2013 Baseball Hall of Fame

[FiddySicks]

This is hilarious. I was gonna be pretty pissed if freaking Craig Biggio went in while Bonds and Clemens were left out, but instead the writers decided to cut off their noses to spite their faces and just took their ball and went home. This looks embarrassingly bad for the baseball HOF. Good, they needed a swift kick to the nuts.

[McCall]

Biggio didn't use steroids. Clemens and Bonds did. They made their own bed.

[Lights Out]

The Baseball Hall of Fame is a joke. Leaving players out for steroid use now is essentially closing the barn door after the horses are gone, considering there are Hall of Famers who admitted to throwing spitballs, using "greenies," etc. It's also awfully big of the MLB to try to erase the steroid era from history only after they finished squeezing every possible dime of profit from looking the other way while players juiced.

[McCall]

MLB doesn't run the HOF. Writers are the ones who vote. So whatever MLB does while they're playing is one thing and what the voters decide come ballot time is another.

[FiddySicks]

I wish I could find a better quality version of this video, but it basically sums up what the Hall of Fame is trying to do.

[Lights Out]

Biggio didn't use steroids. Clemens and Bonds did. They made their own bed.

Just about everyone used steroids back then, and Clemens and Bonds still differentiated themselves from the pack. They deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, period.

[Sport]

It also brings up my least favorite part of Hall of Fame voting. The writers who take a stand on a guy saying they'll vote for him on his second or third chance but not on the first go-around. Why?

Craig Biggio has 3,000 hits. He's not going to hit anymore. If he's good enough to get in on his 3rd try, then he's good enough to get in on his 1st.

Also I would've voted for Clemens and Bonds and Mike Piazza.

Is there a limit to how many guys a single writer can vote for in a year?

[McCall]

Biggio didn't use steroids. Clemens and Bonds did. They made their own bed.

Just about everyone used steroids back then, and Clemens and Bonds still differentiated themselves from the pack. They deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, period.

Is there evidence Biggio or "everyone" used? No. Is there evidence Clemens and Bonds did? Yes. Any player that there is evidence they used, should not be in. And I'll maintain that as long as gambling is being used to keep out Shoeless Joe Jackson (even though there was no rule preventing entry for gambling at the time) and Pete Rose. "Integrity" is listed on the items to determine a Hall of Famer and using steroids does not show integrity. They may have been HOF's before using, but they decided that wasn't good enough. Well I'm sorry but only a partially clean career isn't good enough either.

[pmoehrin]

I wish I could find a better quality version of this video, but it basically sums up what the Hall of Fame is trying to do.

Forgetting the steroids issue for a second, only three guys from last year's ballot got more votes this year. Jeff Bagwell, Jack Morris and Tim Raines.

Independent of the steroid use its getting harder to get in the Hall of Fame. Seeing guys like Bernie Williams only being able to muster up three votes then Sandy Alomar Jr. is pretty sad to see. Same could be said for Kenny Lofton being thrown off the ballot after only one year.

[McCall]

It also brings up my least favorite part of Hall of Fame voting. The writers who take a stand on a guy saying they'll vote for him on his second or third chance. Why?

Craig Biggio has 3,000 hits. He's not going to hit anymore. If he's good enough to get in on his 3rd try, then he's good enough to get in on his 1st.

Also I would've voted for Clemens and Bonds and Mike Piazza.

Is there a limit to how many guys a single writer can vote for in a year?

Up to 10 per year. And I agree on if you're a Hall of Famer, you're a Hall of Famer. I don't buy into levels determined by the year they're elected. If Biggio is good enough next year, he's good enough this year.

Except maybe with steroids and the DH. The DH is still relatively new as far as HOF goes, so a year or two to discuss it is ok by me. Guys like maybe Piazza, who there were whispers about PEDs, but nothing ever really came of it. If a guy like that comes up and they want a year or so in case new info comes to light, then maybe. Though I think if Piazza did, it would've been out by now, so I think he should be in.

[Seadragon76]

Wow. This feels odd when no one makes it in.

[Brian in Boston]

Wow. This feels odd when no one makes it in.

It stands to reason that it would feel odd. This marks just the eighth time in history (1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1960, 1971, 1996 and 2013) that the Baseball Writers' Association of America hasn't managed to elect at least one new member to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

[NJTank]

I hope the Hall of Fame loses Millions this year, I know I was prepared to book a trip for Piazza's induction now I won't go ever until he is in. Congrats Baseball writers you jealous jock sniffing, self righteous sanctamoenous :censored:s you have gotten your revenge and made the story about yourself.

[dbadefense1990]

What crap. Biggio got screwed.

The unfortunate and sad predicament of Biggio being a 1st time candidate alongside the suspected and polarizing juicers (Bonds, Clemens, Sosa) makes his chances ever more so dire in the future.

But at least he doesn't have one more year left of eligibility (Jack Morris).

[Magnum]

How is Biggio not in ...

Or the better question would be, how is he not on the first ballot? Besides the obvious (not enough people voted on him), he's has the numbers and doesn't have the steroid scandal link to his name. Considering Maddux and Glavine are frontrunners next year, is this going to hinder his possibility on the 2nd ballot?

And as for Jack Morris, it looks like he'll become the new Gil Hodges of Baseball Hall of Fame lure. Great overall player but quite a sad way to miss the mark ...

[McCall]

I don't see why Biggio would have less chance next year. They can vote for up to 10 guys. Maddux, Glavine and probably Frank Thomas are certainties. Next, well Biggio and probably Piazza at least. That still leaves half the ballot.

I think it should be like the Heisman. If you're in the HOF, you're a voter. Why not? They earned it more than anyone.

[dbadefense1990]

My prediction: steroids will cloud the HoF balloting for the next 10-15 years, as older candidates will get screwed out of entry (Morris, Trammel, Raines, Edgar) because of focus on the juicers, while today's all-stars eligible in the future will be lumped into the juicing category by the electors.

Lesson: drugs and the electors are both .

[pmoehrin]

How is Biggio not in ...

Or the better question would be, how is he not on the first ballot? Besides the obvious (not enough people voted on him), he's has the numbers and doesn't have the steroid scandal link to his name. Considering Maddux and Glavine are frontrunners next year, is this going to hinder his possibility on the 2nd ballot?

And as for Jack Morris, it looks like he'll become the new Gil Hodges of Baseball Hall of Fame lure. Great overall player but quite a sad way to miss the mark ...

Its basically an unconfirmed fact that virtually everyone on those mid to late 90's Astros teams was on roids. That may have been held against him to some extent.

Also I just think first ballot is now being reserved for the elite of the elite and Biggio no doubt should be in the Hall, but he's not in the class of guys like Aaron, Berra, Mays and Ruth.

I don't agree with either of those two sentiments but that's best explanation I can come up with.

As far as Jack Morris goes, I think he's a casualty of this attitude the writers have taken with who should and shouldn't get into the Hall. I shudder to think what his support would be like if he had the same career fifteen years later. I'm not even sure he would get even half the support if he started out later. You got guys like Kevin Brown, a two time ERA champ not even making through one ballot.

[Sport]

How is Biggio not in ...

Or the better question would be, how is he not on the first ballot? Besides the obvious (not enough people voted on him), he's has the numbers and doesn't have the steroid scandal link to his name. Considering Maddux and Glavine are frontrunners next year, is this going to hinder his possibility on the 2nd ballot?

And as for Jack Morris, it looks like he'll become the new Gil Hodges of Baseball Hall of Fame lure. Great overall player but quite a sad way to miss the mark ...

Its basically an unconfirmed fact that virtually everyone on those mid to late 90's Astros teams was on roids. That may have been held against him to some extent.

Also I just think first ballot is now being reserved for the elite of the elite and Biggio no doubt should be in the Hall, but he's not in the class of guys like Aaron, Berra, Mays and Ruth.

I don't agree with either of those two ideals but that's best explanation I can come up with.

A. Yogi Berra was not a first-ballot hall of famer.

B. Until those guys' plaques go in a different part of the hall-of-fame for first-ballot guys then that argument from the writers is dumb. Biggio is not going to go out and hit get 200 more hits and there's going to be writers who vote for him next year who didn't vote for him this year without anything on Biggio's resume changing. That's silly and the writers who partake in that sort of voting are silly.

[pmoehrin]

How is Biggio not in ...

Or the better question would be, how is he not on the first ballot? Besides the obvious (not enough people voted on him), he's has the numbers and doesn't have the steroid scandal link to his name. Considering Maddux and Glavine are frontrunners next year, is this going to hinder his possibility on the 2nd ballot?

And as for Jack Morris, it looks like he'll become the new Gil Hodges of Baseball Hall of Fame lure. Great overall player but quite a sad way to miss the mark ...

Its basically an unconfirmed fact that virtually everyone on those mid to late 90's Astros teams was on roids. That may have been held against him to some extent.

Also I just think first ballot is now being reserved for the elite of the elite and Biggio no doubt should be in the Hall, but he's not in the class of guys like Aaron, Berra, Mays and Ruth.

I don't agree with either of those two ideals but that's best explanation I can come up with.

A. Yogi Berra was not a first-ballot hall of famer.

B. Until those guys' plaques go in a different part of the hall-of-fame for first-ballot guys then that argument from the writers is dumb. Biggio is not going to go out and hit get 200 more hits and there's going to be writers who vote for him next year who didn't vote for him this year without anything on Biggio's resume changing. That's silly and the writers who partake in that sort of voting are silly.

Didn't know Berra didn't get in on the first try. Three time AL MVP, more World Series at-bats then any other player, arguably the greatest catcher of all-time. If your going to argue against Yogi Berra being in the Hall, you just don't know what the hell your talking about.

But again that should just tell you how difficult it is to get in on the first try. I don't like it, but that's the stance the writers have taken and yeah I think it has hurt the integrity of the Hall to some extent.