Who would you vote for on this year's HOF Ballot?

[HoustonGM]

O_o lol

[Red Sox Fan 734]

Regardless of your opinion on whether or not Rice is a Hall of Famer, I think that claiming he's the best player NOT in the Hall of Fame is quite the overstatement.

Not saying your wrong, you have your opinion and i have mine. Just wondering though, who do you think is better then him and is not in the HOF?

[Wassit3]

Not saying your wrong, you have your opinion and i have mine. Just wondering though, who do you think is better then him and is not in the HOF?

Mark McGwire

[Red Sox Fan 734]

Well its his 1st year on the ballot

[dps]

Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Tommy John
Jack Morris
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell

A bit of a week year, IMO. Usually there are 12-15 guys that I think should be in, so I have to leave some candidates that I think are deserving off my ballot, but this year I don't see 10 guys that deserve the honor.

[dabruinss]

Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rich Gossage
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Tim Raines
Jim Rice
Lee Smith

[dabruinss]

Mark McGwire

never. they played in different times.

rice had incredible numbers compared to his peers at that time he played.
big mac did not have numbers that blew his competition away like rice.

[robinhoodnik]

Mark McGwire
Brady Anderson

[HoustonGM]

Not saying your wrong, you have your opinion and i have mine. Just wondering though, who do you think is better then him and is not in the HOF?

Well, I'll toss out Pete Rose and Joe Jackson for obvious reasons.

Of the eligible players (not counting 1st timers this year), here's just some I'd pick for the Hall over Rice...Dick Allen, Ron Santo, Mark McGwire, Bert Blyleven, Babe Herman, Albert Belle, Gavy Cravath, Jim Kaat, Alan Trammell, Rich Gossage, Ken Williams, Sherry Magee, Rice's own teammate Dwight Evans, Note, I don't think all these players belong in the Hall. Some of them, I do, but I do think that all these players are at least slightly more deserving than Rice.

never. they played in different times.

rice had incredible numbers compared to his peers at that time he played.
big mac did not have numbers that blew his competition away like rice.

Yes, he did. OPS+ measures a player's OPS in comparison to his league, and adjusted for ballpark. McGwire's career OPS+ was 162. That means that over the course of his career, when it comes to getting on base and hitting for power, McGwire did so 62% better than average. His career high was 216.

Jim Rice's career OPS+ was 128. He was 28% better at getting on base and hitting for power than average. His career high was 157, less than McGwire's career all together.

Yes, McGwire played in a higher offensive era, but you fail to realize that McGwire was still heads and shoulders above his peers.

[boomboom]

Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rich Gossage
Mark McGwire
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell
Jim Rice

I also think that Albert Belle belongs as well. He is the Jim Rice of the 90's.

I will be surprised if Raines doesn't make it in this year...btw: Isn't Henderson on for this year?

[RickD]

As for who should be in and not.......My opinion of how a HOF vote should go is that you look at how the player performed only comparing them to the era in which they played not previous or later eras. In that view Sparky Lyle should be in the HOF. He dominated during the 70's as a relief pitcher and even won the Cy Young award. He was a leading closer in an era when they did not get used like they do today.

[HoustonGM]

I will be surprised if Raines doesn't make it in this year...

I won't. He's not going to make it. He doesn't have the counting numbers, and the voters are going to downgrade him because of his admitted cocaine usage while playing. They're not going to recognize how valuable Raines really was, because he wasn't an "RBI man" and for some reason, isn't recognized as a "guy who does the small things." I don't think he's going to get in, although he's beyond qualified.

btw: Isn't Henderson on for this year?

Nope, next year.

As for who should be in and not.......My opinion of how a HOF vote should go is that you look at how the player performed only comparing them to the era in which they played not previous or later eras. In that view Sparky Lyle should be in the HOF. He dominated during the 70's as a relief pitcher and even won the Cy Young award. He was a leading closer in an era when they did not get used like they do today.

I can see the case for Sparky Lyle...too bad he's already off the ballot.

[kenny1234]

A very weak group - I wouldn't vote anyone in. There are a few players on that list that could get in and I wouldn't think it was wrong - but I would rather see the HOF restricted to only the very best. And none of the players on that list fit that category for me. Lots of good players - just nobody that was a dominant player.

[HoustonGM]

So, in your opinion, the Hall is incredibly overcrowded with the majority of its players not belonging to it (again, in your opinion)?

[Wassit3]

never. they played in different times.

rice had incredible numbers compared to his peers at that time he played.
big mac did not have numbers that blew his competition away like rice.

i beg to differ, the numbers say otherwise...