Who’s Next for Cooperstown?

My congratulations to Barry Larkin, the newest member of Baseball’s Hall of Fame. He was a local boy who played his entire career for the team he rooted for as a boy, the Cincinnati Reds. He was also the only player to be inducted in the class of 2012. Just missing the magic number (75% of the votes) was Jack Morris, who is on his last legs of eligibility. You see, a player gets fifteen years on the ballot, and if not selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), he can only be inducted by the Veterans’ Committee, a group of former players. So it may make you wonder, if Jack Morris has difficulty getting in while competing against the likes of Larkin, Jeff Bagwell, Bernie Williams and others, who becomes eligible in 2013? If you had that same thought, get ready to dive into some controversy and conflict. In no particular order: Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling. So let’s address the pink elephant in the room: baseball players associated with steroids.

Clearly, all of these players had Hall of Fame caliber numbers, and clearly, all these players took many different roads to reach those numbers. However, I’m looking at the amount of votes that players associated with steroids have already received, i.e. Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro. Plain and simple, Bonds, Sosa, and Clemens aren’t getting in any time soon. Perhaps they won’t ever get in. The BBWAA very seriously takes stock into accountability, character and integrity of the game. The argument against it is the fact that Ty Cobb and others are viewed to be so-called “bad guys” off the field. However, steroids have given the game of baseball such a black eye, there is just no way any player related to performance enhancing drugs are getting in.

Now, let’s look at Curt Schilling. How many times have we heard the argument that he was a big game pitcher? Someone you want on your team, someone who lays it all on the line and seems to shine the most when the stage is the biggest. In my opinion, Schilling deserves to get in, specifically because of his post season record. He also has some very solid lifetime numbers. But again, if Jack Morris can’t get in right away, chances are Schill will have to wait, too. If you think down the line, names like Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, and Randy Johnson, who all have better cases to make the Hall, are more reasons why Schilling will probably have to wait a few years.

How about Craig Biggio? He’ll get in for sure but it is so 50-50 if he gets in on the first ballot. 3000 career hits, that’s usually an automatic bid. Throw in the fact that only twelve players have scored more runs than him, he’ll get in. First ballot is another story. Using the eye ball test, Roberto Alomar was a much better player than Biggio. Alomar wasn’t a first ballot HOFer. I would take Larkin over Biggio. Larkin had to wait until his 3^rd year. The question we should really be asking is why are players good enough to get in eventually and not right away? It’s not like these players are improving their numbers to get more votes. The Hall of Fame needs to figure out a formula that will allow the best of the best to get in right away and the players in the tier below get in after 2-3 years. Think about someone like Bert Blyleven who had to wait a fourteen years to get in. He wondered, “How did I get better after retirement?” Figure it out.

Who am I missing? Oh yes, the greatest offensive catcher in baseball history who was a 62^nd round draft pick as a favor from his godfather, Tommy Lasorda. Mike Piazza is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He not only hit over 400 homeruns, his total is tops among catchers and he has not been linked to performance enhancing drugs. Pretty good power numbers for someone who also hit .308 lifetime and was a 12-time all-star. He is one of only nine Major Leaguers to hit over .300 lifetime with 400 homeruns and never striking out more than 100 times in any season. Who would have thought that 15 years ago, Piazza would top a list that included Bonds, Sosa, Clemens, Biggio and Schilling. He deserves it. He did it the right way.