faba Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 NEW YORK -- Mark McGwire, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. headline the first-time candidates on the 2007 baseball writers' Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, sure to spark debate on Big Mac's place in history as the steroid era comes under renewed scrutiny. Players on Hall ballot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackout Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 NEW YORK -- Mark McGwire, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. headline the first-time candidates on the 2007 baseball writers' Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, sure to spark debate on Big Mac's place in history as the steroid era comes under renewed scrutiny. Players on Hall ballot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbn007 Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Dawson, Rice Goose, Blyleven. These guys should have been in the HOF before. Add in Gwynn, an amazing "hit machine" throughout his career. In his heyday, he was the hitter that Carew and Boggs were in their primes. If he was not buried in San Diego, he would have been MVP a couple of times. Ripken does not deserve it. He was a "compiler", who greatly benefited from a long career, and a playing streak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Gwynn and Ripken. Granted Rip is a compiler. But he put up #s at SS powerwise that were never seen before in the pre-steroid era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dierking Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Gwynn and Ripken. Granted Rip is a compiler. But he put up #s at SS powerwise that were never seen before in the pre-steroid era. I would be hard pressed to put in Gwynn on first ballot. I just don't think he fits the same criteria as some others. Ripken gets in because of teh position he played and his "streak". Agree on Dawson and Rice and possibly Gossage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I would be hard pressed to put in Gwynn on first ballot. I just don't think he fits the same criteria as some others. Ripken gets in because of teh position he played and his "streak". Agree on Dawson and Rice and possibly Gossage. I just looked him up. I thought I would be more impressed. He did compile more than I thought. But that .338 average (over 3,100 hits) and lifetime .388 OBP makes him a 1st ballot HOFer in my book. Especially in an ERA were all we worry about is the long ball. It is refreshing to have a guy who does what Gwynn did. Hit the ball and play the game right. He was fat. I don't think they should hold that against him, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavrik Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 NEW YORK -- Mark McGwire, Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. headline the first-time candidates on the 2007 baseball writers' Hall of Fame ballot released Monday, sure to spark debate on Big Mac's place in history as the steroid era comes under renewed scrutiny. Players on Hall ballot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted November 27, 2006 Author Share Posted November 27, 2006 Ripken and Gwynn will get in definitely if I had to guess- Jim Rice will probably lose votes and miss out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barton Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Gwynn should without a doubt, be a 1st ballot HOFer. There is not a better pure hitter in the last 20 years than Tony Gwynn. I hated how they ignored him in his last season at the ASG, while they threw a parade for Ripken and threw him a meatball on a tee so he could hit a home run and get the ASG mvp award. That was BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Blyleven was every bit the complier that Ripken was. Difference is Ripken revolutionized the shortstop position. Rice,Gossage, Ripken, Dawson and Gwynn should get in. Hershiser is a better choice than Blyleven, damn the stats. Hershiser was dominant one season to the point that he dragged the 1988 Dodgers to a title that they otherwise had no business winning. Blyleven never did that, and he was rarely the best pitcher on his team, much less in the AL or NL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dierking Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 Gwynn should without a doubt, be a 1st ballot HOFer. There is not a better pure hitter in the last 20 years than Tony Gwynn. I hated how they ignored him in his last season at the ASG, while they threw a parade for Ripken and threw him a meatball on a tee so he could hit a home run and get the ASG mvp award. That was BS. I would put Gwynn in the Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly (less power), Rod Carew mode. Yes a pure hitter, but that is not an overemphasized value in baseball, at least to a first ballot degree. Keith Hernandez was a "pure hitter", with a bit more power. "Pure hitter" does not equal "sexy" status to voters. He is Hall worthy, but I would not cast him first ballot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 How the hell is Rice not in? You don't finish in the top-5 in MVP voting six times (winning one) unless you're dominating. Ripken was the game's best SS for a long time (at least he was the best hitter at the position). Two MVP awards, 19-time all-star. That stupid streak is a negative to me (selfishly putting himself above the team & played every game no matter how bad of a slump he was in), but the fans & media loved it. Gwynn has to get in; 15-time all-star & .338 career batting average; batted over .350 seven times; stole over 300 bases; was the hardest batter to strike out 10x & was top-5 in that category for 15 straight years. Also won 5 gold gloves. A no-brainer. Dawson should be in. 400 homers, 300 SB's, 500 doubles, almost 1600 RBIs, 8-time all-star, 8-time gold glove winner. Guy was a great player & his #'s would've been even better if he didn't spend his prime in Olympic Stadium. Gossage probably won't make it because there's too much competition. But for a span of 6 or 7 years, the guy was unhittable. He should be in just for beaning Ron Cey in the head with a 94mph death pitch. Hershiser & Saberhagen only had a few dominant seasons apiece & while they were great for those seasons, doubt it's good enough for the HOF. Hershiser was a better pitcher & would've won a lot more games if he wasn't a 25 year-old rookie & the Dodgers could hit. Lost 15 games one year with the 2nd-best ERA in the NL (2.31). Murphy should be close. 2-time MVP, 7x all-star, 5 gold gloves, and was a 30-30 man when no one else was doing it. Mattingly probably won't ever get in because of sheer gross-total numbers. The whole world knows it was because of his back, but before that was a factor he was widely considered the best player in the majors, at any position, for a 4-year stretch. Blyleven is not going to be a HOF'er, though he would've easily topped 300 wins if he didn't spend the better part of his career rotting away with the Twins & Indians. Routinely lost 17 games/yr with a top-5 ERA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbn007 Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 Good post Spermy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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