Hall Of Fame Vote

HOF elected 4 players
Randy Johnson 97.3 %, Pedro Martinez 91.1% , John Smoltz 82.9% , Craig Biggio 82.7%

Piazza increased to 69.9% of vote has good chance to get in next year when the 2 top first timers are Ken Griffey JR and Trevor Hoffman

They finally get it right. Raines deserves to get in, too, but he can wait.

Griffey is obviously a first-balloter, although some idiot is going to not vote for him to prevent it from being unanimous. Hoffman will definitely get in, but considering the Hall's bias against relievers, I wouldn't be surprised to see him wait a year or two.

Why do players like Aaron Boone and Darin Erstad get votes?

Because some voters are intellectually challenged... SMH.

Maybe someone can vote for Mario Medoza (famous Mendoza line) or Kurt Bevaqua (bubble gum blowing champ).

The inducted players are deserving. Unfortunately there are at least 10 more who should have been inducted. It's a joke old school process at this point.

They also changed the process this year, so voters could only select 10 players each. So some voters indicated they'd vote for guys they thought needed extra help (eg Raines) and did not use one of their 10 votes on players they deemed shoe-ins, such as Pedro and Randy.

I realize politics plays a lot into the marginal choices (i.e, Craig Biggio this year), but Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, et al, will have done nothing on the field that would improve their case for the Hall. If they weren't good enough this year (or in past years too), how do they become Hall-worthy? If a player needs the "extra help" of skipping a Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez, in my opinion they have no business getting in.

Pick a "cooling off" period from the end of their playing days, and vote on them, in or out. Then move on to next year's class.

In the case of Piazza, I do not see how they could not vote him in. To me, it's tough to argue that he isn't one of the top ten players at his position all-time. How can you not vote a guy in on the first ballot if he's one of the top ten all-time at his position? The argument about his defense is valid, but the vast majority in the HOF are there for their hitting. Middle infielders were underrepresented for years(and still may be?) because they could not hit enough to get in the HOF when their stats were compared to players at other positions.

I realize politics plays a lot into the marginal choices (i.e, Craig Biggio this year)

I doubt "politics" played into Biggio's choice. He is a worthy inductee whose unspectacular (but remarkable) career with a team outside of MLB's central radar kept him from immediate induction.

As to Raines, there are numerous unjust factors. He didn't hit home runs in a period cherishing them. He also played with little-covered teams. And he is unfairly compared to Rickey, as if being less than Rickey precludes a HOF-worthy leadoff career.

As to Bagwell and Piazza, the steroids suspicions are still lingering around both of them. Both of their bodies grew substantially and quickly from their skinny minor-league days, and rumors have swirled around both of them, particularly Piazza. That may not be fair, and they may not deserve the exclusion of near-certain users like Bonds and Clemens, but the voters do have the prerogative to vote (or not vote) based on their suspicions.

In the case of Piazza, I do not see how they could not vote him in. To me, it's tough to argue that he isn't one of the top ten players at his position all-time. How can you not vote a guy in on the first ballot if he's one of the top ten all-time at his position? The argument about his defense is valid, but the vast majority in the HOF are there for their hitting. Middle infielders were underrepresented for years(and still may be?) because they could not hit enough to get in the HOF when their stats were compared to players at other positions.

That's my pet peeve. Piazza is a three-time loser now. His vote percentage has gone up over this time, but still under the standard. So what keeps him out? That he played mostly in LA and NY? Was he a jerk to the writers? That his defense was generally sub-par in general, and especially when compared to most catchers in the Hall? Even with the sub par defense, he is worlds ahead of Ray Schalk (not that I particularly like the "Well, Joe Schmo is in the Hall so how can you keep my guy out" argument)!