No one elected to Cooperstown this year

[b00bie]

Easy money, no way in hell does Hoffman or Thomas get in on their first try.

Especially Glavine...

[Huber.]

If all of them get a first ballot nod I'll let you set my avatar. No restrictions, no veto.

If not, you make a $20 donation to RCF...In the name of b00bie.

The more I think about it the more I think I am wrong. IMO they all belong in it and will at some point which is why I think they voting system is dumb. It's like they try to punish qualified players by not being first ballot.....it's a shame I won't be taking this bet.

[PATRICK EWING]

I'm really shocked with Piazza in all honesty... I don't recall him being directly linked to steroids at all ?? Just cause he was a 62nd round pick it doesn't mean the possibility that he couldn't get better and improve and mold himself into a great player couldn't be done... I don't see how Frank Thomas is a no brainer without suspicion ?? Yet one of the best catchers of all time, all time HR leader for the position as well doesn't get in due to that reason ??

Then again, these are the same morons who didn't vote the greatest 2ND baseman of all time on the 1st ballot as well.....

Jeter is 1st ballot NO DOUBT and that's all that matters...

[shoes22]

One thing I learned today, Joe DiMaggio received 0.4 percent of the vote on his first ballot.

I thought if you don't get a minimum 5% of the vote, you're forever off the ballot?

[7foot3]

One thing I learned today, Joe DiMaggio received 0.4 percent of the vote on his first ballot.

Took him four tries to get in

This was a different situation. It was unclear whether he was actually eligible or not on that first ballot, there was a huge backlog. The whole system got revamped pretty much because of the Dimaggio situation.

[b00bie]

This was a different situation. It was unclear whether he was actually eligible or not on that first ballot, there was a huge backlog. The whole system got revamped pretty much because of the Dimaggio situation.

Still took him four tries.

Also, Trevor Hoffman shouldn't be eligible until 2015...not next year as Deezy said.

Had to double check.

[macbdog]

I know I am in the minority here, but I actually agree with the voters on the 'first time' thing. And the reason is simple: you only get elected to the Hall once. It has everything to do with giving the true 'best of the best of the best' a last recognition on their way into the Hall. I think people are being shortsighted here and not looking at it for what it really is: an honor to be a 1st ballot guy.

Look, Induction Day is the day for all of baseball to celebrate a great player's career. The argument of 'if a player belongs in the hall, they belong on the 1st ballot' is fine- but it has nothing to do with why baseball writers are so picky on that first ballot. The players mentioned for next year by Deezy are a perfect case in point: All of them (Johnson, Maddux, Thomas, Hoffman) belong in the Hall. Are all of them equals? No. Some were, somehow, greater than the others. By being so picky on the '1st ballot' thing, it is one way to give players a last honor before they all end up with the same final honor: a plaque on the wall. One last way to let the 'best of the best of the best' know that they, well, were. In my opinion? Having Johnson and Maddux get a that kind of recognition, along with a day for all of baseball to recognize them- and them alone- is something their careers deserve (Thomas, too, but I can make that case in another post). While there may be multiple players worthy of the Hall coming up for next year, it doesn't mean all should have to share the same day. That to me diminishes the honor for them, and they shouldn't have to do that.

The baseball HOF was the first sports HOF, and frankly, the only one that does it right. The Hall of Fame is not a Top 100 list, or a ranking on a sports web log or BBC. It is an honor. It is a time for the whole sport to remember a great career. One way to do that, properly, for the greats is to ensure that they get a chance to stand alone- and the whole 'first ballot' idea does just that.

[7foot3]

Still took him four tries.

Well, only three when he was actually eligible. That first time, when he got 0.4% of the vote, he was still active. And because the vote was every three years in the 40s, and the voting had begun in just 1936, there was still quite the backlog. From 1937-61 no one got in on their first ballot. It was a structural problem.

The five year waiting rule was put into place just a couple years after DiMaggio was retired. He was considered exempt from this though. And only four other players in the history of the game got in before five years after retirement.

Sure, DiMaggio had to wait, but so did everyone, and he got in quicker than just about everyone else who appeared on a ballot.

[7foot3]

I know I am in the minority here, but I actually agree with the voters on the 'first time' thing. And the reason is simple: you only get elected to the Hall once. It has everything to do with giving the true 'best of the best of the best' a last recognition on their way into the Hall. I think people are being shortsighted here and not looking at it for what it really is: an honor to be a 1st ballot guy.

Look, Induction Day is the day for all of baseball to celebrate a great player's career. The argument of 'if a player belongs in the hall, they belong on the 1st ballot' is fine- but it has nothing to do with why baseball writers are so picky on that first ballot. The players mentioned for next year by Deezy are a perfect case in point: All of them (Johnson, Maddux, Thomas, Hoffman) belong in the Hall. Are all of them equals? No. Some were, somehow, greater than the others. By being so picky on the '1st ballot' thing, it is one way to give players a last honor before they all end up with the same final honor: a plaque on the wall. One last way to let the 'best of the best of the best' know that they, well, were. In my opinion? Having Johnson and Maddux get a that kind of recognition, along with a day for all of baseball to recognize them- and them alone- is something their careers deserve (Thomas, too, but I can make that case in another post). While there may be multiple players worthy of the Hall coming up for next year, it doesn't mean all should have to share the same day. That to me diminishes the honor for them, and they shouldn't have to do that.

The baseball HOF was the first sports HOF, and frankly, the only one that does it right. The Hall of Fame is not a Top 100 list, or a ranking on a sports web log or BBC. It is an honor. It is a time for the whole sport to remember a great career. One way to do that, properly, for the greats is to ensure that they get a chance to stand alone- and the whole 'first ballot' idea does just that.

Except nowhere in the Hall do we officially recognize these guys as such. There are no inner circles in Cooperstown. There are no specific instructions to delineate the "best of the best" from just "the best". And besides, guys like Kirby Puckett were in on the first ballot anyway. It's a made up distinction that allows the BBWAA to cover their asses when they do something dumb because they let people who haven't covered the game in 20 years, or who somehow forget to vote for guys like Henderson, or are cranky old men who believe nothing could ever compare to the days of their youth, have a vote.

[JiggleIt]

You're either a Hall of Famer or you're not. This is all about ego for the voters, who have accomplished nothing close to what the people they're voting for (or against) have accomplished during their careers.

It's silly and it should have been stopped a long time ago. When everyone in the entire United States thinks there's a problem with something, there's probably a problem with something.

Stupid.

[cleveman]

I was surprised and disappointed that Biggio didnt get in. With over 3000 hits and several great years at second base I figured he'd be a shoe-in.

[cdt]

Biggio not getting in was nothing more than the writers trying to make a statement towards Bonds and Clemens by electing absolutely no one despite Craig deserving to get in.

I'm sorry but if you are 20th all time on the career hits in all of baseball history. A game that's been played for 2 centuries...you are a shoe in. Think about how many TOTAL players have played in the MLB over the entire span and it's astronomical. Being 20th for all time hits is like being 5th in NBA History in scoring just based on the longevity baseball has vs basketball.

[Green Demon]

Biggio not getting in was nothing more than the writers trying to make a statement towards Bonds and Clemens by electing absolutely no one despite Craig deserving to get in.

I'm sorry but if you are 20th all time on the career hits in all of baseball history. A game that's been played for 2 centuries...you are a shoe in. Think about how many TOTAL players have played in the MLB over the entire span and it's astronomical. Being 20th for all time hits is like being 5th in NBA History in scoring just based on the longevity baseball has vs basketball.

I won't disagree with that because everything you said was true but another factor had to have been the "mythical" first ballot status which is just stupid IMO. If a player deserves to be in the HOF, he shouldn't have to wait around just because the writers basically make up rules as they go along with the process.

[The Voice]

Do you guys honestly think not being in the HOF bothers Bonds, Clemens or any of the others?

[Gunther]

Do you guys honestly think not being in the HOF bothers Bonds, Clemens or any of the others?

Without question, yes. I don't even care if they say it doesn't bother them, they'd just be lying. Watch any interview with Pete Rose. It bothers him every day of his life.