~ Hall of Fame Class of 2008 ~

[spoon]

The vote is officially announced today at 1:30pm so who would you vote in?

All voters can cast a max of 10 votes (rarely done it's reported), and with no sure things in the mix like last year (Gywnn and Ripken) it could open the door for fringe HOF players.

To be elected, a player's name must be inscribed on 75 percent of the approximately 600 ballots sent out. To be carried over for another year, a player must be named on at least 5 percent of the ballots. By rule, except under very special circumstances, a player must be retired for five years to become eligible and can't remain on the writers' ballot for any longer than 15 years.

So, select as many as you feel deserve as I just noticed we can do that with the poll if needed.

I'm going with Gossage and Rice (finally) getting in this year. Gossage did turn me off with all his lobbying for the ticket, but won me over calling out Clemens of late. Some of the names are simply comical and I left them off bc there are more then ten names on this ballot.

The other names missing from the poll which most won't even get the 5% vote to qualify for the 2009 vote are Brady Anderson, Shawon Dunston, Travis Fryman, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch, Rob Nen, Tim Raines, Jose Rijo and Todd Stottlemyre.

[spoon]

Some info on the ballot from Foxsports.com:

New Names on the Ballot

Brady Anderson :wallbash:
Case For: One 50-homer season, three All-Star appearances, career .300 hitter in the playoffs, 315 steals, career OBP of .362, scored 100 or more runs in a season four times.
Case Against: No career benchmarks of note (e.g., only 1,661 hits, only 210 homers), .256 lifetime batting average, no Gold Gloves.

Rod Beck
Case For: Three-time All-Star, 1994 NL Rolaids Relief Award winner, 3.30 career ERA, one 50-save campaign.
Case Against: Beck's 286 career saves looks nice at first blush, but it's not terribly impressive for a modern closer under Hall-of-Fame scrutiny. More to the point, he ranks "only" 23rd on the all-time saves list.

Shawon Dunston :wallbash:
Case For: 18 seasons in the majors, two-time All-Star.
Case Against: Only 1,596 career hits, career OBP of .296, never appeared on any MVP ballot, stolen-base total of 212 not noteworthy for a speed guy.

Chuck Finley
Case For: 200 wins, career ERA 15 percent better than the league average on a park-adjusted basis, five All-Star appearances, eight 200-inning seasons, 23rd on all-time strikeouts list, 64th in career starts.
Case Against: 27th on career walks list, 36th most wild pitches ever, 4.50 postseason ERA, 87th on all-time losses list.

Travis Fryman
Case For: Five-time All-Star, one Gold Glove, one Silver Slugger, 345 doubles.
Case Against: .191 career hitter in the playoffs, fell short of 2,000 hits, only 223 homers by a player who spent most of his career at a corner position.

David Justice
Case For: Career batting line of .279 AVG/.378 OBP/.500 SLG, 903 walks, 1,017 RBI, three-time All-Star, 2000 ALCS MVP, top 100 all-time in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage), 1990 NL Rookie of the Year.
Case Against: Barely reached 1,500 hits, .224 hitter in the postseason, "only" 305 homers, failed to reach 1,000 runs scored, never named on any MVP ballot.

Chuck Knoblauch :wallbash:
Case For: .378 career OBP as a primary middle infielder, 1,132 runs scored, 407 steals, 804 walks, four-time All-Star, one Gold Glove, 1991 AL Rookie of the Year, two Silver Sluggers earned.
Case Against: Only 1,632 career games played, failed to reach 2,000 hits, only 98 career homers in a power era.

Robb Nen
Case For: 2.98 career ERA, more than a strikeout per inning for his career, 2.25 postseason ERA, three-time All-Star.
Case Against: Only 715.0 innings pitched, career short by Hall-of-Fame standards, ranks only 15th on all-time on the saves list.

Tim Raines
Case For: Best leadoff hitter in NL history, 808 career steals, highest stolen-base percentage ever, 2,605 hits, .385 career OBP, 430 doubles, 1,330 walks, 1,571 runs scored (46th all-time), seven-time All-Star, one Silver Slugger Award, MVP of 1987 All-Star Game, one batting title, 52nd all-time in plate appearances, 68th all-time in hits, 40th all-time in times on base, 48th all-time in games played, 113 triples.
Case Against: Power numbers (.425 SLG, 170 homers) not impressive for corner outfielder in modern era, implicated in cocaine scandal.

Jose Rijo :wallbash:
Case For: Career ERA of 3.24, postseason ERA of 2.28, 1990 World Series MVP, ranks 34th all-time in strikeouts-per-nine, one strikeout title.
Case Against: 116 wins very low by Hall-of-Fame standards, failed to reach 2,000 innings, only one All-Star appearance.

Todd Stottlemyre :wallbash:
Case For: 1,587 strikeouts, two 200-strikeout seasons.
Case Against: 138 wins very low by Hall-of-Fame standards, barely reached 2,000 career innings, career ERA of 4.28, no All-Star appearances, never named on a Cy Young ballot, 5.91 postseason ERA.


Ballot Holdovers

Bert Blyleven
Case For: 13th all-time in innings pitched, 287 wins, 11th all-time in games started, ninth all-time in shutouts, fifth all-time in strikeouts, same career park- and league-adjusted ERA as Warren Spahn, 2.47 career postseason ERA.
Case Against: 10th in career losses, only two All-Star appearances, no Cy Young Awards, only one 20-win season.

Andre Dawson
Case For: 438 career homers, one NL MVP Award, eight Gold Gloves, eight-time All-Star, four Silver Sluggers, five .300 seasons, 1977 NL Rookie of the Year, 32nd all-time in games played, 44th all-time in doubles, 45th all-time in hits, 314 steals, 32nd all-time in RBI, 22nd all-time in extra-base hits.
Case Against: Career OBP of .323, .186 hitter in the postseason, 21st all-time in offensive outs, 56th all-time in grounded into double plays, 43rd all-time in strikeouts.

Rich Gossage
Case For: 3.01 career ERA, 310 saves in an era in which save were much harder to come by, nine All-Star appearances, led league in saves three times, 45th all-time in strikeouts per nine, 1978 AL Rolaids Relief Award, 2.87 postseason ERA, four 100-inning relief seasons.
Case Against: No Cy Young Awards, subject to inconsistent Hall-of-Fame reliever standards.

Mark McGwire :banning:
Case For: 583 career homers, career batting line of .263 AVG/.394 OBP/.588 SLG, 1,317 walks, 1987 AL Rookie of the Year, one Gold Glove, three Silver Sluggers, 12-time All-Star, 1,414 RBI, four home-run titles, all-time leader in at-bats per home run.
Case Against: Strongly suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, 24th all-time in strikeouts, reputation as one-dimensional player.

Jack Morris
Case For: 254 wins, three 20-win seasons, 2,478 strikeouts, five-time All-Star, legendary performance in Game 7 of 1991 World Series, 1991 World Series MVP, three 200-strikeout seasons.
Case Against: Career ERA of 3.90 not in top 100 all-time, 4.87 ERA in LCS play, 1,390 career walks, wins total helped aided by excellent run support.

Jim Rice
Case For: Career batting line of .302 AVG/.352 OBP/.502 SLG, 2,452 hits, four 200-hit seasons, eight 100-RBI seasons, eight-time All-Star, 1978 AL MVP, two Silver Sluggers, seven .300 seasons.
Case Against: Fell short of 400 homers and 2,500 hits, .225 hitter in postseason play, hit only .277 AVG/.330 OBP/.459 SLG away from hitter-friendly Fenway Park.

Lee Smith
Case For: Ranks second on all-time saves list, seven-time All-Star, three-time Rolaids Relief Award winner, led league in saves four times, all-time leader in games finished, eighth all-time in games pitched, 3.03 career ERA.
Case Against: No Cy Youngs, 8.44 ERA in postseason play.

[Earlshog]

Does Chuck Finley garner any sympathy votes for taking one of Tawny Katines heals to the noggin while driving?

[King Hippos Bandaid]

Jim Rice and Andre Dawson, the rest should wait or not even get in

[PhishHead]

Lee Smith, he retired as the saves leader. Trevor Hoffman is going to get in when he retires

[Earlshog]

Lee Smith, he retired as the saves leader. Trevor Hoffman is going to get in when he retires

I am not sure about Hoffman, when it has really mattered he has shat the bed...


You let in Smith you let in the goose...

[Earlshog]

Jim Rice and Andre Dawson, the rest should wait or not even get in

Morris and McGwire should also get in... If you don't let in McGwire it means you can't take anyone from this era. No I Rod, Piazza, Sosa, etc

If you are going to let closers in Goose and Smith have to go...

[PhishHead]

I am not sure about Hoffman, when it has really mattered he has shat the bed...


You let in Smith you let in the goose...

I don't agree, I am just not a big fan of Goose, but thats me.

and hoffman has not always shat the bed, his teams dont give him alot of run support to begin with. His ERA in the postseason is like 3.46.

[Earlshog]

I don't agree, I am just not a big fan of Goose, but thats me.

and hoffman has not always shat the bed, his teams dont give him alot of run support to begin with. His ERA in the postseason is like 3.46.


The goose was before my time. I know that era was much different and you can't compare the numbers to todays releivers.

Run support dosen't mean much to a closer. To me Hoffman is a guy who will strike out the side in a 5 - 3 win over the Marlins in June, but can't slam the door shut when they need that 88th win to make the playoffs.

[PhishHead]

The goose was before my time. I know that era was much different and you can't compare the numbers to todays releivers.

Run support dosen't mean much to a closer. To me Hoffman is a guy who will strike out the side in a 5 - 3 win over the Marlins in June, but can't slam the door shut when they need that 88th win to make the playoffs.

Goose only started 5 years before Lee, or 7 years if you want to go from time both of them really played enough to matter, too me that is not enough of a time difference to make a big deal out of era. The problem that Goose faces is that he also started some games, hence why he has one year with 224 IP and why he has 4 other years with over 100 IPs. I think that is also what hampers him cause it skews his numbers.

[King Hippos Bandaid]

Morris and McGwire should also get in... If you don't let in McGwire it means you can't take anyone from this era. No I Rod, Piazza, Sosa, etc

If you are going to let closers in Goose and Smith have to go...

you kno wjhat i skipped Lee Smith when reading

Ill let him in

No Mcguire until a few Steriod Years pass

and no HOFers during the Steriod ERA until further notice

[Snoogans]

I gave it to Gossage, Rice, Dawson and Blylevin.

I forgot to click Jack Morris though after some of the things I have heard, I prob would vote for him, even though he was a dirty Blue Jay. And I forgot Lee Smith. Oh well, at least Mattingly isnt getting in

[Crippler]

Oh well, at least Mattingly isnt getting in

WTF? Why you gotta be so hateful? No one even brought him up. Why you gotta start some shit?

~~~~~~~

Oh yeah, I voted Rice & Dawson.

[Snoogans]

WTF? Why you gotta be so hateful? No one even brought him up. Why you gotta start some shit?

~~~~~~~

Oh yeah, I voted Rice & Dawson.

funny enough, going over the ballots the other day, me and spoon actually voted for him. I would put him in. I just wanted to rile up some spanks fans

[spadanko]

Only one voted in

[MM2]

Only one voted in

He deserved it.

[Snoogans]

FUCKIN BULLSHIT.

Every year he gets fucked. What % of the vote did Rice get?

[spadanko]

FUCKIN BULLSHIT.

Every year he gets fucked. What % of the vote did Rice get?


fell 14 votes short... i agree, Rice should be in. Next year is his last year on the ballot

[Snoogans]

14 fuckin racists. Or yankee fans. Or Racist yankee fans. FUCK THE MADNESS

[HBox]

Goose!!!!!!

[BoondockSaint]

I hope he goes in as a Padre.

[Snoogans]

im seriously pissed off. What a bunch of cock writers. I woulda voted for 6 or 7, and only 1 gets in


14 FUCKIN VOTES ARE YOU KIDDING ME

[Snoogans]

I hope he goes in as a Padre.

hahahahaha

[Cleophus James]

Wheres Santo?

[cougarjake13]

voted for gossage, the hawk dawson, and jim rice

[Snoogans]

Others receiving votes: Rod Beck 2, Travis Fryman 2, Robb Nen 2, Shawon Dunston 1, Chuck Finley 1, David Justice 1, Chuck Knoblauch 1, Todd Stottlemyre 1.

WHO THE FUCK CAST THESE VOTES. They better not be allowed to vote again

[Earlshog]

Others receiving votes: Rod Beck 2, Travis Fryman 2, Robb Nen 2, Shawon Dunston 1, Chuck Finley 1, David Justice 1, Chuck Knoblauch 1, Todd Stottlemyre 1.

WHO THE FUCK CAST THESE VOTES. They better not be allowed to vote again


haha... what are you talking about, I thought Travis Fryman was a first ballot lock...
its probally the same retards that didn't vote for Rice...

[cougarjake13]

Others receiving votes: Rod Beck 2, Travis Fryman 2, Robb Nen 2, Shawon Dunston 1, Chuck Finley 1, David Justice 1, Chuck Knoblauch 1, Todd Stottlemyre 1.

WHO THE FUCK CAST THESE VOTES. They better not be allowed to vote again

yeh i never understood why those fringe guys would get any votes at all

[ralphbxny]

Congrats Goose!!

[Gvac]

I'm so happy Goose got in, only because I couldn't take another year of him whining on every sports talk show in America.

Congrats, Goose. Now shut the fuck up.

[Gvac]

And I still say Bert Blyleven belongs there. Or as Bossanova likes to call him Bert 'be home' Blyleven, as a tribute to his hero Chris Berman.

[PD]

Reminder-
this is the weekend they induct the Goose.

[sailor]

i am way behind the times.