Two More Days to the Hall of Fame Announcement

Two more days until we find out how the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America have voted. This does not include the number of writers that have decided to abstain by not returning their ballots. There are a few of them such as T.J. Quinn and John Fay.
Oct 11, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; St. Louis Cardinals batting coach Mark McGwire (25) during batting practice prior to game four of the 2012 NLDS against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Image Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
I haven’t checked the main websites of people tracking the votes of those ballots that have been published already. I am a fan of transparency when it comes to the process so I like to look at the ballots after the fact.

That said, I am perplexed. Integrity is listed as a criteria for the voters. For the last few years, Mark McGwire has gotten a low number of votes because of his congressional testimony and that he used steroids during his career. That said, I am surprised by the number of folks in the BBWAA that are voting for both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and not Mark McGwire.

It makes zero sense. Zero. No matter what their careers would have looked like had they never used steroids, members are not voting on what their careers could have looked like if that were the case. That’s not the way it is or the way it should be.

Some ballots were published today: Ken Rosenthal, Jayson Stark, and Joe Posnanski. Of the three ballots, Rosenthal did not vote for anyone accused of or caught using steroids.

Rosenthal writes that the performance-enhancing debate “underscores the special place that Cooperstown holds in every fan’s heart.” This is very true. From the moment I became a baseball fan in the early 1990s, I could not wait until I walked into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown–which I did in 2001.

I give credit to Stark for voting for Dale Murphy but at the same time, I am perplexed that he voted for Bonds, Clemens, and Sammy Sosa. I did a double-take when I realized he didn’t vote for Mark McGwire. All four either used or were accused of using and have not exactly been cleared. Of course, Stark notes that even McGwire said he would not vote for himself.

I have hopes that Lee Smith makes the Hall of Fame. I don’t think it will happen this year. I don’t think Larry Walker or Mark McGwire make the cut either.

Two more days until we know who will be inducted, if anyone will be at all, to Cooperstown.