Baseball and the Hall of Fame

This issue seems to have died as far as national media coverage which is unfortunate because it really needs more attention. Unfortunately it seems even a faux scandal is not enough to make necessary changes.

Is what Dan LeBatard did wrong? I think someone else will need to tell us that he broke a rule. Are the reasons he did it wrong? Maybe a bit misguided but I am not sure about wrong.

What role do we believe the HOF voters play? Are they some guardian of standards? The keeper of the keys to the palace? I think the voters believe that is there role, which is laughable. By that standard they are doing a horrible job. By that standard the LeBatard ballot was fine. The silly ballot that only voted for Jack Morris is a bigger problem if that is the proper role. Who voted for JT Snow? They should lose their vote.

Personally I think HOF voters are a reflection of popular opinion about the players up for induction. A groundswell of popular support means someone will get in, while mixed opinions likely means they will not.

There needs to be reforms. Remove the limit on 10 names per ballot for starters. Also get rid of the 15 chances. There needs to be an end to the “nobody gets in on the first blog because this great player did not approach” as well as an end to guys hanging around for 15 years not improving their numbers but suddenly getting into the hall.

At some point I will discuss better voting schemes but clearly there needs to be change both in the voting mechanism and voter attitude.

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