The Hall Of Fame: An Immodest Proposal

I wonder if they would remove Bill Conlin from the writer’s wing too

One slight issue I have with the recall ballot: If it takes 75% of voters to get elected, it should take 75% of voters to be removed. No reason why the two elections should have different criteria, especially for something as embarrassing as a recall. (Even taking into account your surety that it won’t happen, it seems better to set the bar equally high in both directions.)

A further suggestion to limit nuisance elections: any BBWAA member who nominates or seconds a player for recall who fails to reach the 50 vote mark may not nominate that player again, and no player who is subject to a recall election may be recalled for a period of 5 years following the election.

That’d help limit situations where a couple guys with a grudge try to kick out a player they had a beef with every year until they get what they want.

Someone is either a HOFer or they’re not. Vote for a guy or don’t.

I’m not in favor of anything that helps the BBWAA members ignore their own hypocrisy. If keeping out great players like Bagwell or Piazza or whoever is next on the list puts a little more pressure on these jerks to come up with a coherent, consistent and fair position on steroids and the players who may or may not have taken them, then I say it’s worth the pain.

I’ve been done with the Baseball Hall Of Fame since they made Gary Carter wear an Expos hat when he was inducted, so maybe I’m not the best person to ask.

but I think, as Rob has already admitted in the comments, the likelihood of someone being recalled will be very low, and I think the Baseball Writers will see that. And so I’m not sure how much it will actually help Bagwell’s case.

It’s not a bad idea, but there’s no way it would work in practice. The only players who would get recalled would be steroid-users. Gaylord Perry won’t be recalled for throwing spitballs, no one will get recalled for using greenies and no one will be recalled for being elected by the Veterans Committee despite not being good.

I especially like this part:

and so they’re waiting … for what, exactly, it’s hard to say. Maybe they’re waiting until 2025, Bagwell’s final year on the BBWAA’s ballot; if there’s no solid evidence of cheating by then, they’ll vote for him. I really don’t know.

They’re waiting because a) they can — if the ballot were 100 years long, you know some people would take 99 years to make up their minds, it’s just the way people are — and/or b) the BBWAA is in love with its own power and just enjoys dangling this over the heads of ex-players.

Hey, why not just punt every player to the Golden Age committee? You never know what new evidence might emerge in Year 99. Who cares if the honorees are dead by then? coughRonSantocough

BTW, how do we know Barry Larkin wasn’t juicing? Look at that sudden power surge at age 32. Where did THAT come from? Maybe they should have waited for wisdom on him a few years or decades or centuries longer.

It’s a very creative idea that won’t ever come to fruition simply because its too “radical”. But I think it really is a great idea, and not just because it could help my boy Bagwell get to the HOF.

It would allow the BBWAA members to put their vote where their mouths are. If they are anti-cheating or anti-“bad person” as some say, then they would have to at least consider recalling the Ty Cobbs and the Gaylord Perrys. I’m not saying they deserve to be recalled, but given what some of these writers are using as excuses, it would shine a light on the hypocrisy of it all.

and I think it’s much simpler.

Let’s extend the waiting period from five years to 10, and then make it a one-and-done election, keeping the 75 percent standard. Ten years should be plenty enough time to wait for new revelations or information or “wisdom” or whatever to occur. One-and-done eliminates the need to compare each player with the other members of his class; in fact, if you really want to spark new interest in the Hall, I’d propose that instead of one big election every year, with a realistic chance for at most three or four guys to get in, no matter how many are qualified, why not hold an election once a month, up or down on one player at a time? This should not be hard in this day and age, it could be done by Twitter, with every Tweet made public.

That removes said deserving player from the competition created by loaded Hall classes and allows him to stand on his own merits. January 2013: Vote on Barry Bonds. February 2013: Vote on Mike Piazza. Etc. Imagine the buzz all year. You could have as many as 12 players a year elected. (This would necessitate eliminating many of the marginal players on the ballot, but the Hall does that already, deciding whether to put Omar Moreno on and keep Duane Kuiper off. This just cuts the list further. The Omar Morenos will not make the final ballot.)

This will also spare us sob stories about Jack Morris sitting by the phone for 15 years like some dweeb waiting for a prom date to call. Jack gets his shot (maybe) and closure. No Golden Age committee, 2nd/3rd/15th etc. chance, no dangling in limbo, it’s in or out and get on with your life.

Perhaps the 12 finalists could be determined in a vote of fans and broadcasters and ex-players, managers and executives, to get more people involved in the process and break the loathesome BBWAA monopoly. They can’t be the only people in the universe who know what a Hall of Famer looks like. The more people involved, the more voices join the argument, the more interest generated, the less the process gets dragged out until players on the ballot are forgotten or dead, the better for everyone, right?

I think Bagwell belongs. I think he’ll get in. But what’s the rush?

A lot can happen in 15 years. A lot HAS happened in the last 15 years. An unprecedented assault on power hitting records occurred. Then, nearly every major player in that group was caught, admitted, or very legitimately suspected (and may be in current legal proceedings). Then, as scrutiny became more refined, that jump in productivity by individuals suddenly declined quite significantly.

We’ve learned a lot. I imagine many voters who did NOT vote for Bagwell are inclined to do so…and will — they just want to wait. You can learn a lot in 15 years. That’s why they have that extended time. To gain or develop perspective.

Unlike the knucklehead in the sidebar in this article (“Steroids/Morris”), many writers take seriously one of the not-very-many rules they have — Rule 5: “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, INTEGRITY, SPORTSMANSHIP, CHARACTER….”

Bagwell will get in — he’s polling far better than McGwire. He doesn’t seem to have that taint. Some just want to wait, and that’s eminently appropriate.

First thing that should get fixed about the HOF vote is players who DO DESERVE to be on a HOF ballot stay on the HOF ballot.I will mention 2 players who should of at least been on the ballot for 15 years elected or not, Both due to absurd wasted votes for players who should of never been on the ballot caused them to be removed from futeue consideration. For example Last year Harold Baines ( 2866 lifetime hits – thats 134 short of 3000 & it is more than that to point out about Baines ) was 1 was lost from the ballot . This year Juan Gonzalez ( Yea that Jaun Gonzalez ) These 2 players would should and desreved to be on the ballot for at least 15 years. Writers who voted for players Bill Mueller (4 votes) Brad Radke (2) Eric Young (1) Javy Lopez(1) caused the removal of qualified players.If these votes were cast for Baines or Gonzalez they would still be on the ballot with 6% or 7%. There needs to be baby steps in fixing this less than 5% and you are removed forever rule. I suggest that it should changed to be removed you need to have at least 2 or more years straight of less than 5% so you can weed out the un-qualified but don’t allow a player that is qualified to be removed by not gettiing a vote cast for a person who should never EVER should of been suggested on the ballot in the fist place. Maybe then could set a % of 4% as a safty net % to not allow this to happen. Lets fix this ploblem and then take a next step to fix bigger problems.