My Hall Of Fame Ballot

'Cause why not? The way I look at it, if you think a guy should be in, vote for him. None of this "well, nobody should get in unanimously" crap, or "I don't think he's a first ballot Hall of Famer, so I'll vote for him next year" garbage. The only way I can see not voting for someone is because you've got more than 10 people you want to vote for, in which case I can see leaving off the player you think needs your support the least. With that out of the way, here we go, and keep in mind, I can't always justify these, partially from laziness, partially from the choices being emotional.

Alan Trammell - I've seen some good cases for Trammell. He's not the offensive force Ripken was (though in the mid to late '80s he was close), and he's not the defensive phenomenon Ozzie was (who is), but I believe he's good enough. Yes.

Jay Bell - No. Don't think he has the numbers.

Matt Williams - Uh, No.

Andre Dawson - Yes. I know, terrible on-base percentage, but that 400+ HRs/300+ SBs really speaks to me. You can decide whether that means it's good I don't have a vote or not.

Dale Murphy - I think he just got old too fast, because he was going good until his early 30s, then it's as though his body just forgot how to play. No.

Dave Parker - I did not realize he had over 2700 hits. All I ever read is that he's not a HoFer, and that it's his fault for squandering his talent (on coke, I think). But, his overall numbers are't really better than Murphy's, so I'd say No.

Ron Gant - No thanks.

Rickey Henderson - YES!

Tim Raines - Yes. I think his base stealing, on-base percentage, and his little bit of power, help him earn a spot. Plus, those stories about him sliding headfirst so he didn't break his vial of cocaine in his back pocket. Yeah, just say no to drugs, but those are the kind of colorful characters our kids (or your kids; I haven't got any) need to learn about when they visit Cooperstown.

Jim Rice - I have no idea. I've heard so many arguments both ways, and I have no memories of him at all, so I don't know.

Greg Vaughn - No.

Mo Vaughn - No.

Don Mattingly - No. Will Clark couldn't even stay on the ballot, and I'd say he was at least as good as Mattingly.

Mark Grace - Don't think so. No.

Mark McGwire - Jeez, here is where the bias starts to show. Not the bias against players I don't remember (see Rice, Jim), and it's not a bias about use of steroids, or accusations of use of steroids. I just don't like big, slow power hitters. I was even that wild about Albert Pujols until he stole 16 bases in 2005, and he's a ludicrously better overall player than McGwire. Shit, I don't know. It's an awful lot of HRs, and impact on the game is part of the consideration, I think, and McGwire (and Sosa) can certainly claim that. So, Yes, which I guess means a yes for Sammy in a few years.

Harold Baines - I'm not a big fan of guys who can't field a position. I know Molitor was frequently a DH, but I don't think there was any doubt he could play in the field, he just got hurt easily when he did. Baines seemed like more of a David Ortiz, Giambi DH, the "get him off the field, he's fuckin' terrible". Or in Harold's case, maybe it was he was just old. No, based on my anti-DH bias.

Bert Blyleven - Almost 5000 innings, over 3700 Ks, 242 complete games, hell Yes. I'm not going to hold for less than stellar teams that hurt his win total against him.

David Cone - No. Didn't play long enough to rack up the impressive numbers.

Tommy John - I think Joe Posnanski (among others) probably made a good point, that if you're going to give Sutter credit for popularizing the splitfinger, can't John get some credit for pitching well after the medical procedure that now nears his name? If he'd stunk it, he probably wouldn't have lasted long enough to get that. Yes.

Jack Morris - I really like that line about how the only time he wants to talk to a woman while he naked is if she's on top of him, or he's on top of her. It's a funny line. He's got some memorable postseason performances, but I don't know that he has the wins. Yes.

Jesse Orosco - Fuck No. St. Louis had him for a year and he threw 2.3 freaking innings. They gave the Mets Joe McEwing for him (who hit .243 in five seasons) and got completely robbed on the deal.

Dan Plesac - No.

Lee Smith - Well, if I'm going to give Blyleven and John credit for having long careers and compiling numbers as starters, probably have to do the same for Lee as a closer, right? Yes.