Hall of Fame Veterans Committee Pitches Shutout

[silverscreenselect]

The Veterans Committee of Baseball's Hall of Fame declined to elect anyone to the Hall this year. Voting for players not inducted during the normal voting process, as well as for managers and executives, is conducted in three-year cycles, and this year, players active from 1947 to 1982 (the so-called "Golden Era") were eligible. Among those passed over were Dick Allen, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, and Tony Oliva. Oliva and Allen missed out by one vote; their next chance for admission will be in 2017.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ml ... /20091491/

[Bob78164]

The Veterans Committee of Baseball's Hall of Fame declined to elect anyone to the Hall this year. Voting for players not inducted during the normal voting process, as well as for managers and executives, is conducted in three-year cycles, and this year, players active from 1947 to 1982 (the so-called "Golden Era") were eligible. Among those passed over were Dick Allen, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, and Tony Oliva. Oliva and Allen missed out by one vote; their next chance for admission will be in 2017.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ml ... /20091491/

I haven't seen a JAWS analysis but Dick Allen strikes me as a prototypical member of the Hall of Very Good. If he could get that close to election, maybe the Veterans Committee isn't being selective enough. --Bob

[BackInTex]

I would think anyone deserving to get in would already be in. Nothing has changed in their career performance history for 32 years except that even more players have bettered their stats.

[silverscreenselect]

I would think anyone deserving to get in would already be in. Nothing has changed in their career performance history for 32 years except that even more players have bettered their stats.

What's happened in some cases is that certain players have "lowered the bar" by being elected to the Hall with distinctly lower statistics than for others in the Hall who played the same position. When that happens, some of the veterans feel they should get in as well. Of course, you also have the Pete Rose situation, whereby, if MLB ever reverses its stance and restores his eligibility would easily have the statistics to get in but would be too long retired for the normal balloting process.

[Bob78164]

I would think anyone deserving to get in would already be in. Nothing has changed in their career performance history for 32 years except that even more players have bettered their stats.

I do think the writers have mistakenly left deserving players on the outside looking in. They may well make one with Tim Raines and they nearly made one with Bert Blyleven. I think they did make a mistake with Ron Santo.

Another thing that changes over time is a better appreciation for how players contribute. Blyleven wouldn't have made it if voters will still focused on wins and losses. What changed is a greater appreciation that a pitcher can't control his run support, and on the factors that a pitcher can control, Blyleven was deserving. For hitters, RBIs are less important (because that depends in part on the performance of the batters around you) and statistics like isolated power and walks are more important than were formerly appreciated. --Bob