The Issue With Hall of Fame Voting
January 14th 2009 15:00
I know this is late but I want to congratulate Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson for being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Henderson was a lock to be elected after being baseball's all-time leader in runs scored and stolen bases. He defined the leadoff spot in the lineup, not just because of his speed but how he was selective at the plate. He still looks like he could put on the uniform and compete at the highest level. Henderson could be the first Hall of Famer to play professionally in an Independent League.
On the other hand it took Rice 15 years to finally receive the 75 percent of the necessary votes to get in. This was the final year for Rice on the wriers' ballot, but would have been eligible to be voted by the veteran's committee, they have never voted in a living Hall of Famer. Rice deserved to get in, but what took so long?
There were always questions about the statistics because he only hit 382 home runs while playing 16 years at Fenway. He also only had 2,452 hits so this hurt Rice's chances because most writers want the player to either have 3,000 hits or 500 home runs. What benefited him finally this year was that Henderson was the only newcomer to the ballot and he came very close last year, receiving 72% of the votes.
This example of Rice getting in on the 15th try is a perfect example of what is wrong with the Hall of Fame voting. Rice hasn't swung a bat in the Major Leagues in 20 years, but all of a sudden over 400 voters believe Rice deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. That doesn't make sense. If you feel the player should be in then vote him as soon as he is eligible. Don't be persuaded by other writers. It's an honor to vote for the Hall of Fame so take advantage of it. Rice deserved to be voted in a long time ago because he was one of the best players during his time so players like Rice shouldn't have to wait this long.
There were always questions about the statistics because he only hit 382 home runs while playing 16 years at Fenway. He also only had 2,452 hits so this hurt Rice's chances because most writers want the player to either have 3,000 hits or 500 home runs. What benefited him finally this year was that Henderson was the only newcomer to the ballot and he came very close last year, receiving 72% of the votes.
This example of Rice getting in on the 15th try is a perfect example of what is wrong with the Hall of Fame voting. Rice hasn't swung a bat in the Major Leagues in 20 years, but all of a sudden over 400 voters believe Rice deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. That doesn't make sense. If you feel the player should be in then vote him as soon as he is eligible. Don't be persuaded by other writers. It's an honor to vote for the Hall of Fame so take advantage of it. Rice deserved to be voted in a long time ago because he was one of the best players during his time so players like Rice shouldn't have to wait this long.
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