Alomar were close, and will likely get in very soon. McGwire, once again, got nowhere near being elected.
I dunno, it just seems that the HOF is getting awfully inclusive these days.
Maybe it's just me...I haven't really looked into it to make a reasonable comparison. But I remember all three of those careers, and I was never thinking "HOF" with any of them.
Andre Dawson was untainted, ans was a five tools player. He deserves to be admitted to the HOF. Robbie is hurt by the spitting incident, but otherwise, should be admitted eventually. McGwire should also be admitted eventually...he did nothing wrong under baseall's old rules, and his taking the 5th when being questioned by Congress cannot be held legally against him....
I owe you one!
Bert had perhaps the best curveball ever but played on some horrible teams in Minnesota. I think Alomar will get in next year and I agree with Diamond that the spitting incident hurt him. I think the voters were just sending him a message that it was a stupid thing to do and that it's not been forgotten. He was a great player but he was a cocky little bastard too!
Great to see Andre get in! By all accounts, he's a great guy!
should get in after 5 years despite his likely steroid abuse-He was a Hall of Fame player and a Hall of Fame asshole-probably the biggest jerk in professional sports-1rob...Barry made T O almost lovable-smile....out
but those aren't supposed to be the criteria for the HOF.
I am not a Bonds basher, but the guy was undoubtably a first class asshole. I concur however, he should be included in the HOF, as should Pete Rose.
Andre Dawson (like Don Sutton) were compilers. When you look at the the totality of their careers, the numbers seem hall of fame worthy, but in reality they were not dominant. Dawson only hit 30 plus homers three times, drove in 100 plus runs 4 times in a 21 year career. (To me, not overally impressive) He hit .279 and won one League MVP
Compare him to Dale Murphy. Murphy played in about 500 less games than Dawson, hit 30 plus homers six times, drove in 100 plus runs 4 times, hit .265. He was a two time league MVP. He hit 398 total homers (if he got to the "magic 400" level, I think he would have gotten in). Murphy receives about 10-15% of the hall of fame vote annually..suffice it to say, he'll never get in.
To me, Don Sutton was not dominant. He won 20 games one time in 23 years, and no CY Youngs. I'm not saying he wasnt an excellent pitcher, but this is the Hall of Fame..You should be the best of the best. Now he was consistent every year and did compile 324 wins (again the magic 300 win plateau)
Conversely, Byleven won 287 games, had the same # of 20 win seasons, more total career Strikeouts than Sutton and a very close ERA (3.31 to 3.26). Again, if Byleven had reached the 300 win total, I think he is long in. If Sutton is in, Byleven should be in.
Alomar (Robby, not Sandy) should eventually get in. I think the spitting incident and his lack of production with the Mets at the end, prob. cost him the handful of votes he needed. But he was a great player who dominated his position for a long time.