How do you get into the Baseball Hall of Fame
By Tom Grout
January 3, 2008
Next week the baseball Hall of Fame will announce this years inductees and it will be interesting to see who gets in but it will also be interesting on who does not.
To be honest I never have figured out how all the major league sports elect their members to their Hall of Fames. It can be a real wonderment on whom they choose and who they don’t. In football I never could understand why it took Paul Krause so long to get in. His all time interception record may never be broken but it took many years for him to get in. Why Fran Tarkenton didn’t get in on his first try and why Mick Tingelhoff is not in but Mitch Webster is?
I will never figure out why Bert Blyleven isn’t in the baseball Hall of Fame or Jim Kaat either. How can Harmon Killebrew not be voted into the Hall on his first try?
To understand why this has all happened we have to look at what the sports writers are looking for. They only thing is, I don’t know what they are looking for and they can’t explain it either.
A few years ago I wrote to some sports writers around the country and asked why they thought Bert Blyleven didn’t get voted into the Hall of Fame. Even though this was about Bert it goes for anyone not voted in yet. The majority came back saying they didn’t know because they vote for him but I did go back and forth with Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe.
In his one of his e-mails he said about Blyleven, “It’s the old I know a Hall of Famer when I see one and he doesn’t pass. At no time in his career was he thought of as a Hall of Famer. He was known as a “first class” “second class” pitcher.” He was not regarded as a high level pitcher.”
I argued back of course and pointed out his numbers and mentioned that the only number he lacked was the 300 wins. The 300 win total is the pitchers magic number, if he as that he is automatically voted in. The hitter’s magic numbers are 3000 hits and 500 homeruns. Now the 500 home runs number may change due to the steroid era, but until now; no player with 500 home runs has not been voted in. So far no player in the 3000 hit club has been denied the Hall of Fame either. So, is the criteria for the Hall of Fame a perception thing or a numbers thing? And what numbers?
At no time in his career did I think Robin Yount was a Hall of Famer. I can’t speak for everyone but I bet there are plenty of people who thought the same thing. But Yount had 3000 hits and he is voted in. If he had 2987 hits would he still been voted in? In this case it was the numbers that got him in, not the perception. Actually it was one of the magic numbers that got him in.
Ozzie Smith and Bill Mazeroski were voted in because of their glove work. They were perceived to be the best fielders at their positions during their eras. Numbers didn’t apply. Perception did.
Some players have had their careers cut short due to injuries so their career numbers or the magic numbers did not apply. Can you say Sandy Koufax and Kirby Puckett? They didn’t have the magic numbers but they did have good numbers and were dominate players during their playing time. Tony Oliva was a dominate player of his time and had his career cut short by injuries and he had some numbers too like 3 batting titles and he is not in the Hall.
Another player I have thought about is Don Drysdale. He was a very good pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the late 50’s and 60’s. His numbers don’t match a lot of players who are in the Hall; in fact his numbers aren’t any better than other pitchers who are NOT in the Hall. So is he in the Hall by the perception of being a Hall of Famer? Or is he in the Hall because he played in the big market team the Dodgers. Are players who play for New York, Los Angeles, Boston or some other big market teams over hyped enough to make the Hall? Again we will go back to Mr. Ryan of the Boston Globe as he said, ”I would say that playing for a New York team or an LA team does enhance the players chances of getting into the Hall.”
I could go on an on here. Tom Hintgen had a column about Roger Maris and that he should be in the Hall of Fame. I will not argue that he shouldn’t be, he was one of my favorite players and with his contribution to the game should not be forgotten. But I can tell you why his isn’t in, he doesn’t have the right numbers and he apparently didn’t have the perception of being a Hall of Famer at least to the writers who never liked him because he wasn’t Mickey Mantle.
I would hate to see the Hall of Fame get watered down, but I don’t think putting Maris, Oliva, Kaat and especially Blyleven in the Hall would be watering it down.
Since there isn’t really a good firm criteria as to who is voted in, the writers have a hard task as Bob Ryan said, “I have voted 13 years now and it’s the hardest thing I do.”
As a long time baseball fan who loves the game, I surprise myself when I say that I don't really care that much anymore about the Hall of Fame! I don't know why but it doesn't mean much to me anymore. Is that my older age talking or am I a little cynical about how major sports hype some players just to build an audience? Am I a little cynical of how the Yankees and Red Sox get all the attention? Am I a little cynical about the media and how they cover sports with their "gotcha" journalism and their overuse of superlatives like the word "superstar"? Maybe I just answered my own question about why it doesn't mean much anymore. Also, any Hall of Fame without knuckle-baller Tom Grout can't mean much.
Very well done article, Tom.
I have to admit that from all your readers/contributors to your articles here, I seem to be more in line with "randlars" ideals.
Personally, I think the HOF is a crock. How could they NOT have Blyleven in?
How bout Rose?
I believe it's the "ol boy" network at it's finest. If you are liked as a player, and more importantly, friendly with the press, then you get in.
Robin Yount? Yeah, good ballplayer but what got him in? Harvey Keuhn's run in to the series?
I like the articles and the contributors to it!
Keep it coming!
Nice job on a great subject.For my two cents , I think Bert and Jim Kaat should be in for sure. Roger Maris certainly should also be in the HOF. As much as I liked Tony O , and would love to see him voted in, I think his career was just too short and injury hampered.... Tom, if you want , I can pull some strings and get you into the Pioneer hall of shame,, i mean,, fame..
Yikes, this site is little jumpy tonight. My post earlier this evening is gone, so I'll try again. The HOF announcement is tomorrow, I'm picking Bert and Andre Dawson to get in... and a maybe for Tommy John.
HOF announcement tomorrow... my guess is Bert and Andre Dawson... and possibly Tommy John.
Rich Gossage... good grief. How the heck could anyone pick him over Blyleven an Tommy John??
It seems to me that the Hall of Fame is losing its 'value'. Do we really need to see a new inductee every single year? My opinion is that if in one particular year there are no strong names on the ballot, than why can't there be no inductees? Saying that a former player is a Hall of Famer once had a magical ring to it, but in years to come it may lose this feeling. Personally, I am waiting for the year that Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz will all be on the same ballot. These are three current players who are all deserving of the induction. But because of the watering down of the recent and undoubtedly upcoming inductees, referring to these three great players as well as a handful of other current players who have truly had HOF careers, they will be classified in the future along with other, as Bob Ryan said, 'first class second class' players who got into the Hall because of their weak ballots.
Good article Tom, I enjoy your blog a lot.
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