And Rickey won't be getting 100%...

[JeepGuy63]

That is such nonsense.

That Rickey was insane or the voter should be hung from a high tree?

[Swampdog]

Agreed, this voter needs to be strung from the highest tree in the land for leaving off Henderson and voting for Raines.

That anyone capable of rational thought would make such a statement.

[RedsoxRockies]

That is such nonsense.

He likely does not really mean the voter should be hung, as I do not really think he should die at the stake/guillotine.

[HoustonGM]

According to Keith Law in his chat, he's been exchanging emails with this voter, and concluded that the voter thinks Rickey is "absolutely a Hall of Famer" and he figured that Rickey wouldn't need his vote to make it. The latter point is true, but I think, beside the point. It's not as if this guy filled up his ballot to 10 and thought leaving Rickey off was okay since the other 10 guys needed his vote more. If you have space, why not put Rickey's name down? To me, if you're a HOF voter, you should list every player on the ballot that you believe deserves induction into the Hall on your ballot. The only reason not to is if you feel there are more than 10 Hall-worthy guys, in which case you have to leave somebody off. In my opinion, that's what a responsible Hall of Fame voter would do.

I'm still trying to figure out what makes this guy, a retired sportswriter who writes for a newspaper for his retirement community where the average age is just over 70, more qualified to vote for the Hall of Fame than Keith Law, Rob Neyer, Bill James, Tom Tango, etc.

[dps]

According to Keith Law in his chat, he's been exchanging emails with this voter, and concluded that the voter thinks Rickey is "absolutely a Hall of Famer" and he figured that Rickey wouldn't need his vote to make it. The latter point is true, but I think, beside the point. It's not as if this guy filled up his ballot to 10 and thought leaving Rickey off was okay since the other 10 guys needed his vote more. If you have space, why not put Rickey's name down? To me, if you're a HOF voter, you should list every player on the ballot that you believe deserves induction into the Hall on your ballot. The only reason not to is if you feel there are more than 10 Hall-worthy guys, in which case you have to leave somebody off. In my opinion, that's what a responsible Hall of Fame voter would do.

Agree. I could also see a voter's point if one were to say something like, "No player has ever gotten 100% of the vote; not Ruth, not Wagner, not Aaron, not Mays, not Johnson, nor anyone else, and if none of those guys got 100%, then IMO Henderson shouldn't either". I wouldn't agree with that, because I think each voter has to vote for the players he deens worthy, not worry about how other voters are going to vote, but I could see the point.

[HoustonGM]

Some more insight into his vote. Really...weird...still..

There's:

Corky Simpson, a retired Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen columnist, told the Bay Area News Group Thursday that unlike the bold stand he took in the 1992 AP college football poll, he ``simply goofed'' leaving Henderson off his Hall of Fame ballot and wishes he had a chance to do it all over again.

``Rickey deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and if I had my ballot back, he'd have a shot at unanimity -- and I wouldn't be hated by quite so many people,'' Simpson said.

which is just an admission that he really didn't look all that hard at the candidates.

Then there's

``First things first, would I vote for Rickey if I had it to do all over again? Damn right, I would,'' Simpson said. ``I had no idea my ballot would cause such an uproar.

which doesn't seem to line up with leaving Rickey off being a "goof", and also demonstrates a pretty out-of-touch view. Rickey Henderson, all-time greatest leadoff hitter, most runs and stolen bases ever in the history of the game, etc. You don't think saying "This guy isn't a Hall of Famer" would cause an "uproar"?

Then there's:

Green Valley News staff sportswriter Nick Prevenas said he warned Simpson about leaving Henderson off his ballot when he filed the column, but that Simpson told him he ``wasn't a Rickey guy and that he would vote for him next time.''

which, again, doesn't line up with the line about it being a "goof", and further leads me to question this guys intelligence. Did he really think there'd be a "next time" for Rickey fricken' Henderson?

And then:

``If I had properly researched the situation, I would have voted for Rickey Henderson if for no other reason than he played for nine ball teams,'' he said. ``Imagine that. He'll be the first Hall of Famer to have a bronze bust with nine caps stacked on his head.
``Seriously, he was a wonderful player and I simply goofed. I voted for eight deserving men. I could have picked two more -- and I wish to heck I had.'"

Another admission that he did not properly research the candidates. I don't know why these people that openly admit that they don't research before voting are allowed to vote. And that's also a very weird reason to vote for Rickey Henderson. MILTON BRADLEY FOR HALL OF FAME!

Eh, it's not much to care about since Henderson is going in no matter what, but it just gives insight into how unqualified some HOF voters really are, and my "complaints" with it are more of a complaint with the overall process than with this specific voter.

[etothep]

Good thing for us the BBWA are frequently visiting this forum and will get your pointers for them

If it bothers you this much, email em man

[wahoosamC]

The writers are a joke, nothing they do will surprise me anymore.

It's tough to tell what's worse, their HOF voting or their MVP voting?

Either way, Jim Rice better not sniff the HOF.

[HoustonGM]

Either way, Jim Rice better not sniff the HOF.

He's a virtual lock to go in on Monday.

[wahoosamC]

He's a virtual lock to go in on Monday.

Probably, but it won't be deserved.

A career 128 OPS+ for a LFer that cost his teams runs defensively each year and only had two 8+ WARP3 seasons? No thanks.

[reflections]

what a *****. Didn't know it would cause a uproar. Comparing Catfish Hunter to Rickey Henderson.

[HoustonGM]

I agree 100%. I'm just saying, he's going in. He won't be the worst Hall of Famer, but, he'll be one of the worst that the writers have ever selected (most of the bad choices have come from the VC, who have also corrected many of the mistakes that the BBWAA did not induct such as Johnny Mize and Arky Vaughan).

Off the top of my head, the worst BBWAA selections are probably some combination of Bruce Sutter, Catfish Hunter, Lou Brock, (soon) Jim Rice, and Tony Perez

[wahoosamC]

I agree 100%. I'm just saying, he's going in. He won't be the worst Hall of Famer, but, he'll be one of the worst that the writers have ever selected (most of the bad choices have come from the VC, who have also corrected many of the mistakes that the BBWAA did not induct such as Johnny Mize and Arky Vaughan).

Off the top of my head, the worst BBWAA selections are probably some combination of Bruce Sutter, Catfish Hunter, Lou Brock, (soon) Jim Rice, and Tony Perez

Mize and Vaughn not getting in was ridiculous. Vaughn is one of the best SS ever, and probably had the best peak outside of Wagner or A-Rod.

But it's like I said, nothing they will ever do will surprise me with their MVP voting and HOF voting. I mean Ryan got 99% of the votes I think.

[HoustonGM]

But it's like I said, nothing they will ever do will surprise me with their MVP voting and HOF voting. I mean Ryan got 99% of the votes I think.

Ryan got 98.79%, percentage points short of Seaver's 98.84 record.

[TheNamelessPoet]

based on the multi team idea... Tod Zele and kenny lofton are shoeins