Check out this cool sketch from the very talented Chris Panetta who runs the popular Mets In Stitches. If you love these art blog posts like I do, I suggest you add this site to your favorites. A picture really is worth a thousand words. If I had his talent I would have sketched the gates of Cooperstown with a sign saying “Do Not Enter – By order of the BBWAA” . Anyway go check Mets In Stitches out.
Random Musings On HOF Snubs
- So one mysterious BBWAA writer voted for the unforgettable Aaron Sele? I guess the only question that remains is if he’ll never get through the pearly gates wearing a Mets, Red Sox or Angels cap.
- I can certainly appreciate a writer filling out his ballot with his 4-6 candidates and then opting to throw in a sentimental pick knowing full well that this particular player was not going to make the 5% cut anyway. I think it’s kind of fun and nostalgic in a way and many have given a good but not great player “the sweet sendoff”. I gotta be honest with you, if I had a vote and the names of Todd Hundley, Jerry Grote, Buddy Harrelson and Dave Magadan ever appeared on my ballot, you can sure as hell bet I would of cast a sentimental vote for either of them if I had room on my ballot. No harm, no foul.
- Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Curt Schilling all got shafted yesterday. An epic fail by the BBWAA to be very clear. Many of the writers are still ticked off that they were taken in by all the extravagant and gaudy numbers that were being produced during the steroids era. I’ve spoken to a half a dozen of them in the last couple of weeks and believe me they are still steaming. When Canseco blew the lid over the rampant use of roids the writers felt like fools for not seeing it sooner. They looked complicit in the eyes of some fans and they were just duped just like the rest of us average fans. Now it’s time for them to exact some revenge and that is exactly what you saw yesterday. Right or wrong, they’re getting even.
MMO Shoutouts
Old School Mets Fan hits a high note with this comment…
I think it’s actually unbelievable that we have reached the point where the Mets are agonizing over whether to give Scott Hairston a 2nd year at $3 million or $4 million. This isn’t a long term deal, it’s not particularly expensive and while no superstar, he was 3rd on the team in HR’s last year.
In case you weren’t sure, Metsie “does” have an agenda…
Well lets be clear Joey…I DO have an agenda…To argue against those that have an AGENDA!
Harry C. sets the record straight on weak free agent classes…
It is the new norm. Every offseason is basically the same and fans look to next year, but then most of the best players are re-signed by their own teams. Been like that since 2009.
Another MMO Exchange
Xtreem says…
A buddy of mine at work (very casual fan) asked me the following question:
“Curt Schilling didn’t get in? I never heard that he did any steroids.”
That’s now become the main criteria for consideration. Casual fans are force fed PEDs to the point where that’s the main focal point of qualification. The witch hunt is hurting the game far more than any alleged PED usage ever was.
Joe D. says…
You know I fell in love with the game in a completely different era than you guys did.
Biggio… Piazza…. Bagwell… Schilling… All victims of the steroids era, yes. While all of them should have gotten in, there’s someone else I feel more sorry for; Dale Murphy.
The steroid era screwed him more than any of the others. I grew up watching Murphy play his entire career. Back then 30-homer seasons didn’t grow on trees.
As the eighties were coming to an end, there was never any doubt that Murphy was bound for Cooperstown. The youngest player in history to win back-to-back MVP awards in 1982 and 1983, a seven time All Star, four Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves, and he was the last player you ever wanted to see at the plate in a tight game.
Murphy had one of the best seasons I ever saw in 1983 when he batted .309/.398/.540 with 36 home runs and leading the league in runs (131), RBI (121) and stolen bases (30). He was the only player in MLB history to compile a .300+ batting average, 30+ home runs, 120+ runs batted in, 130+ runs scored, 90+ bases on balls, and 30+ stolen bases in one season. He did it clean. Old school all the way…
Then it all went down hill for Murphy when Jose Canseco and the steroid era took hold of the game.
GMs and managers turned a blind eye, reporters were duped, fans didn’t care because they digged the longball.
I figure there were 15 years of tainted baseball in all and when it was finally over, players like Dale Murphy didn’t stack up anymore. Even Brady Anderson could do what he did.
In the seventies and early eighties, 30 homer seasons were special and rare. 30/30 players were even rarer.
The steroids era will keep players like Murphy out of the Hall. The thought of him not being in the HOF was crazy talk in 1985. But now his once astounding numbers and his career 121 OPS+ look like crap because of all the fake inflated numbers bought on by a generation of cheating and an overall complacency. Nobody gives a shit.
The reporters aren’t voting in the cheaters for now, but they will get in. They’re just still pissed off that they were duped by these guys. This is their revenge. The cheaters will all eventually get in. Dale Murphy never will.
Anyway…
Xtreem says…
Wouldn’t the steroid era have helped Murphy in the sense that the way people view Bonds and McGwire, etc. would give more esteem to the seasons Murphy had?
Joe D. says…
No I don’t. I feel the decade and a half of these insane offensive seasons have desensitized everyone. Players like Murphy will never get in. Trammell will never get in, No McGriff either….
