The Hall of Fame
The new Hall of Famers are announced tomorrow. I don’t have a ballot, since Internet-only writers are not permitted to be members of the BBWAA, but if I did, it would have the following names on it:
Bert Blyleven
Goose Gossage
That’s it. I don’t think Dawson, Rice, Sutter or Belle would be horribly out of place, but I don’t think I would vote for them, either. Thanks to things like defense and baserunning, Dawson’s probably the best of that bunch. Sutter will probably get in, and I don’t have a problem with that, but as Joe Sheehan wrote today, I don’t see how anyone could justify voting for Sutter and not Gossage.
Good luck to all the candidates. Just being on the ballot really does mean something, so congratulations to all of you. I am looking forward to the day when guys I covered are on the ballot (not including Darryl Kile, I believe Chuck Finley will be the first).
-M.
Matthew Leach
I don’t have a problem with Sutter’s selection, though I’m not sure he would have gotten my vote. But, if he belongs, so does the Goose.
That said, Gossage demeans himself when he makes a public outcry in his own defense. He shouldn’t have lashed out at the voters.
My brother had line that comes to mind, “if you’re supposed to be called Mister, I’ll know it. You won’t have to tell me.”