One of the highest merits you can have as a baseball writer is to have a vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Being only 21 and just about two years into my writing career, I’m nowhere close to having a say on who gets into Cooperstown and who doesn’t. To get a vote you must have held a card in the Baseball Writers’ Association for 10 years.
Putting all that aside, lets say I get a vote. If I was filling out a Hall of Fame ballot here are all the players I would have on my ballot and why.
Barry Bonds: Lets just get this out of the way right off the bat. The 2013 Hall of Fame class is the most controversial ever with the cloud of steroid and PED allegations that follow some of the players. It’s so controversial that one writer even gave up his right to vote.
But I, for one, am putting Barry Bonds into the hall. I go by this philosophy: There isn’t any amount of substance that one person can take to become good at baseball. If it was as easy as that I would be taking steroids everyday to become a major league player. Steroids do not give you the ability to draw 2,558 walks. They do not give you the ability to win eight Gold Gloves and steal 514 bases.
So lets play the game of “steroids made Bonds what he was.” Bonds’ career average for home runs going into the 2000 season was 33. If you want to say Bonds started using in 2001 when he hit 73 home runs on lets go ahead and take away all those stats from 2001 and on. From 1986 to 2000 Bonds posted a career slash line of .289/.412/.567 to go along with his 494 home runs, 1405 RBI’s, 1547 walks, 471 stolen bases, eight Gold Gloves, and three MVP’s. Hall of Fame numbers before a supposed syringe touched his body.
Bond’s wasn’t the only player who was using. There was pitchers using steroids that he was facing — and destroying — in the game with him. Also, the drugs he was taking was not banned in the MLB until 2003. So when/if he was using he technically was not breaking any rules.
I do though want to get one thing straight: I do not condone the use of PED’s. In fact it’s a slap in baseball’s already tarnished and battered face every time someone gets caught. But people need to stop making it seem like it was Bonds and Bonds only who used. He faced juiced pitchers and was going up against other juiced players. He was a Hall of Famer before drugs, and if I have a vote, he gets in.
Roger Clemens: Seven Cy Young’s, 354 wins, a MVP, and a career ERA of 3.12. One of the greatest pitchers I have ever seen pitch. Like I said with Bonds, Clemens was a Hall of Fame player before steroids — and that’s if he even used them — because he was found not guilty on his perjury charges. If you’re going to use PED’s as an argument against him, see my post above on Barry Bonds.
Allan Trammell: Why is everyone pushing for Jack Morris to be in the Hall of Fame when people should be pushing for Trammell? Trammell’s Hall of Fame case is something that always perplexed me a bit. How is Ozzie Smith in the Hall but not Trammell?
Lets look at their career slash lines and numbers: Trammell .285/.352/.415, 185 HRs, 2365 hits. Smith .262/.337/.328, 28 HRs, 793 RBIs, 2460 hits. When looking at offensive numbers, Trammell was far better with the bat than Smith. I get the fact that Smith’s 580 stolen bases and 13 Gold Gloves helped put him in the Hall of Fame, but Trammell had better offensive numbers than Smith and also won four Gold Gloves.
If you want to say the fact that defense alone got Smith in that’s fine, but then Keith Hernandez needs to be in the Hall as well if defense alone gets you in. Trammell and Smith match up very close, yet one is in and the other one isn’t.
Trammell should be in the Hall of Fame.
Mike Piazza: Looked upon as one of the greatest offensive catchers of all-time, Piazza put together one of the best careers ever by a person who wore the tools of ignorance. In Piazza’s 16 year career he posted a .308/.377/.545 slash line, while belting out 427 home runs, drove in 1335 RBIs, won nine Sliver Sluggers, and a Rookie of the Year. The steroid cloud never really loomed over Piazza’s head, but playing in the era he did might keep people from voting for him. I personally think he is a clean player.
Lee Smith: When Smith retired he had the most saves of all-time. Problem is most voters of the BBWAA won’t vote for Smith because the role of closer is much like the DH; it’s hard for them to determine its value. But looking at Smith’s numbers he saved 478 games, had four 40 or more save seasons, ten 33 or more saves in a season, led the league in saves four times, and finished in the top five for Cy Young three times.
What gets really overlooked is 35% of Smith’s saves were saves of four outs or more. Something in today’s game that closers don’t rarely do. He may have bounced around, but he was one of the premier closers for a long time and should be in the Hall of Fame.
Tim Raines: If it wasn’t for Rickey Henderson playing at the same time Raines did, he would be in Cooperstown already. Raines was a great hitter, posting a lifetime average of .294, won a batting title, had 2605 hits, and got on base at a .385 clip for his career. Oh yeah, he was pretty fast, too. Raines stole 808 bases, and led the NL in stolen bases four times.
One day “Rock” may get into the Hall of Fame. If I had a vote, he would be on my ballot every year.
Jeff Bagwell: Another player with the cloud of PED’s over his head. Looking at his numbers, Bagwell’s .297/.408/. 504 slash line is very impressive. Bagwell had seven years of an OBP of .400 or better, eight seasons of driving in a 100 RBIs or more, nine seasons of 30 home runs or more, and won Rookie of the Year and a MVP. Bagwell is also part of the 30/30 club.
Bagwell falls into the same boat with Piazza, a player that was never accused of taking PED’s, but may fall victim to putting up big numbers in the era he played in.
Craig Biggio: Last but not least, another one of the Astros’ “Killer B’s” makes my ballot. Biggio was an all around good player. Biggio could hit, putting up a career average of .281, winning five Sliver Sluggers, and collected 3,060 hits. Good defender, winning four Gold Gloves, and was a good base stealer swipping 414 bases throughout his 20 year career.
I think with nearly 500 stolen bases, and getting over 3,000 hits gives Biggio the best chance to get elected into the Hall of Fame in 2013.