Curse the BBWAA

Seems like there is no perfect HOF candidate in the eyes of the BBWAA. Rose bet. Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, and McGuire took steroids. Aaron was black. Some were jerks. Others were involved in labor disputes (Glavine). Some retired too young (Koufax). Others retired to late (Frank Thomas?). Some played in the wrong city (Biggio). If you played in New York the media microscope may have exposed your faults. Ex-Mets Seaver and Ryan left NYC, but were blessed with the highest percentage of votes in history. Will Jeter’s percentage eclipse Maddux’s?

Biggio and Jeter’s stats aren’t too far apart, though Jeter’s average is the big difference. Jeter’s fielding percentage at shortstop is lower. In addition to second base, Biggio caught 428 games (almost 3 full seasons) and played 363 games in the outfield. Considering the other players in their lineups, Biggio’s RBI’s and runs scored compare favorably to Jeter’s. The Captain’s BB/SO ratio is lower than Biggio’s. Interesting they have the same number of strikeouts.  

PL YR  G      PA      H    2B  3B  HR  RBI  runs

CB 20 2850 12504 3060 668 55 291 1175 1844

DJ 19 2602 11968 3316 525 65 256 1261 1876

PL  BA OB SLG OPS BB   SO GG FP SB CS

CB 281 363 433 796 1160 1753 4 985 414 124

DJ 312 381 446 828 1047 1753 5 976 348   95

Dan Schlossberg reminds me that Glavine is the fourth-winningest lefthander of all-time. He also says some writers might hold against him his role in the failed 1994 labor negotiations.

The HOF vote needing to be taken away from the BBWA. Do you think all 3000 hit club members should be first-ballot inductees (unless banned for steroids/gambling, etc)? Biggio didn’t get in. Same deal for 500 home runs or 300 wins. Does Thome get in on the first ballot? He was popular. Will Frank Thomas get in on the first ballot? In his prime he raked, then hung on for years afterwards. You know me – I’m still worried about Glavine’s first ballot.