain Hall of Fame status. Fairly, Rose then remarked on Rickey’s well-publicized tendency not to hustle, at times. He said that he could understand (and would agree with) some voters if they conspicuously left his name off of the ballot during his first year of eligibility, just to make a statement. There is where the problem lies.

I acknowledge that Rickey hasn’t always given the game his all. Hell, I used to sit out in left field as an eight year old at Yankee Stadium and could see it then. I like the scrappy, hustling, heads-up guys as much as anyone. But the Hall of Fame is about the best. And Rickey Henderson, like him or not, is one of the best. To be mentioned, not just in the same sentence, but ahead of Lou Brock, Babe Ruth, and soon Ty Cobb, is first-ballot material. Howie Rose, thank goodness, has no vote for the Hall of Fame. But that doesn’t mean that his sediments don’t carry over to those with a voice.

No player has ever been elected to Cooperstown unaminously. Not Willie Mays, or Henry Aaron, or Mike Schmidt. You see, some voters feel that it breaks tradition to elect a player on his first ballot. I’m assuming that the tradition being broken is the “vote incorrectly” tradition. Knowing that the player will get enough support from the other voters, these hard-liners feel that it’s more important to make a statement than to vote fairly. Sometimes tradition (especially stupid tradition) has to be thrown out the window to do what is right. How can someone sleep at night after not voting for Willie Mays on the first ballot? I hope that guy has some Nyquil at his bedside.

I’m all for tradition in baseball. It’s steeped in it more than any sport, by far. But a handful of Hall of Fame Voters are steeping it into something else. Vote for the player, not for some unwritten guidelines. These guys have one of the coolest jobs in the world. They get to voice their opinion on issues that millions of baseball fans can’t stop arguing about, but their opinions actually count. If they could understand that, then I demand a recount on Willie Mays.

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