Wizblog

Did you happen to catch Skip Bayless's column about why Raffy shouldn't be in? Truly moronic. I can't stand this ridiculous BS about it's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good. The HOF is packed with players who were very good for long periods of time, but could never be called truly dominant. On the other hand, guys like Albert Belle and Dale Murphy are borderline HOFers at best despite being the most feared hitters of their league over a 4 or 5 year stretch. Baseball is the one sport that rewards longevity and consistency over short-term dominance. Is anyone petitioning for Doc Gooden or Darryl Strawberry to be enshrined? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Raffy in particular. It seems to me that 500/3000 should be the end of the conversation, regardless of Bayless' inane contention that "nobody got to their feet when he came to the plate."

29 days until fantasy draft.......

I agree that Palmeiro is a no-brainer. I also get a kick out of people who claim that "it's not about the numbers". Of course it's about the numbers. I didn't read the Bayless column, but I have accused him before of "reaching" way too much to try to find a topic to write about, and this sounds like one of those.

I did a little checking on Palmeiro's stats, and he blows away the numbers of (my favorite Hall of Fame whipping boy) Cal Ripken, Jr. To the tune of more than 100 more homers, 100 more RBI, all in over 1000 fewer at-bats, 13 points better on the BA, etc.

Maybe it's a bad example since I think Ripken was one of the most over-hyped players in recent memory. That's not to say he wasn't a fine player, but just an acknowledgement that media hype has a lot to do with why fans "get to their feet when he comes to the plate". Sammy Sosa is another example of this phenomenon, IMO. He's a HOF lock, even though he had numerous lousy seasons when he was in his 20's and has always been allergic to leather, but he put together some dominant HR numbers for his career, and that one statistic, and the memory of the hyped battle with McGuire (when baseball desperately needed some hype) makes him a lock. His career BA (.277) and hit totals are very close to the "light-hitting" Vizquel, and of course you can't even speak of them in the same conversation when it comes to defense.

I suppose baseball got what it deserved (fans included). We placed an undue emphasis on the home run and the power game, and players responded by taking drugs in order to give us what we said we wanted. It will be very interesting when it comes time to "debate" players like McGuire, Sosa, and their fellow steroid users, whose petitions for the Hall rely so heavily on their HR totals at the expense of an all-around game.

Are you seriuosly telling me that someone like Dale Murphy, who NEVER took a single performance-enhancing substance of any kind, is not worthy of the HOF with 398 Homers when some guy like Palmeiro (or any of the current crowd of 'roid loving power hitters) is with 500?

Were Murpny to have taken 'roids he would have hit 1000 home runs quite easily.

Give me a break.