Nowhere near getting in, but if you don’t get 5% of the vote in your first year, you’re eliminated. Torii got 9%. Nobody got the 75% needed to get in. Curt Schilling came closest, followed by Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Hearing that Curt may lose votes next go round after his comments about the White House insurrection on Jan 6th, which was also the last day to cast votes this year.
Per HOF criteria he should be a shoe in while players personal views on anything else shouldn’t be a factor, but.
I don’t figure Curt will ever get in due to his politics. But how could Clemens not be voted in??? Weird!!!
Curt has asked to be removed from the 2022 ballot. Says he’ll take his chances with the veterans committee in a few years. IMO, his extracurricular activity aside, he’s a borderline HOF case. Great in postseason, good to very good from April to September.
Roids. Same reason Bonds didn’t get in.
OHHHH. i didn’t remember Clemens being caught up in that. I knew Bonds was, didn’t remember Clemens,
There was strong sentiment among many against Schilling well before Jan. 6. And, yes, Clemens won’t make it because of steroids.
I have softened on Pete Rose, but he probably isn’t going to ever make it in either.
I’ve changed my mind on Rose too. Put him in.
We all know what he did on both ends of the spectrum. Now there is news that he corked his bat. I figure most did. I don’t view that as serious as steroids. Manybe that’s wrong, bit that’s what I think. Betting on his team to win is still gambling. But I’m OK with him going in. He is a strange bird and getting stranger say one of my friends who is around him quite a bit. Heck, I’m getting stranger, too.
If Pete had fessed up and admitted what he did, I might have thought differently. Since he dug in and insisted that he did nothing wrong, I have no sympathy for him. I would rather see Shoeless Joe make it.
I also think that there are several others who deserve consideration. Joe Posnanski wrote a series of articles on The Athletic listing the top 100 players who are outside of the HOF. He only considered players who have been retired for 5 years or more. It’s an interesting list.
Top 30 are:
Dec. 11: No. 30, Curt Schilling
Dec. 14: No. 29, Reggie Smith
Dec. 15: No. 28, Doc Adams
Dec. 16: No. 27, Johan Santana
Dec. 17: No. 26, David Cone
Dec. 18: No. 25, Felipe Alou & Dusty Baker
Dec. 21: No. 24, Sammy Sosa & Gary Sheffield
Dec. 22: No. 23, Fred McGriff
Dec. 23: No. 22, Keith Hernandez
Dec. 24: No. 21, John Donaldson
Dec. 28: No. 20, Manny Ramírez
Dec. 29: No. 19, Todd Helton
Dec. 30: No. 18, Bobby Grich
Jan. 4: No. 17, Luis Tiant & Billy Wagner
Jan. 5: No. 16, Kenny Lofton
Jan. 6: No. 15, Andruw Jones & Jim Edmonds
Jan. 7: No. 14, Mark McGwire
Jan. 8: No. 13, Gil Hodges
Jan. 11: No. 12, Shoeless Joe Jackson
Jan. 12: No. 11, Dale Murphy
Jan. 13: No. 10, Dwight Evans
Jan. 14: No. 9, Pete Rose
Jan. 15: No. 8, Curt Flood
Jan. 18: No. 7, Dick Allen
Jan. 19: No. 6, Lou Whitaker
Jan. 20: No. 5, Scott Rolen
Jan. 21: No. 4, Roger Clemens
Jan. 22: No. 3, Barry Bonds
Jan. 25: No. 2, Buck O’Neil
Jan. 26: No. 1, Minnie Miñoso
Here is a link to the article announcing his picks. There are links to each article written about his choices. (As always, it is a pay site.)
Don’t get me wrong, I too have changed my mind on him (think he should go in), but I USED to think that the fact that he bet on his team to win was “no big deal” because he bet on them to win, not lose. But a friend pointed out that even betting on them to win was an issue. It could affect his decision on whether, for example, to keep the starter in a little longer or not, whether to put in your ace closer, who had pitched for 2 straight days, or to rest him and go with another guy, etc.
But Pete earned HOF on the field. Put him in!!!
I’ve heard all those arguments. I know it’s disturbing to many and betting on games by those with a chance to determine the outcome is a sordid affair.
If you put in a sorry scoundrel like Pete Rose, then Clemens, Bonds and A-Rod should go in also. I think all of those guys except Rose should be in. They were great players before they ever took the steroids.
Taking steroids is similar to corking the bat…it gives you more ball speed at contact. You just look better in your uniform doing it.
I get your point. To me there are “acceptable ways to cheat” and others that are not. That is probably screwy thinking on my part! Corking the bat, throwing a spitball, putting too much tar on your bat, all against the rules, but for whatever reason, “acceptable” to me. Taking steroids? To me that is different. Maybe it shouldn’t be, and I admit my thought on a lot of these type issues have evolved over the years and will continue to.
As a confirmed George Brett fan, for the life of me, I cannot see how putting extra tar on a bat helps anything.
2 Likes
Over time those heavy steroid/HGH takers like Bonds, Sosa, Maquire, etc. morphed into a completely different looking animal.
Comparing Carlie Hustle to the list of steroid abusers doesn’t make sense.
Pete Rose gave everything he had to the game and was all out on every thing he did. Playing defense, running bases and hitting. Betting on baseball happened after his playing career. If he can’t get in they should just close the HOF.
These voters couldn’t find anyone worth of induction into the HOF shows just the lack of spirit left in America’s game! Maybe these voters are better than the players they are voting yes or no on!
Rose is documented to have bet on baseball as a player too. https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/report-pete-rose-gambled-on-baseball-as-player/
In some ways betting as a manager is worse. A manager can do more to impact the game than a first baseman or centerfielder can. Pull the pitcher too early (or too late), for instance. A player can intentionally strike out or commit an error, but if the next batter hits a three-run homer or his team then turns a double play, nothing he can do to stop that.
1 Like
Biggest gambling baseball scandal took place this past summer when Charlie Brown had to forfeit the only game his team ever won because one of his players bet on the game. Can’t remember if it was “Rerun” the infant brother or Snoopy (maybe both). Sad day for baseball.
2 Likes
I never needed “softening”, he is one of the very best of all time. This “thing” against Rose has gone on too long. They made their point. To not admit him is silly. Should be a special “best” section of the HOF, and he should be in it.