MLB Hall of Fame class 2013. Will no one get in?
 

Will no one make it this year?



http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/h...d-thing-010613





I already can hear it, the outcry if no player gets elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“The Hall is in trouble.”

“The writers are fools.”

“SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.”

Wrong, wrong and wrong again.

Yes, there is a chance — a good chance, perhaps — that no candidate received the required 75 percent of the vote from the voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The ballots were due on New Year’s Eve. The results will be announced Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET on MLB Network. But if the voters indeed pitched a shutout, it almost certainly will be a one-year aberration, not a reflection of any larger truths.

I recognize that snark is the preferred mode of communication in a breathless social-media environment full of knee-jerk reactions and instant expertise. But all those preparing to get lathered up, take a deep breath and calm down.

Oh, I’m not downplaying the significance of what might occur. The Hall, as an institution, surely would prefer that Induction Weekend features, well, an actual inductee. Even in 1996, the last time that the BBWAA failed to elect a player, the Veterans Committee delivered Jim Bunning, Earl Weaver and two posthumous honorees, Bill Foster and Ned Hanlon.

This year, the third of the VC’s new rotating eras format, produced three pre-integration era inductees — umpire Hank O’Day, former Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and 19th-century catcher/third baseman Deacon White. All have been dead since at least 1939.

More than 40 living Hall of Famers are expected to attend the induction ceremony, but the attendance at Cooperstown could fall below 10,000, the approximate number who attended the ’96 ceremony. It certainly won’t approach the record 75,000 that saw Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. inducted in 2007.

The Hall would not sugarcoat such an outcome and pretend it’s good for business. But Hall officials will tell you that they prefer a true election, whatever the outcome. They also will tell you that with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas coming onto the ballot next year, they’re confident that the podium will not be empty in 2014.

Heck, it’s not even a foregone conclusion that the podium will be empty this year, not when Jack Morris received 66.7 percent of the vote a year ago and Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza are first-time candidates with no known connections to performance-enhancing drugs.

If no player is elected, it will be due to the large number of intriguing first-time eligible candidates — voters can select no more than 10 players — and more significantly, the consternation over the candidates linked to PEDs.

But that consternation — the intense debate over what to do with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others — is not a bad thing for the Hall. If anything, it underscores the special place that Cooperstown holds in every fan’s heart.

The voters are easy to criticize. Some baseball writers who are not voters take particular delight in crushing those of us who are (a writer gets to vote after serving 10 consecutive years in the BBWAA, and full-time writers from websites are now eligible to become members.)

No problem — we’re all fair game. But the truth is, I’ve read and heard some remarkably intelligent discourses from my colleagues over the past several weeks — even ones who I strongly disagree with. The high level of debate has made me proud to be a member of the BBWAA.

One non-voter referred to those of us who struggled with our votes as “drama queens,” which I found rather amusing. Would it be better if we approached our ballots frivolously, without thought? Sorry, most of us feel a strong sense of responsibility to the process. The public hand-wringing is largely an attempt by many writers to be transparent to their readers.

Baseball is a talking sport, a sport that produces arguments like none other. The Hall arguments are especially passionate. You may agree with some, disagree with others. But the debate over the PED users, while occasionally maddening, is not a bad thing for the Hall, or for baseball. We’re talking, after all, about the game’s soul.

I fully expect the Twitter version of a banshee howl if no player is elected, but no change will need to be made to the voting procedures, particularly when we likely are looking at a one-time result. If the same thing happened in 2014 and ’15, that would be something different, an unacceptable outcome. At that point, the Hall would need to adjust.

I’m not saying the BBWAA voters are perfect — we have made mistakes, and we undoubtedly will make more. But for the most part, we’ve gotten it right over the years, and I’m confident we’ll eventually get to the right place on the PED users — whatever that place may be.

No one currs / Pete Rose

A look at the candidates and their chances....



Biggio: As I noted at the outset of my JAWS series, Biggio represents the most likely to be elected based upon his 3,000 hits and lack of any credible PED-related suspicion. Among modern candidates with 3,000 hits, only the PED-tainted Rafael Palmeiro has failed to gain first-ballot entry; Pete Rose was banned for life before he officially reached the ballot. Even so, this could be play-at-the-plate close this time around. With the memory of Biggio’s protracted march toward the milestone perhaps a bit too fresh in the minds of voters, he could fall short, though his boosters can still take heart; in modern voting history (since 1966, when the BBWAA returned to annual balloting), the highest percentage ever received by a first-year candidate who fell short was Roberto Alomar’s 73.7 percent, and he sailed in easily in his second year of eligibility.

Bagwell: Though the PED whispers are still out there, Bagwell’s merits appear to be winning voters over gradually. Of the candidates to receive between 60 and 74.9 percent in their third time on the ballot — Robin Roberts (72.7 percent), Roy Campanella (69.9 percent), Early Wynn (66.7 percent), Don Sutton (63.8 percent) and Phil Niekro (62.2 percent) — Roberts and Wynn went in the next year, while Campanella, Niekro and Sutton took two more years.

Piazza: Despite some amount of PED whispers, Piazza appears poised for a strong debut, if not one that garners him first-ballot entry. Of the nine players debuting with 60 to 74.9 percent of the vote since 1966, catchers Yogi Berra (67.2 percent) and Carlton Fisk (66.4 percent) were both elected the next year. That any voters considered either of those two — a three-time MVP and pillar of a dynasty on the one hand, and an 11-time All-star who set home run and longevity records at the position on the other — unworthy of first-ballot entry says more about voter idiocy when it comes to the first-ballot distinction than anything else. The same is largely true for Piazza, who is simply the best-hitting catcher of all-time.

Raines: Among the 13 holdover candidates, none appears poised to make a bigger gain than Raines, who received 48.7 percent of the vote in 2012, his fifth year on the ballot. At this point the question is when, not if, he’ll get in, though that could still take a bit of time; the three modern candidates to receive 60 to 74.9 percent of the vote in their sixth year (Tony Perez, Hoyt Wilhelm and Don Drysdale) needed an average of three more years to go over the top.

Morris: Though he leaped from 53.5 percent in his 12th year on the ballot to 66.7 percent in his 13th, Morris is finding the last mile to be a hard one; he doesn’t appear to be making the kind of breakthrough likely to send him over the top this year. Bert Blyleven, the last starting pitcher to be elected, went from 62.7 percent in year 12 to 74.2 percent in year 13 to 79.7 percent in year 14. While Morris’ boosters had hoped he would follow that pattern, he may instead follow that of Jim Rice, who needed all 15 years of eligibility to gain entry, going from 63.5 percent in year 13 to 72.2 percent in year 14 to 76.4 percent in his final year. The alternative is the company of Nellie Fox and Enos Slaughter, who needed to wait for entry via the Veterans Committee after failing to garner that last handful of votes in their final year of eligibility.

Bonds and Clemens: While their failures to gain first-ballot entry will be held up by some as a significant rebuke of their individual merits and of all PED-related candidates, neither of these two is being equated with Palmeiro — the lone candidate on the ballot to fail a steroid test — or Mark McGwire, both of whom have failed to garner even 25 percent of the vote in their times on the ballot. Since 1966, 24 candidates have debut above 40 percent, and the only ones who have failed to gain eventual entry via the BBWAA vote are Lee Smith (42.3 percent debut), Bagwell (41.7 percent) and Steve Garvey (41.6 percent); the first two are still on the ballot, while the latter lasted the whole 15 years without making it and didn’t have anywhere near the merits that Bonds (seven MVP awards) or Clemens (seven Cy Young awards) or both (standings at or near the top of several key statistical categories) did.

Edgar Martinez: In his fourth year of eligibility, his candidacy appears to have stalled at least somewhat; he’s polling at 38.6 percent according to BTF, which would be a gain of just over two percentage points from last year. Among the candidates receiving between 33 and 45 percent of the vote in year four are some who eventually gained entry (Rice, Goose Gossage, Luis Aparicio), some who needed the VC (Slaughter and Johnny Mize), and some who didn’t make it (Garvey, Gil Hodges and Maury Wills).

Alan Trammell: Trammell climbed from 24.3 percent in his 10th year of eligibility to 36.8 percent in his 11th, but he doesn’t appear to be maintaining that momentum; in this, his 12th year on the ballot, he’s at 38.6 percent along with Martinez. No modern candidate who has been that low that late has gained entry via the BBWAA, though Fox, Ron Santo, Richie Ashburn and Bill Mazeroski did so via the VC.

Curt Schilling: Currently polling at 37.7 percent in his first year of eligibility, Schilling looks like anything but an automatic selection. Of the 10 modern candidates to debut with between 30 and 40 percent, only Gossage, Eddie Mathews and Lou Boudreau were eventually elected by the BBWAA, while Slaughter, Pee Wee Reese and Jim Bunning needed the VC and Martinez, Wills, Al Lopez and Luis Tiant are all on the outside looking in. I’d guess that once 300-game winners Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Randy Johnson — who become eligible in the next two years — gain entry and Morris is off the ballot, Schilling will come into stronger focus and begin climbing.

Lee Smith: Smith appears to have been hurt the most by this year’s new candidates; having reached 50.6 percent last year, his 10th of eligibility, he’s polling at 37.7 percent this year. If that holds, that leaves him in VC-or-bust territory as far as modern candidates go.

Dale Murphy: Despite the high-profile efforts of his children to call attention to his merits, he’s polling at just 20.2 percent in his final year on the ballot, and would need around 89 percent of the outstanding ballots to gain entry. That’s not going to happen.

McGwire, Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa: Polling at 16.7, 15.8 and 14.9 percent, respectively, this trio is in PED-linked purgatory, though they at least appear likely to remain on the ballot for awhile. Once Bonds and Clemens gain entry, resistance to other PED-linked candidates may soften somewhat, but it does appear that far fewer voters are otherwise convinced of this trio’s merits.

Fred McGriff: After receiving 23.9 percent in his third year of eligibility, the Crime Dog appears likely to take a hit, as he’s polling at just 15.8 percent this year. In the modern annals, no player receiving that low a share in his fourth year has gained entry via the BBWAA, though a few — including first baseman Orlando Cepeda — have done so via the VC.

Larry Walker: Like McGriff, he’s poised for a staggering blow to his candidacy; after receiving 22.9 percent in his third year of eligibility, he’s polling at 14.9 percent this year. He can look to the rallies by Blyleven (17.4 percent in year three) and Aparicio (12.0 percent) for some glimmers of hope, but it’s getting late early for him.

Don Mattingly: He hasn’t seen 20 percent of the vote since 2002, and he may not make it until year 15. After receiving 17.8 percent in his 12th year of eligibility in 2012, he’s polling at 7.0 percent, putting him in significant danger of falling off the ballot — if not this year, then next year.

Kenny Lofton: Despite being a borderline candidate on the sabermetric merits — he’s below the JAWS standard among centerfielders, but above the median score and among the top 10 at the position — he’s in very real danger of falling off the ballot after his first year of eligibility, à la Bobby Grich and Lou Whitaker. BTF has him at just 2.6 percent, around half of the 5.0 percent needed to maintain his eligibility, and the gathering crowd on the ballot won’t help him at all.

All of the other candidates — holdover Bernie Williams as well as the remaining newcomers — are polling at less than two percent, making it unlikely that they’ll even be on next year’s ballot. We’ll find out who, if anyone, gets in on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

http://mlb.si.com/2013/01/07/the-hal...?sct=uk_t11_a6

Biggio and Bagwell should get in

Edgar Martinez should absolutely be in the HOF.

Piazza should get in.

Jack Morris was a bad ass starter and pitched in a ton of big games. He deserves it for sure.

MLB ‏@MLB

BREAKING: @officialBBWAA elects no one to @BaseballHall for first time since 1996. #HOF

Wow, i figured Biggio might make it.

Bagwell and Piazza had PED whispers

Everyone else(Besides the Roid Boys) i see alot of "Hall of Very good" but not Fame.

Biggio should have gotten in. It's bullshit that he didn't.

Biggio and Morris were probably both close; maybe next year?

wasn't Biggio good?

in a steroid era nonetheless, while not being linked to steroids? That should be impressive and something to consider

"Im not voting for the Roid boys, but maybe I should consider the guy that put up numbers without roids"

i figured that would be the easy logic here, instead it seems like these voters are just pure elitism at this point

Biggio (68.2), Morris (67.7), Bagwell (59.6), Piazza (57.8) Raines (52.2)

Biggio not getting in is a joke...complete and utter sham.

Yep. 3000 hits. Career .281 hitter.

Bonds, McGuire, Clemens and Schilling should all be in....it's a no brain-er.


As far as PED's...baseball has been on PEDs since the 50's so give it a rest.

Biggio will get in eventually....just didnt quite cut it as a "first ballot" election

I agree. I don't want players using PEDs but the writers are punishing the players for MLBs lack of being proactive and having a good policy in place. And yes people don't want to talk about back when the teams were actually giving players "greenies" to play the day night double headers in a row etc. Now they are going to punish anyone that they don't know about because of a "cloud" over the whole era.
To me they should just realize that it always has been part of any competitive sport and always will be. Whether it was greenies, coke, ephdra or HGH. Every person in an organization from the player to the owner is looking for an advantage.
I can also see a difference, once baseball put a legitmate screening program in place, that someone caught after that would be held accountable differently than someone caught or suspected before that time.

By proactive do you mean the union allowing testing to take place? There were rules against PEDs going back years, but they had no teeth because the union headed by Donald Fehr refused to allow testing until Congress took over.

A few thoughts...

I don't mind Biggio not getting in on his first ballot. First-ballot HOF types are unquestioned superstars who are MVP winners, guys who dominated leagues for several years.

Biggio is not that guy.

I don't really care about any of the steroid guys getting in. So what. Those guys made their choices and seem happy with them.

I don't buy Jack Morris as a HOF guy. YEah, he was hard-nosed and tough. Yeah, he pitched for two WS winners. But the guy was just VERY GOOD, not great. It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good (and yes, if I had a chance, I would kick out several players who don't deserve to be in the hall, among them Rabbit Maranville, Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese, etc.).

lol, i am laughing the players give a shit if they get into the hall of fame or not. Is it a nice prize at tghe end of a career? sure, but the money they make is by far greater to them. they can actually enjoy it.

Do you really think SammY Sosa gives a ****? or Manny Ramirez these guys grew up with no ****ing shows paying baseball in the mud with little or nothing. Now because of some talent and some steriods they are going to live like kings the rest of their life in their poor country. Its well well worth the risk.

Sammy and Manny chillen drinking some drinks on a beach somewhere smiling from ear to ear.

...And business owners all over Cooperstown look for a tall building with windows that open outward, or maybe a bridge.

If Pete Rose isn't getting in, neither should Bonds, McGuire, or Clemens or any other steroid junkie.

Glad they got so little votes

Look at that, the BBWAA let down baseball again in a more completely embarrassing, hypocritical, and holier-than-thou way than usual. What kind of Hall of Fame doesn't allow two of the greatest players in the sport's history in? One that's not worth paying attention to.

Pete's not even eligible because he broke a rule that every ball player knows you can't break.

Baseball writers become more irrelevant every year. Newspapers are dead. Vin Scully does not have a HOF vote.

But Craig Biggio should have. Dude came up as a Catcher, made the All Star team, tjan became an All Star 2nd Baseman and finished his career in the outfield. Along the way he got more than 3,000 hits snd 400+ steals 660+ doubles. He has HOF numbers. Easily.

My top 10, in order of awesomeness, and separated by HOFers and non-HOFers.

DEFINITELY SHOULD BE IN THE HALL:
1. Barry Bonds - It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Good Guys. He was far and away the best player of his era, steroids or not. Plus, he's famous.
2. Mark McGwire - See above, except for the part about the best player.
3. Tim Raines - This one is just mind-boggling. Sixth year on ballot and he's not in? 808 stolen bases and a career .385 OBP. Amazing player.
4. Mike Piazza - Record-setting numbers for a catcher, and Hall of Fame numbers regardless of position.
5. Roger Clemens - 7 Cy Young Awards.
6. Jeff Bagwell - 162-game average: .297 AVG, .408 OBP, 34 HR, 115 RBI. Those look like Hall of Fame numbers to me.
7. Sammy Sosa - 609 homers. Enough said.

NOT QUITE:
8. Larry Walker - Great player, but probably not quite Hall of Fame-worthy.
9. Fred McGriff - The nickname Crime Dog alone should get him in the Hall, but I don't think it will.
10. Edgar Martinez - An excellent hitter but loses some credibility for being a DH and not having overwhelming power numbers.

Therman, Biggio is not on your list. Why?

I'll tell you why he's not on my list - that goddamn kevlar brace he wore on his arm (just like cheater Bonds). Allowed him to crowd the plate with no fear of getting injured. Screw 'em both.

I'd put Rafael Palmero at 8.

First ballot use to be reserved for the legends of the game. Ruth only got what 86%. Babe Ruth for crissakes.

No way Biggio is a first ballot HOF'r if thats the bar that was set before. You can make an argument that is BS and I would agree but baseball loves tradition and change moves slowly.

I think Griffey Jr and Jeter will be the only first ballot HOF'r from the the steroid era.

I'd add Chipper Jones to that list.

Overall, I'm fine with this result.

Biggio is not an obvious slam-dunk first-ballot HOF'er. He's not obviously not either, its iffy whether he should be voted in on his first year. I would have, but I'm not upset about it. I'm fine with Piazza not getting in this year for similar reasons.

I'm more upset about Bagwell, he really should have been voted in, but at least he gained more ground this year. He'll eventually get in, there's never been any credible steroid accusations.

Morris is not a HOF'er, so I'm fine with him not being in. He'll eventually get in by the VC, but thats better than being voted in, which is a step up from being let in by the VC.

Clemons, Bonds, McGwire, etc should never be voted in. The rules are the rules, it is clear they lack character, integrity, and sportsmanship, and you can take all your arguments about greenies, uppers, and spitballs, and you can go stuff it. You know whats like steroids? Steroids. Thats it, there is nothing comparable. None of that other stuff dramatically changes your body, damages your health, and forces other players who otherwise wouldn't have doped, to dope to keep their jobs. Many players extended careers because of it, and that means some honest clean ballplayers somewhere toiled away in the minors and never got called up because of it. Why not think about them? I don't care if baseball was complicit, those players knew they were cheating, and they did it anyway. If its an economic decision (I'd rather make millions more than protect my legacy), fine, so be it. Its time for them to pay the price of cheating, however small that price may be, and die in baseball purgatory right beside Pete Rose. The guy who invented the freaking hall of fame was the one who came up with those character clauses, we can't throw out the Thomas Jefferson of the baseball hall of fame now because some people find it inconvenient.

The cheaters should not be honored.

The baseball hof is a ****ing joke with this shit. They act like you must sqeaky clean to grace their hall. There were no rules cocerning supplements and no testing but somehow its suppose to matter now. NFl is almost as bad allowing guys to be eligible until they are dead. If you didn't get in the first twenty tries you should never get in.

I disagree.

Too many people today are referred to as "Great"' when in reality, they're not.

This year's class had holes everywhere and I applaud the integrity of the voters.

Now, if Chipper Jones and Derek Jeter and Griffey, Jr. aren't first ballot guys, I'll sing a different tune.

But today's voting was just fine.

I'm OK with the fact that no one's going in this year. If this happens occasionally it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's not as if there's a quota.

It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of "I Guess This Guy Was The Best Of The Bunch Who Happened To Retire Five Years Ago".

The Hall of Fame is a farce, anyway. I'd bet that they actually enjoy this controversy, as it actually gives people reason to talk about them.

It is absolutely preposterous that Craig Biggio was named on nearly twice as many ballots as Bonds, and I absolutely detest Barry Bonds.

Craig Biggio was a very good ballplayer who stayed around long past his usefulness to garner a few milestones. I don't see how anyone could make a credible argument that he is a HOF. He contributed fewer wins than Larry Walker over more years, and Walker isn't a HOF'er or even thought to broach the discussion.

Biggio has a huge asset for his candidacy: he doesn't look imposing. In an era where everyone is suspect, look who isn't: Maddux, Biggio, Griffey, Jeter, and a few others. That's not to say it's fair to accuse them, but to point out the hypocrisy of the witch hunt that goes on with this.

Union/League together should of had the test screenings working properly or what is the point in having them? Just to say oh yeah we have something written but we are not going to enforce it or only when we want to. I just don't think the players should be punished when the league or union back then were basicly keeping a non working system in place for what seems like a way the league and or union could just lay it on the players.

If it is a Museum then Bonds, Clemens, Rose and so on should be in.
If it is a shrine then they need to kick some out. They can't have it both ways.

I think Griffey Jr., Chipper and Jeter escaped the steroid label because their body type never changed and their #'s were consistent through out their careers.

My biggest beef with Biggio is that his hall candidacy is bolstered by the last 5-6 years of his career, when he racked up approximately 1/5 of his career hits despite hurting his team more often than not. Especially his last two seasons, when he was Jeff Francoeur-esque but kept playing every day to chase 3000 hits.

Without the 3000 hits, he isn't a Hall of Fame guy, period.

[QUOTE=DaneMcCloud;9301415]I disagree.

Too many people today are referred to as "Great"' when in reality, they're not.

This year's class had holes everywhere and I applaud the integrity of the voters.

Now, if Chipper Jones and Derek Jeter and Griffey, Jr. aren't first ballot guys, I'll sing a different tune.

But toda
y's voting was just fine.[/QUOTE

Bonds and Clemons are first ballot. Baseball had a problem as a whole and now we are going to punish players with HOF denials. Its stupid and a worthless thing to do. Like still keeping Rose out. Baseball voters are so snotty.

I just don't get all the Biggio love. He was a good player, but nowhere near Hall of Fame material if you look at his numbers. .281 AVG, .363 OBP, 291 HR, 414 SB...solid, but definitely not HOF.

Shut the hell up. A shrine my ass. Ruth and Cobb were known hooligans and countless others in the hall are not perfect choir boys. Its a type of sport reward not the Nobel peace prize.

And you agree with the rest of the list?

Yeah. Without his selfish quest for 3000 hits, Biggio isn't close to HoF worthy.

Biggio was WORSE THAN JEFF FRANCOEUR in each of his last two years (going by OPS)

WTF? I don't think it should be a shrine. But that seems to be what they are trying to treat it like considering this year was the best hitter in the history of baseball and one of the winningest cy young winner and neither can get it. And may never.
Since they call the place in Cooperstown The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. They should treat it like a Museum.

It doesnt matter what you do or did off the field. The Roid Boys and Rose dont get in because what they did affected the integrity of the game.

Without the steroid scandal, I'd absolutely agree. But there's no way the Baseball Writers of America were going to make Bonds and Clemons first ballot Hall of Famers. I think they'll both get in someday but first ballot? No way.

Rose admitted to betting on baseball. Eight men were suspended for life back in the early 1920's, so Rose knew the consequences. If Rose hadn't been a Major League manager while betting on baseball, no one would care. But how can you justify a guy putting a guy in the Hall that bet on games, and possibly affecting their outcome, for his own personal (and financial) gain?

3000+ hits.

simple rule no cheerleaders not a sport

so ****s given equals zero

What an absolute load of hypocritical, sanctimonious horse shit based on no evidence this paragraph was.

I'll never get those who are perfectly fine with other forms of cheating in baseball (amphetamines, greenie use, spitballs, corked bats, etc.), but believe steroids somehow cross the line and that there is "nothing comparable" to them. Taking that opinion both a complete lack of perspective about baseball's drug culture and baseball history.

But how do you know which players used steroids and which players didn't use steroids in this HOF vote? For that matter, how do you know which players used them throughout baseball history? And why is one performance enhancer (steroids) considered differently than other performance enhancers (like say amphetamines)? And if you believe that all steroid users shouldn't make it in, should the HOF investigate and remove every player in the Hall that they find to have used any kind of steroid (or any kind of performance enhancer)?

It says right in the voting requirements that character should be considered. They don't normally consider off the field issues as character issues, but it's reasonable to say that steroid use is a character issue.

As far as blaming the writers for not electing Bonds or Clemens - no one said they had to do steroids. They would have been hall of famers if they hadn't done steroids. Especially Bonds. He was already going to the Hall of Fame. Nobody made him do steroids. The person most to blame about Bonds not getting in is Bonds. He did it to himself.

And the writers aren't keeping Pete Rose out, and neither is the HOF. The writers and HOF don't have anything to do with Rose not being in the HOF, really.

Yeah, in 20 years. .281 AVG. Didn't even hit over .300 in any of his last nine seasons. Not impressed.

So they will be kicking out Gaylord Perry here pretty soon right? He used spitballs, sandpaper, etc. to scuff the ball and cheat. That is cheating just like steroids.

The baseball writers knew this crap was going on the whole time, but they said nothing about it at the time. The whole lot of them are hypocrites.