Google Knows EVERYTHING II
The 2010 Hall of Fame ballot is out and the names are all there for our relentless ridicule. Meh. Let’s not make this too difficult now, shall we? There is only one nominee who is a surefire lock to be a first ballot Hall of Famer and that man is Barry Larkin.
Everybody else?
Not so much.
But these decisions need to be weighed with ample baseball knowledge and ruthless number crunching, which is why we turn to the always accurate Google Oracle to see whether or not these fellas are Hall of Fame worthy. (click on the images for a closer view)
Robin VenturaWhen your one claim to fame is getting your a$s beat by a man old enough to be your father in what was probably the most embarrassing basebrawl of all time, no, you may not enter the Hall of Fame, sir.
Fred McGriffInterestingly enough, the lesson in McGriff’s ‘instructional video’ is: how to vote Fred McGriff into the Hall of Fame. Slick… but not slick enough. No Hall of Fame for you, Crime Dog.
Roberto AlomarWell, unless there’s a Hall of Fame of AIDS then Robbie ain’t gettin’ in anywhere.
But please, somebody — baseball writers, Oprah, Jesus, anyone — please put Andre Dawson in the Hall of Fame. He deserves to be there. And I am getting very, very sick of having to lobby for this ex-Cub who made a living making my life miserable as a child.
Buck up, fellas. The Hawk was better than Jim Rice.
Hate me ‘cuz I tell it straight, just don’t hate me ‘cuz I”m right.
Peace,
Jeff
Red State Blue State
Ever googled Chan Ho Park?
gotta love the crime dog!
http://pittpeas.mlblogs.com
Nah, but I just did. Apparently the dude has a killer kick. LOL.
Yeah, Matt. I dig Crime Dog. He’s just not an HOFer in my opinion.
–Jeff
If the HOF gave you a ballot – who would you nominate? Props for mentioning Dawson – I wonder if they’ll put him in with the Cubs cap or the ‘clown’ cap of the Expos (and I say the latter with much love as possible, but that ’80s Expos cap looked like something out of Ringling Bros.) I hope he gets in this year and not have to wait until the eligibility is all used up.
Jonah
http://jonah77.mlblogs.com
I hope Larkin does get in–he deserves it. Jim Rice deserved his entrance in the HOF, but you are right–Andre Dawson should also be there. I’m still baffled why Jack Morris and Lee Smith did not get more consideration. But this is very much a year of “not exactly” candidates.
Jonah — I would put Dawson in, as well as Jack Morris. And me. If I could put me in there I would
Didn’t you ever see me in my throwback ‘spos uni? Check it out: http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/07/expo_jersey_instant_notoriety.html
Greg — I feel ya on the Morris tip. He was the most dominating pitcher of his era in my opinion. The splitter was NASTY!
–Jeff
I am going to have to type my name into google now and see what the Oracle says…I am guessing it will something like, “genius and former beauty queen…” Ha, ha!
Jenn
http://philliesphollowers.mlblogs.com/
Jenn — Awesome. The Oracle always tries to get me to educated about Lung cancer. How smart of it, eh?
–Jeff
Jeff,
Great post! Keep lobbying for Andre, 2010 is his year! They can’t keep him out any longer after letting Rice in. How you keep one of three players with 400 HRs, 300 SBs, and 2,500 hits is beyond me.
Charley
Andre Dawson for the Hall of Fame
http://www.hawk4thehall.blogspot.com
I second your vote of Dawson. Why isn’t he in the Hall already? Roberto Alomar was a great player but I can’t get that incident out of my mind when he spit at John Hirschbeck. Euwww.
- http://janeheller.mlblogs.com
Charley — I don’t get it either. I’ll keep lobbying for ya though!
Jane — Spit, spit and AIDS. That’s what Robbie is known for. Gross indeed.
–Jeff
Now your talking my language! Barry Larkin for the Hall!
Cob
http://cobf.mlblogs.com
If according to you Alomar shouldn’t get into the HOF, then Dawson shouldn’t even be nominated for it! The only thing that stands out from Dawson are is 430-something hrs, while Alomar has a better AVG, OBP and OPS….and all while playing a more demanding position. In conclusion: Dawson <<<< Alomar =). Heck, even McGriff has better #’s than Dawson….
Cob — I knew you’d appreciate that.
Kelv — Okay, so as long as HRs and RBIs aren’t important, you are totally right.
–Jeff
^ Hrs are important, but you ain’t gonna judge only by looking at hrs. And RBI’s are way overrated, they are team and lineup position dependant. Anyways, McGriff had MORE hrs and just 41 less RBI’s than Dawson in less AB’s. And you can’t compare the RBI’s of a 3 to 4 hitter throughout most of his career (Dawson) with a leadoff or # 2 hitter throughout most of his career (Alomar). So as far as your argument goes…it just doesn’t stack up…
Dawson is a borderline HOF candidate….and saying Alomar or even McGriff don’t deserve to get in while Dawson does, is dumb. Cause these two have better #’s than the latter.
No offense, Kelv, but you sound like a stat zombie. So assuming, as you have, that homeruns and rbi are simply meaningless, then how does one get in the Hall? One thing Dawson was that Robbie WASN’T is the force of the lineup. No manager said ‘whatever we do we cannot let Rob Alomar beat us’, while Dawson kept opposing pitchers up at night.
–Jeff
I have to agree with you on Larkin and Dawson, Jeff. The way I look at the HOF is the greatest players of every position of every era should be elected. Dawson without a doubt was probably one of the best right-handed all-around outfielders of the 80′s. Without question. Larkin was the best shortstop going during the 90′s, even with the shortstop surge (Jeter, A-Rod, Garciaparra) post-1995. But I need to back the argument for Alomar, the best second baseman of his era and the greatest defensive second baseman of all-time (Not to mention what he accomplished with the bat). Biggio is the only other second baseman of the 90′s even in his class.
Stratpstat — Your argument makes more sense. I guess I don’t really think of Alomar as the best at his position during his time. I think of Biggio and Kent and Sandberg to some extent. Alomar brings up memories of spitting on umps and AIDS. May not be fair, but it’s the truth. My truth. I mean, that’s how I see it. But your statement has legs and makes sense. *fist bump*
–Jeff
I know Alomar is making memories for the hocking on Hirschbeck and his…personal life, but my memories skew towards his great defensive plays he made and the Gold Gloves he won. What drove me batty about Roberto is his head-first slides into first base to beat out an infield hit. God knows why he did it, but I guess it looked good for a safe call and wrung out about an extra twenty hits or so.
And I can’t forget what he did to Eck in Game 4 of the ’92 ALCS. That home run changed everything for my hometown Blue Jays.
Jonah
http://jonah77.mlblogs.com
My thought on head-first sliders (once I get past the idea that they have a death wish) is that they are trying to emulate, however lamely, Pete Rose. Charlie Hustle did have a penchant for head-first slides, even if not usually into 1B. Hmmm…
Hey, Jeff, I saw your comment on She-Fan’s blog about our illustrious closer, Papelbon. Esp. this year, long before his epic fail in surrendering that walk-off HR, I have referred to him as “Pap Smear”, MANY times for the number of times he made us walk the plank before pulling us back into the ship. A far cry from his lights-out year in 07, when he was CLUTCH all year. We are even openly discussing (and some of us, begging) the possibility of him being traded. I, for one, would not mind!
Well done, in confirming the title of our illustrious closer, Pap Smear! Very fitting!
Hey Greg, yeah, I picked up “pap smear” from Jane actually as she’s used it several times to describe your over the top closer. That stare! Oh, how scaaaaaaaaaaaaary.
–Jeff