These are the players whom I believe should be elected to and inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY (one of the five places I most want to see and visit still). Year refers to the number of years on the ballot.
Brady Anderson (first year on ballot) : NO
Harold Baines (5.3 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 2)
Rod Beck (first year on ballot) : NO *
Bert Blyleven (47.7 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 11)
Dave Concepcion (13.6 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 15: Last Year)
Andre Dawson (56.7 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 7)
Shawon Dunston (first year on ballot) : NO
Chuck Finley (first year on ballot) : NO
Travis Fryman (first year on ballot) : NO
Goose Gossage (71.2 percent in 2007): YES (Year 9)
Tommy John (22.9 percent in 2007): YES (Year 14)
David Justice (first year on ballot) : NO
Chuck Knoblauch (first year on ballot) : NO
Don Mattingly (9.9 percent in 2007) : NO (Year 8)
Mark McGwire (23.5percent in 2007): YES ** (Year 2)
Jack Morris (37.1 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 9)
Dale Murphy (9.2 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 10)
Robb Nen (first year on ballot) : NO
Dave Parker (11.4 percent in 2007) : NO (Year 12)
Tim Raines (first year on ballot) : YES ***
Jim Rice (63.5 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 14)
Jose Rijo (first year on ballot) : NO
Lee Smith (39.8 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 6)
Todd Stottlemyre (first year on ballot) : NO
Alan Trammell (13.4 percent in 2007) : YES (Year 7)
* I would consider Beck for election at some point in the future, perhaps by 2015.
** I think McGwire should be in the HoF, but I will wait for ten years before voting for his induction.
*** Like McGwire, Raines made some questionable at best personal choices while a player, deciding to use cocaine while in position of being a role model for millions of youth globally and then being convicted of this as a federal crime in a federal court. I will wait eight years before voting for him for induction.
I predict Gossage, Rice, and Dawson will be elected this year. Electees will be announced on Tuesday 8 January 2008 at 12Noon MST. The electees announced on that date will be inducted into the Hall on Sunday 27 July 2008 in Cooperstown, NY along with the five electees previously chosen by the Veterans Committee: Dick Williams; Billy Southworth; Walter O'Malley; Barney Dreyfuss; and, mistakenly, Bowie Kuhn instead of Marvin Miller. This is Dave Conception's fifteenth and final year on the ballot. It does not look like he will get elected so after a five year wait he will be eligible once again for consideration at that time by the Veterans Committee. Rice and John are on their penultimate ballot.
The '09 ballot includes Mark Grace and Rickey Henderson whom should get elected and the '10 ballot includes Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, and Fred McGriff whom should get elected. In 2011, the ballot will include Jeff Bagwell and John Franco.
And of course it is also time to start discussing Pete Rose. His accomplishments as a player make him worthy in spite of his deep transgressions as a manager. At some point he should be made eligible for election, perhaps in 2015 or after a new commissioner takes office. If Rose has his eligibility reinstated at some point in the future, the same step must be taken simultaneously or previously for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who also should be in the Hall for his accomplishments as a player as history and research has largely exhonerated him of any participation in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal posthumously.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof08/index
http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_balloting,_2008
http://www.hofmag.com/content/view/938/190/
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071125&content_id=2307150&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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I agree with your preferences, but not with your comments about delaying a vote for Raines. Tim Raines never cheated. Tim Raines never tried to get an unfair advantage on the field. If you are going to punish him for his brief drug problems, which had nothing to do with his on-field performance or competitive skills, then you have to do the same for every player who abused alcohol or "greenies." Raines was, in my view, on the two or three best players in the game during the 1980s. He was an icon of speed and grace. He deserves induction this year.
I agree with you about McGwire, except I'm not sure I'd ever vote for his induction. Even putting aside the steroids issue, McGwire's numbers just aren't that great. He hit alot of home runs, yes, but he didn't walk nearly as much as you'd expect and his on-base average and batting average were mediocre at best. He also didn't have that many total hits. In sum, McGwire was a one-dimensional player whether or not he took steroids. Plus, his refusal to come clean about his use of illegal substances intended to give him an unfair advantage can't be rewarded.
As for Rose, I think he should be elected now. His actions as Reds manager have nothing to do with his skill and talent and accomplishments as a player.
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