Hall of Fame Ballot
If I had a vote, here are the four players I’d be checking off before the Dec. 31 deadline.
Tim Raines - Maybe the second-best leadoff hitter ever. Unfortunately, he was playing at the same time as No. 1, and he was stuck in Montreal for his best years. Raines ranked in the top 10 in the league in runs eight times, leading the NL twice. He also posted seven top 10s in OBP, four in average and four in OPS. He ranks fifth all-time in steals, and he was successful on an incredible 85 percent of his attempts during his career. In a three-year span from 1985 through ’87, he had a very good case as the best player in the NL.
Bert Blyleven - 26th all-time in wins and fifth in strikeouts. 10 league top 10s in ERA and 11 in innings pitched. Ninth all-time in shutouts. 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA in the postseason, and a key member of two World Series champs. Blyleven would rank in the top half of the 60 pitchers in the Hall of Fame, and it’s ridiculous that he’s had to wait this long to get in.
Alan Trammell - If his defense was close to good enough to justify the four Gold Gloves he won, then Trammell is a clear-cut Hall of Famer. He deserved AL MVP honors in 1987, and he went to six All-Star Games despite having to deal with Cal Ripken’s presence in the AL at the same time. It’s easy to overlook his 185 career home runs, but only three Hall of Fame shortstops have more and each of them spent significant time at other positions (Ernie Banks, Ripken and Robin Yount).
Goose Gossage - Turned in a better career that two of the four relievers in the Hall of Fame (Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers). Some of the mediocre seasons he turned in at the end of his career appear to be holding him back, but he had a better case for enshrinement than Sutter by the time he turned 33. Nine All-Star Games. Led the league in saves three times. He had three seasons in which he was far more valuable than any reliever could be today, throwing 141 2/3, 133 and 134 1/3 innings with 1.84, 1.62 and 2.01 ERAs, respectively.
Left off
Jim Rice - It was Boston’s right fielder all of those years who belongs in the Hall of Fame. Rice’s case is built around power, yet he fell off so quickly that he didn’t even get to 400 homers. In his career, he hit .320/.374/.546 at Fenway and .277/.330/.459 in road games.
Mark McGwire - I’d like to see what more comes out over the next few years before making my decision.
Lee Smith - It’d hardly be a crime if he got in, but we need to draw the line somewhere on closers. My preference would have been to include Gossage and exclude Sutter and Smith.
