The Future of the Hall of Fame

[SRNewsBot]

The Hall of Fame voting lately has been interesting in the way that a good opening band is interesting. We learned a few things this year. We learned that persistence pays off — Bert Blyleven’s 13-year odyssey, driven by the stubborn persistence of his numbers, has been fascinating to watch. We learned that writers like to send messages — Roberto Alomar fell four votes short of the 75% he needed in Year 1. This was apparently a way to admonish him for the spitting incident that marred his career. In Year 2, voila, he got NINETY percent of the vote. We learned that players like Barry Larkin, who can do EVERYTHING well but perhaps nothing legendarily well, will have to build momentum. Larkin should get his most deserved call next year.

Still … this is all just the prelude. We are about 18 months away from the craziest Baseball Hall of Fame election ever, the one that I think will define Cooperstown for future generations. This class will be even crazier than the FIRST Hall of Fame election, I think. Six remarkable players will become eligible for the Hall. All six may end up in the Hall of Fame. Then again, none of the six may end up in the Hall of Fame. It all depends on how the wind blows.

More...