The Goose Lets Loose! Again

It's getting to the point where people talking about players not being in the Hall of Fame because of performance enhancing drugs is getting as annoying as speculating who did or didn't juice.

One guy who continues to repeat himself is Goose Gossage.

The 2008 inductee was, again, just as he was on the eve of the Class of 2013 Hall of Fame announcement, out there banging the drum Thursday.

"We’ve got a bunch of cheaters that are up for the Hall of Fame," Gossage told the crowd gathered for, of all places, the University of Calgary Dinos’ baseball and fastball fundraising dinner.  "I wish these guys who are lying would come clean. Roger Clemens was found innocent but so was O.J. and he killed two people. Stop lying and quit dragging baseball through the mud."

Really...O.J. Simpson?  Wow.

If Gossage really wants to make news, he should step forward and talk about some of his former teammates that have been outed as users (or possible users).  Because, while the closer's career didn't extend that far into the fabled "steroid era"...he did share a clubhouse with the likes of Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez. 

And my guess is that he might've seen or heard something at least once.

Goose: "Are you (expletive) kidding me?"

As the Hall of Fame clock keeps ticking, we're going to be flooded with conjecture as to whether or not certain players on this year's ballot belong.

Well, if current Hall of Famer Goose Gossage had his way...there'd be no "cheaters" in Cooperstown.

"If they elect cheaters into the Hall of Fame, I am not sure I would go back.  It hurts me to even think about it," the 2008 inductee told the Denver Post this past weekend.  "You are telling me we are going to reward these guys?  Are you (expletive) kidding me?  What is going on in this world?  Right is right.  Wrong is wrong."

Let it be known that the longtime closer is referring to those who used PEDs as "cheaters".

"They say there wouldn't be a Hall of Fame without PEDs?  I completely disagree," Gossage continued.  "No Cheaters.  Period."

I'm curious if Gossage had this same stance in 1992 when he experienced a mini-resurgence (of sorts) in Oakland's bullpen?  Behind the bats of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco...the A's finished atop the American League West.

A year later, without the pair, the team dropped from first to worst.

But, back to cheating. 

What does Gossage think of fellow Hall of Famers Whitey Ford, Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton?  All three have been accused of doctoring the baseball at different points in their careers.  Do we throw them out as well?

On an entirely different note, Gossage is set to add another award to his already full trophy case.  On January 15, he will be the recipient of the 2013 Red Smith Award.

What in the world is that?  Well, according to the Post Crescent, "the Red Smith Award is given annually to an individual who has contributed or continues to contribute to sports either on or off the field in Wisconsin."

Well...there you go. 

No word as to what Red Smith's governing body thinks of PEDs.

Everybody Hates Saves

Good friend of The Hall of Very Good (and originator of The Topps Traded 1975 Project), David Jordan hit Cooperstown last month and had a "quick conversation" with Goose Gossage.

Apparently the Hall of Famer is everywhere and, well, here's Jordan's story.

As someone who has immersed himself in Induction Weekend Culture two of the last three years, I believe I have a sense of the different levels of involvement certain Hall-of-Famer players employ.

You have guys like George Brett,  Carl Yastrzemski, Ernie Banks, Steve Carlton, Cal Ripken and Sandy Koufax, who show up for the ceremonies but aren’t interacting much with the fans on Main Street.

Then there’s the Jim Rice, Dave Winfield and Robin Yount types.  They provide extremely limited time windows to sign autographs and then that’s it, they’re gone.  Some players like Willie McCovey, Stan Musial and Nolan Ryan (even before his heart scare), who, most likely because of age-related ailments, rarely even attend.

And then there’s Goose.

He was everywhere and, quite possibly, the most visible athlete during the weekend. He was always ready with a smile for a fan or a quick conversation.  I would say Goose, Gaylord Perry and Fergie Jenkins, were the most ubiquitous around town during my time there.

Before getting to my conversation with Goose...the trip made me think a lot about saves.

Apparently you’re not one of the cool kids if you still measure closer effectiveness by saves or hitters by Runs Batted In.  Sure, there are finer barometers for performance assessment, but baseball is a game of tradition, and such a low-stakes controversy like this, there’s really no need for you to be throwing around the 96 you got on the fifth grade Language Arts final.

There’s quite a bit of chatter going on regarding the prospects of Trevor Hoffman being elected to the Hall of Fame now that he’s retired. Again, I would love to hear more thoughts on this, but I don’t know if I see it. 

Mariano Rivera should be passing him on the all-time saves list by the end of the season since he’s only nine away from him now.

Incidentally, is ANYONE talking about this? With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Jeter’s 3000th hit, there has been nary a word in the media regarding the run-up to Rivera eclipsing Hoffman.

Here’s the top ten closers in history by saves:

1. Trevor Hoffman – 601
2. Mariano Rivera – 592
3. Lee Smith – 478
4. John Franco – 424
5. Billy Wagner – 422
6. Dennis Eckersley – 390 (which is amazing when you realize he spent half his career as a starter)
7. Jeff Reardon – 367
8. Troy Percival – 358
9. Randy Myers – 347
10. Rollie Fingers – 341

That’s all well and good. Now, let’s glance at the Top Ten relievers measuring PWAR...or “Pitcher Wins Above Replacement".

1. Mariano Rivera – 55
2. Goose Gossage – 36.8
3. Hoyt Wilhelm – 33.2
4. Trevor Hoffman – 30.8
5. Lee Smith – 30.3
6. Billy Wagner – 29.7
7. John Franco – 25.8
8. Bruce Sutter – 25
9. Kent Tekulve – 24.9
10. Rollie Fingers – 24.4

Conclusions and questions:

• Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer in the history of the game. And it’s not even close.
• Kent Tekulve may be the most forgotten great closer in the Baseball Conversation today.
• Did Billy Wagner throw away a shot at the Hall of Fame by retiring two to three years too early? Outside of saves...his numbers are better than Hoffman’s.
• Is a closer’s WAR baseline for inclusion into the Hall 30 wins above replacement now? Is it 35?
• Now you know why Rich Gossage is a Hall of Famer.

Although he is mostly known today for his time with the Yankees, Goose said he still has a good amount of people ask him about his years on the South Side of Chicago.

I mentioned to him how I always found it odd that both he and Terry Forster were shifted to the bullpen for the 1976 season.

Listen to what this ballclub did.  Okay, trading Stan Bahnsen for Chet Lemon and Dave Hamilton in mid-season...that I can deal with. But then you trade Jim Kaat, a 20-game winner, to the Phillies during the winter meetings.

Now you’re left with Wilbur Wood, who was beginning his decline, Jesse Jefferson and Claude Osteen, who wouldn’t even make it out of spring training the following season.

So what did the ChiSox do with their American League Fireman of the Year?

“Yeah, the ballclub called me in the offseason,” Goose told me, “And told me I was going to the rotation. I’d do anything to help the ballclub so I was fine with it.”

This ’76 squad had Gossage in the rotation and a young Pete Vuckovich in the bullpen...whom they left unprotected, by the way, in the expansion draft the following winter.

Incredible.

So, what do you think?  Who is the greatest closer of all-time and why?  Also...do saves even matter anymore?

Goose Gossage Gets His Own Award

As a member of the 142-strong (and growing) Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I am pleased to announce the formation of the Goose Gossage Award.

Here's the official muckety muck.

Starting with the 2010 Major League Baseball season, the Goose Gossage Award will be a postseason award given to the top relief pitcher in each league. "It's hard to picture anyone more worthy of having his name on an award such as this," said BBA founder Daniel Shoptaw. "Mr. Gossage embodies what so many people think of as the classic relief pitcher, and the BBA is honored that he has agreed to lend his name to this award."

Richard "Goose" Gossage was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 after a 22-year major league career in which he had 310 career saves and recorded a 3.01 ERA in 1,002 games played. He was a nine-time All-Star, finished among the top vote-getters for the Cy Young Award in five different seasons, and was named the 1978 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year.

The Goose Gossage Award will be voted on by the membership of the BBA. Team chapters will have two votes each for either the American or National League ballot. The General Baseball chapter will vote in a manner determined by its members.

"At the end of the 2009 season, we voted on awards mirroring those of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, though we did not have a separate award for relievers," stated Shoptaw. "Due to the popularity of that voting, we decided that it was important to differentiate ourselves from other voting organizations. With the addition of the Goose Gossage Award we have taken the first step in that direction."

Take a gander at the official website of the BBA and if you're feeling nutty...follow them on Twitter. Members of the BBA may also be heard at Blog Talk Radio each Tuesday night with their call-in show, BBA Baseball Talk.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in 2009 and numbers 142 blogs across baseball, representing 29 of the 30 major league teams and including numerous general baseball blogs. Award balloting for the BBA is a transparent process, as no ballot is counted unless it is posted on the voter's blog.

Hooray for Saturday!

A lot of kids growing up get excited for the normal made up holidays…Valentine’s Day, Halloween, the last day of school. Me…I always got jazzed up about the day the Hall of Fame announcement was made.

Sure, it doesn’t have some fancy name or some wing at the Hallmark store dedicated to it, but it was, for a couple hours in January…my Christmas.

Well, TECHNICALLY, Christmas was Christmas…but you get the idea.

Then, after six months of thinking about it, we get what amounts to New Years Eve, a relative’s wedding or basically any other “holiday” where someone stands up and makes some clichéd speech about what an honor it is and how they never thought they would make it.

This weekend, we get the pleasure of hearing what I am sure is going to be another in a long line of self indulgent speeches when Rich “Goose” Gossage takes center stage.

Gossage is a guy who went from 33% of the vote to close to 86% in eight years. Somehow he convinced 300 votes that all of a sudden he was good enough to become the next great reliever to be inducted into the Hall. Apparently he wasn’t only a top notch closer…he’s a wizard! Heck, he’s not even the lone “Goose” to be elected into Baseball’s hallowed halls!

In my estimation, he was on the right ballot at the right time.

For some reason, voters don’t seem to want to enshrine Jim Rice or Andre Dawson and they live by some wacky code that SOMEONE needs to be voted in. But in an age of “did he” or “didn’t he”…the Hall wasn’t about to open its doors to the likes of Mark McGwire or Tim Raines. I get it.

Which brings me to what I saw recently on ESPN. Buster Olney and Buck Showalter were given five names of current Major Leaguers and were asked what they thought about their chances.

The names were no-brainers…Mike Mussina, Billy Wagner, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel and Gary Sheffield. Let’s break ‘em down.

MIKE MUSSINA

To me, “Moose” is an interesting case. On paper, you see a HUGE winning percentage (.637), a brilliant 263 and 150 record and close to 2800 Ks. His career ERA is 3.69 and one could argue that had he not toiled for more than half of his career in Baltimore…he would be as much of a Hall candidate as Tom Glavine. HOWEVER, Glavine had five seasons with more than 20 wins. Mussina, while he’s hit double digits in wins seventeen straight years, has yet to eclipse 20. The Cy Young award has eluded Mussina as well. Unfortunately, six top five finishes and no hardware doesn’t make for the best Hall of Fame case. Showalter, said Mussina is a Hall of Famer…Olney disagreed. I’m with Olney on this one. Outside of wins and consistency, and this sounds stupid to say, Mussina just hasn’t SHOWN me anything spectacular.

BILLY WAGNER

Wagner should eclipse Eckersley on the all-time saves list this season and enter next year’s campaign firmly in fifth place all-time, third on the active list. That being said, he’s still WELL behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith AND is a guy who has never led the league in saves. By comparison, Hoffman has only led the National League twice, but he has nine seasons with more than 40 saves. Rivera has led the American League three times and has six seasons with more than 40 saves. Wagner has two. I’m not saying that Wagner isn’t a premier closer…I’m just saying that if Lee Smith can’t get a sniff at a time when Bruce Sutter, Eckersley and Gossage are…Billy Wagner is going to have a rough time competing for the writer’s affection with the likes of Hoffman and Rivera still out there. As for Olney and Showalter…they split again. Showalter was a “maybe”, while Olney “agrees” with me.

JIM THOME

I’ve made the case for Thome and over the last year…he hasn’t done anything to make me feel otherwise. He’s got 526 home runs and barely 2000 hits. He’s going to have to do PLENTY more to sway me. Again, Olney and I are “no” votes…Showalter, predictably, was a “yes”.

OMAR VIZQUEL

Again, this is a drum I’ve beaten before and is one of those guys that I LOVE to bring into the conversation when it presents itself. Not surprisingly, Olney, Showalter and I agree across the board with “Sheik Omar”. As much as I would hate to see him hang it up…I think Omar needs to ride off into the sunset before he ruins his storied career.

GARY SHEFFIELD

Now…here’s a guy who, in all honesty, deserves his own column. Does he pass the smell test? Not sure…he plays alongside some FANTASTIC players. Matter of fact, he’s been overshadowed by plenty of them, but has put up some amazing numbers. A .294 career average, 2570 hits, 487 home runs and 1600 RBI puts him in a similar league as Willie McCovey, Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell and Ernie Banks. HOWEVER…that’s where some of the similarities end unfortunately since each of the afore mentioned have bettered Sheff’s three top five MVP finishes by taking home the award at least once. I could go on and on about Sheffield (and I might just do that in the near future), but it is interesting to note that the nine time All-Star only once led the league in a major statistical category…he batted an NL best .330 in 1992. So…what did the ESPN experts think? Olney said “yes” and Showalter, for some reason, disagreed. Me? I agree with Buster…not Buck.

So what about you? I’ll put each up for vote…and you tell me what you think!

Happy Anniversary you crazy bat, you

"I played 20 years in the major leagues, I did some good things, and the one at-bat I'm remembered for is an at-bat in July."

-George Brett

Unless you've been trapped in a cave (all apologies to those actually trapped in caves), you know that today is the 25th anniversary of the infamous "Pine Tar Game".

You know the story, my hero George Brett hits a home run off of Rich "I'm EVERYWHERE Nowadays" Gossage, he circles the bases, goes back to the dugout, Yankees skipper Billy Martin questions the legality of the bat, then...mayhem.

Apparently there was too much pine tar on the bat, but the funny thing...it wasn't lifelong troublemaker Martin who started the melee.

It was Graig Nettles.

Gossage has gone on record saying, "Graig knew the rule. The ump did his job. Everybody thought it was silly, but it's in the rules." Rule 1.10 (b) to be precise.

And here is that rule: the bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from the end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18-inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game. Umpire Tim McClelland ruled that Brett's bat had "heavy pine tar" 19 to 20 inches from the tip of the handle and lighter pine tar for another three or four inches.

But did the extra pine tar aid Brett in HITTING the home run? Not likely. And that was the finding of American League President Lee McPhail who ordered the game be resumed.

So, three weeks, four days, four hours and fourteen minutes later the "Pine Tar Game" was resumed. The Royals ended up winning after closer Dan Quisenberry spent all of twelve minutes shutting down the Yankees to preserve the 5-4 victory.

And if you ever doubted the seriousness of the game...the Yankees "voiced" their disapproval by playing pitcher Ron Guidry in centerfield and left hander Don Mattingly at second base.

I'm late in saying it, but baseball is back, baby!

We’re three weeks into it, but the new baseball season is here.

Finally.

And, like a broken record, I was getting the same old advice about what to write about. Sure, “The Hall” has been dormant for a while (sorry, troops), but I don’t know that anyone has been paying attention to what I am writing when I hear comments like “you should make your predictions for the upcoming season” or “give me some tips as to who should I pick in my fantasy league”.

Fact of the matter is this…I make NO predictions (Red Sox over the Dodgers) and I’ve never legitimately finished first in any fantasy league I’ve take part in.

Ever.

So what to write about? Any knucklehead with a keyboard can bang out some reference to John Mayer doing play by play in Japan.

But I won’t.

Frank Thomas being released by the Blue Jays

Too easy…but it’s probably coming.

Me? I’m going the introspective route.

March 31 was the OFFICIAL beginning of Spring. It wasn’t March 21 like the calendars say. And it sure as Hell wasn’t when baseball trotted out its latest multi-cultural money maker last week. To me, those are both “Hallmark Holidays”.

For me, the minute that first pitch is thrown in Cincinnati marks the beginning of Spring.

Now, I realize that that might not be the most popular thing I’ve said (and for the record…this was), but along the way, I’ve been called plenty of names. Most of them are warranted…some not. Either way, everyone has a right to their opinion. But of all the names that have been hurled my way, there is one I don’t mind.

Contrarian.

Basically, a contrarian is a person who deliberately goes against the popular opinion. I’m not about to say I go against the grain on purpose…but there are definitely a few good examples of why people have hurled this moniker my way.

I’m a tried and true Star Wars dork, but I have ZERO desire to ever watch ANY of the Lord of the Rings movies.

I went to college in the 90s, yet loathe the Dave Matthews Band.

The kicker to most...I grew up in Illinois and I HATE the Chicago Cubs.

Wrigley Field, the little “c” on their hats, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and the fact that they call themselves the “Lovable Losers”…they all get my goat (reference intended). I do find it endearing, however, that while Boston overwhelmingly embraced the arrival of Daisuke Matsuzaka…the “Lovable Losers” have these shirts available just outside the “Friendly Confines” to celebrate Kosuke Fukudome.

Blarg.

There are some Cubs I HAVE liked however.

Nomar (naturally, but I would never consider him a “Cub”), Andre Dawson, Leon Durham and for some reason…Lee Arthur Smith.

I mean, here was a guy that when he entered the game…you knew it was over. Sure, he’d give you a heart attack every now and again, but ultimately, he’d pick up the save and Cub fans could rejoice as the “W” flag was hoisted high above Wrigleyville.

Recently, we’ve seen a handful of closers make their way to Cooperstown…so why shouldn’t that trend continue with Lee Smith? It’s almost like he’s the forgotten closer out there.

But I’m not sure why.

Right now, Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader. Truth is, he was the first one to 500 and every time he nails down another…it gets mentioned on SportsCenter. But before Hoffman was the all-time leader…Smith was.

For 13 years.

Oh…and his 478 saves dwarfs the 310 and 300 that recent Hall inductees Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter notched.

But Smith must have been a one inning pitcher…guys like Goose consistently earned his saves by going two or more innings. I mean, that was what we heard last year when Gossage was knocking on the door of the Hall, right?

Well…so did Smith.

At the start of his career, Smith had a stretch of more than 830 innings pitched compared to 592 games played. That’s 83 or more innings pitched in eight of nine years. Three years in a row, he eclipsed 100 or more innings.

By comparison, a guy like Hoffman has seven years where he has pitched fewer innings than the number of games he’s appeared in. Actually, aside from Mariano Rivera…that seems to be the trend of many of the big name closers out there today.

Here’s a fun one for ya…raise your hand if you knew Lee Smith held the record for most games finished in his career.

No one?

Hoffman is second, nearly 70 behind Smith (737 to 802)…but after that, Rivera (664) and Billy Wagner (608) are the only two ACTIVE players within 200 games finished of Smith.

Speaking of closing out games (and getting back to saves), Smith had thirteen years where he tallied 25 or more saves. Hoffman did it 12 out of 13 years (he was injured for most of 2003). Gossage and Sutter each had seven seasons TOTAL with 25 or more.

It is relatively common now, but in 1987, Smith became only the second pitcher EVER (Dan Quisenberry was the first) to reach 30 or more saves in four consecutive seasons. When it came to closing out games in the early 90s…Smith and Dennis Eckersley were by far the most dependable and durable pair out there.

And we all know where Eckersley’s career ended up.

The big knock on Smith is his ERA. People will complain up and down that the big fella gave up WAY too many runs to be considered for the Hall of Fame. They’ll suggest that a Hall worthy closer needs to have a microscopic ERA before they’ll even consider them. Sutter had a career ERA of 2.83, Rollie Fingers...2.90. Right ahead of Smith's career ERA of 3.03 is Gossage and his 3.01, so you can see that Lee isn't necessarily that far off the mark.

Another fun fact (thanks Wikipedia) that makes Smith a fun conversation piece is this...he is one of a small percentage of players (the list of pitchers is even smaller) to have their first big league hit be a home run. Also on that list…Hall of Fame reliever Hoyt Wilhelm. Smith hit his off of Hall of Famer Phil Niekro…no clue who surrendered the Wilhelm dinger. Suffice it to say, they were the only two longballs the pair managed.

So, here we have Smith…a seven time All-Star, three times a top five finisher in the Cy Young Award voting. Will he make the Hall? He looks like a longshot when compared to the guys who dominate the highlights on a nightly basis, but I don’t think you can discredit him.

Even by looking at the votes he's gotten, he's on pace with what Sutter and Gossage did before him. Sutter was on the ballot 13 years before he got in and in his first year of eligibility...he only garnered 23% of the vote. Gossage wasn't much better. Nine years on the ballot, he ranged from the initial 33% to the eventual 85% he got last year. Smith has been on six years and hit the ballot strong with a 36% showing. This past year, he climbed to his highest total...45%. Remember, it only takes three-fourths of the writers to vote for you to get in and Sutter eeked by at 76%.

Compared to his contemporaries (which is what you MUST do when discussing the Hall of Fame), Smith stacks up statistically…he belongs in the conversation. Hell, he belongs right there at the beginning of the discussion, but the problem is, Smith has been the victim of so many modern day players…through free agency, he lost his identity.

It is MUCH easier for the casual fan to embrace a player who toes the same rubber from year to year a la Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. But then again…if you are going to spend eight years with the Cubs and only be part of ONE winning ballclub, you can’t blame a guy.

I mean…who REALLY wants to be known as a lifelong “Loveable Loser”?

***Note: Based on the "Is Lee Smith a Hall of Famer" poll that was on the page...70% of you think he is.***

Better late than never I suppose

At some point last Tuesday night, I lost part of a filling. I’ve gotta admit, chewing on food and then (all of a sudden) biting down on a piece of amalgam is startling. It didn’t hurt…I’m getting it fixed.

Earlier in the day, Goose Gossage became the lone inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame and somehow, losing a filling was the most exciting thing that happened on the that day. Hell, it was the most exciting thing to happen all last week to be honest!

Frankly…I’m not surprised.

I’ve posted it here that Goose being voted in was pretty much a foregone conclusion. As I’ve said before, I don’t think he is a Hall of Famer, but since SOMEONE seemingly had to get in…why not Goose, right? Dig your Gossage jerseys out from the mothballs, kids! Wait...what number was his? Did/do people even OWN Goose jerseys?

It was the vote totals that surprised me though.

After nine years on the ballot, 85.8% of the writers ALL OF A SUDDEN believe that Gossage is a Hall of Famer. In that same nine years, Dave Winfield (84.5%), Eddie Murray (85.3%), Dennis Eckersley (83.2%) and Paul Molitor (85.2%) all made the Hall of Fame with LESS support than Goose got this year.

That’s right, all of a sudden, more Hall voters feel that Gossage is more worthy than each of those players who (at the time they were elected) BURIED Gossage in the voting.

I try understand how it works...I really do. What can’t be stressed enough is the importance of who you are stacked up against.

Which brings me to…

Jim Rice (72.2%)
Many expected that this would be the year that Rice FINALLY made it to Cooperstown given the lack of competition. But even though he fell only 16 votes short, I don’t see it happening next year either. Basically, it’ll be hard to induct the guy that, this year, many proclaimed the “best leftfielder not in the Hall” when Rickey Henderson is up for election.

Andre Dawson (65.9%) and Tim Raines (24.3%)
No love for the Expos I guess. Hawk not making it in is not as surprising as Rock getting less than a quarter of the vote. Dawson will be one of those guys like Tony Perez who, after a number of years on the ballot…voters will say “why not”. HOWEVER...Perez didn’t have the competition that Dawson likely will. We’re about to see a slew of Hall worthy players coming up before the voters, folks.

Raines, on the other hand, shocks me…I figured he would have gotten at least double the votes he did. Maybe voters are planning a Henderson-Raines induction next year. I mean, why not induct the best two lead-off hitters of their time in the same year? It won’t happen, but the speeches would be awesome.

Bert Blyleven (61.9%), Jack Morris (42.9%) and Tommy John (29.1%)
Plenty of wins and Ks from this trio, but all in all…there’s not likely to be any Hall calls here. Blyleven has (for some reason) become the sexy pick as of late. Like Gossage, he’s been vocal about the Hall of Fame and that has drummed up some support for his inclusion. Morris, while I’ve made the case for him, is about to be overshadowed by some big name pitchers on some upcoming ballots. Sorry Jack…it probably won’t be happening for you.

And speaking of “not happening”…Tommy John is still on the ballot?!? I’m pretty sure, John has been on EVERY ballot since about 1984. I will say that, like his career, John has been VERY consistent with Hall voters. The lowest percentage of votes he’s gotten…18.7. The most…29.6.

Mark McGwire (23.6%)
Next…ain’t happenin'..

Alan Trammell (18.2%), Dave Concepcion (16.2%) and Don Mattingly (15.8%)
Apparently Detroit, Cincinnati and New York have between 15.8 and 18.2% of the vote. I know that math isn’t right…but you get what I mean.

Harold Baines (5.2%)
28 voters think Harold Baines is a Hall of Famer. That’s it? In his first year on the ballot (last year), 29 voters were on the side of Baines. So…who changed their vote?!? C’mon guys…three years ago, 26 of you thought that Willie McGee should be enshrined. If the argument for Blyleven is that he has the most wins or most Ks out of ANYONE that isn’t enshrined…Baines’ hit total has to mean more than 5.2% of the voters think he is worthy of the Hall of Fame.

Rob Nen (2 votes)
I kinda thought Nen would get more than 2 votes considering he was lights out before his arm fell off in 2002. Nen had 315 saves in nine seasons as a closer…yikes!

Brady Anderson and Jose Rijo (0 votes)
The man with the 90210 sideburns and the Playmate wife had the support of Hall darling Cal Ripken Jr., is one of two players (Barry Bonds being the other) to have stolen 50 bases and hit 50 home runs and STILL couldn’t buy a vote. Incidentally, in 2004, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer suggested Anderson’s 50 jack season was steroid influenced. Not a chance I say!

I only mention Jose Rijo because in 2001 (the FIRST time Rijo was Hall eligible), he received one vote. How that ONE writer decided seven years later (after Rijo retired AGAIN) to NOT vote for Rijo again is beyond me.

The big question…how did Todd Stottlemyre get a vote?

***Note: Following the Hall of Fame voting, I posed the question..."who else should have been elected?" Overwhelmingly, NO ONE garnered much support. Andre Dawson was just under 50% with 48% of the vote. After that, Tim Raines (43%), Jim Rice (39%), Bert Blyleven (35%), Harold Baines (30%), Mark McGwire, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell (26%), Dale Murphy (17%), Tommy John, Dave Parker and Lee Smith (9%), Dave Concepcion and Don Mattingly (4%). "Other" received a whopping 13%...thanks gang!***

Is it Hall of Fame time already?

The 2008 Hall of Fame ballot was released the other day and it is about the most underwhelming collection of players in a long, long time.

It’s a shame really.

I mean, baseball is, as a sport, kinda teetering right now. Popularity is at an impressively high level…YET, public perception is one George Mitchell report away from being worse than one could ever conceive!

Which brings me back to this year’s Hall of Fame class. We need a year like last year’s Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn class rather than the “well, someone had to be elected, right?” ceremony that awaits us in 2008. Frankly, I’m more excited for any sequel to “Two Girls…One Cup” than I am the 2008 Hall of Fame class. At least with that, you have willing participants being fed a mouthful of you-know-what instead of whoever the writers present us with as being a baseball immortal.

Who are the first ballot front runners? Tim Raines, David Justice…Rob Nen? Shoot me now.

I could make a case for “Rock” if (and it’s a BIG “if”) Rickey Henderson did not exist, was already in the Hall of Fame OR Andre Dawson was already enshrined. Henderson was roughly THREE TIMES the player Raines was and Dawson was more of the face of the baseball north or the border than anyone else. And let’s face it…Raines was pretty much only an Expo, right? I implore you to tell me who else he played for, when AND what he might have done with those teams that is worth mentioning.

The holdovers are intriguing and it is on that list where you’ll find the class of 2008. Most notably…Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, Andre Dawson and Mark McGwire are getting plenty of attention.

Last name first…McGwire won’t get in because of the steroid implications. It probably wouldn’t be the best PR move for baseball to elect someone to the Hall that is routinely mentioned in the “did he” or “didn’t he” steroid debate. Besides, and this is probably the best case for NOT voting him in…his stats weren’t that great. In short, McGwire wasn’t a Hall of Fame player…plain and simple.

Rice and Dawson, both of whom are guys that I support wholeheartedly, are probably going to fall short as well.

Again.

Dawson has seen his vote totals go from 45% in his first year of eligibility (2002) to a high of 61% in 2006 and back down to 56% last year. In that time, both Bruce Sutter and Ryne Sandberg have jumped past him on the list and waltzed into Cooperstown.

Similarly, Jim Rice (who many consider the “most feared” batter of the 70s) has gone from 29% in 1995 to his high of (roughly) 64% in both 2006 and 2007. Rice getting in would be a tip of the cap to the Red Sox franchise and a fitting compliment to their 2007 Championship season. He is beloved by the “Nation” and would certainly bring the crowds to sleepy Cooperstown, New York.

What about the perennial “why not this guy” Bert Blyleven?

Well, like Tommy John (another great “why not”), if he wasn’t elected yet…he won’t be now. And, unfortunately, as much as I like (and support) Jack Morris…I almost have to put him in this same category.

So…the guy with the best chance of being the lucky recipient of the “we had to pick SOMEONE” award is Gossage. Process of elimination, right?

Right?!?

Goose is a head scratcher though. For the life of me, I can’t figure out where this ground swell of support is coming from. It isn’t like he ONLY played for the Yankees. If he did…I could understand why such a colorful character would even be talked about.

On paper, his stats were good. HOWEVER, if you compare him with some of his contemporaries…he is the Vince Coleman to Sutter’s Raines. And that is, of course, if you look at Rollie Fingers as being the Rickey Henderson of the bunch.

To me, Gossage isn’t even the best reliever on the ballot this year…especially with both Lee Smith and Rob Nen up for consideratin. Now, I’m not saying they SHOULD be in the Hall…I’m just saying they are more “Hall worthy” than Goose. But that’s only if you look at the stat line.

The key to being a Hall of Famer is dominance. In short, you need to be THE dominant player (if not one of the most dominant players) at your position during the time you played. Gossage clearly was very, VERY good…but “dominant”?

Sutter supporters would disagree the loudest…but who cares? He’s already in the Hall.

What about Dan Quisenberry, Jeff Reardon, Tug McGraw or Kent Tekulve?

Look at their numbers during the same time that Gossage played. I mean, Goose only led the league in saves THREE times (with only two years with more than 30 saves)…and one of those years, he tied with Quisenberry. Quisenberry, I might add, led the American League in saves five out of six years in the early 80s…right at the same time Goose was said to have been at his peak.

Gossage did get Cy Young consideration five times between 1975 and 1984. However, in that same span…Fingers, Sutter, Sparky Lyle and Willie Hernandez each took home the Cy Young award. Hell, Quisenberry (again) had five top five finishes in a six year span and he dropped off of the Hall ballot after appearing only once.

And yes, I know…any monkey who laces up the spikes can get “Cy Young consideration”. But when you talk “dominance”…you have to take that into consideration.

So is Gossage a Hall of Famer? Frankly…I’m not sure how he garnered 71% of the vote last year. However, the writers seem to like him and (like I said before), this year could belong to him and Rice (maybe)…but only time will tell.

Over the next two months, the HoVG will be examining more of the players that might (but shouldn’t) be overlooked on the current Hall of Fame ballot. If you’ve got something to say about Harold Baines, Andre Dawson, Lee Smith or even Don Mattingly…I’d like to hear from you!

Drop me an email at hallofverygood@yahoo.com and who knows…your words might just end up on this website!

***Note: I had a poll on the site asking about whether or not you thought Goose should be inducted this year and I'm surprised...78% of you thought he should. Let's see if your opinions match those of the actual voters.***