The Hall of Fame Vote

    I am ten years short of the required time as a member of the BBWAA to qualify to vote for the Hall of Fame, so my votes will not count in the official totals, but I thought I would give my choices for the Hall if I did have a vote. This ballot probably has more deserving players on it than any ballot in history. I tend to lean towards keeping the Hall a rather exclusive club, but this year there are a few guys that I could change my mind on. One brief comment before I give my choices. I think that anyone who uses their own personal agenda to keep deserving players out of the Hall of Fame should have their voting rights revoked. There are plenty of writers, including one longtime Kansas City writer, who are doing that this year and I think it is reprehensible. I could talk long and hard on this, but nobody wants to hear about it. I prefer to concentrate on baseball. That being said, here is my ballot:

1. Barry Bonds - the best player in baseball history, should be a unanimous choice.
2. Roger Clemens - 7 Cy Young awards. Need I say more?
3. Craig Biggio - terrific leadoff hitter, over 3000 hits
4. Jeff Bagwell - MVP in 1994. Would be interesting to see what his stats would have been had there been no strike. Also had an OBP of over .400.
5. Mike Piazza - one of the top 3 catchers in baseball history along with Bench and Berra. Hit over .300 lifetime, very rare for a catcher.
6. Sammy Sosa - over 600 home runs. Had some incredible stats from 1998-2002.
7. Dale Murphy - his last year on the ballot. One of the criteria I use is did you think he would be a Hall of Famer when he was playing. I think everyone thought that about Murphy. He hung around a little too long, but he was one of the best players of the 1980s.

    That's it, although I could also accept Jack Morris, Curt Schilling, Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Kenny Lofton. To me, they fall just short. It is interesting how similar the stats are of Raines and Lofton, yet lots of people support Raines, but few support Lofton. I wish all these fine players luck in tomorrow's election.