Chapter 81.6: Hot Dog and Rice

The Baseball Hall of Fame will have at least two new members. In my opinion, both Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice deserve the laurels they will finally wear. Henderson — baseball's greatest base stealer and the consummate leadoff hitter — was a no-brainer. The only issue for him was whether he actually was finished playing.

Though he turned 50 on Christmas day, Henderson probably could still hit .280 and provide 15-20 stolen bases and score 75 runs if he played in 2009. He was always in fantastic shape and his skills hadn't fallen apart like those of many older players. With more than 3,000 hits, 1,400 steals, and 2,000 runs, his election was a foregone conclusion.

Rice, on the other hand, required all fifteen of the annual ballots before he was elected. In my view, he was one of the greatest power hitters of the '70s and '80s. If you look at his numbers, you see that he was quite productive for at least ten years. The ongoing criticism of him was that he didn't get along well with the media. I just don't understand why that should matter so much.

I could write more (and better) on both these players, and hopefully I will, but if nothing else, I say congratulations to two of baseball's greatest.

Chapter 71.55: Goose and Rice

The Baseball Hall of Fame results are in, and I can't disagree with the selection of Rich "Goose" Gossage. I'll admit I've had my misgivings about his Hall of Fame at times, but his inclusion feels right. I'm not going to gripe about it.

That Jim Rice still isn't in, however, is a mistake. I'd like to get onto a high horse about what a travesty of justice it is, but I also understand some of the arguments against him. While he wasn't the same player in 1988 as he'd been in 1978, he was still a fearsome hitter. Still, I know of few other hitters that seemed to come through in the clutch as well as he did. And as a kid who hated the Yankees, how I loved to see Jim Rice stand in the box against one of the pitchers from the Bronx.

How appropos it would have been for Rice and Goose to enter the Hall together, a member of the Red Sox and the Yankees. Especially this coming summer -- thirty years after the exciting 1978 season. A lot of folks in the New York area forget that there was a newspaper strike back then, so there was even less news about what the teams were doing than we'd see in this Internet era. We often had to settle for the local television news updates and listen to the radio. And then there was also Pete Rose's hitting streak. Talk about an exciting baseball season, especially for a kid who was crazy for the sport!

Growing up in the New York area, I saw Goose pitch a lot and wished my Mets had someone like him (of course, those Mets teams had little need of a fireballing stopper, as they were sometimes called in those bygone days, thirty years ago -- "closer" came later when Dennis Eckersly changed everything in Tony LaRussa's bullpen.) It almost seemed unfair that the Yankees could have Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage. Of course, Lyle was gone soon enough, languishing in Texas after the '78 season and a couple other places. Of course, looking back, the Yankees made the right decision (perish the thought!), despite Lyle entering the '78 season as the reigning Cy Young Award winner; he was in his 30s, and his career was on the decline.

Anyway, back to the Hall vote: I'm not too surprised at Tim Raines receiving 25 percent of the vote. It's a hard road ahead if he hopes to ever gain entrance. Even harder is the path for Harold Baines, who I think should be the first DH elected. Once again, he only had 5 percent. His chances are unlikely to get any better without a major shift in how baseball writers consider the designated hitter. If I can change my mind, however, surely they will eventually too. For Baines' sake, I hope it happens before another thirteen years pass.

But I congratulate Goose Gossage on being voted into the Hall of Fame. You were one of the best relievers of all time. I hope George Brett hands you a pine tar-coated bat.

Chapter 51.7: Kids in the Hall

It's Hall of Fame voting time again. (No, I don't have a vote.) This year's three big new names are Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, and Mark McGwire. Gwynn and Ripken are obvious HOFers, so I won't even belabor that debate. And McGwire, well, that's something else entirely. Given what's been mentioned on the radio and online lately, a lot of voters have decided to leave him off their ballots -- quite possibly enough to deny him election this year. Fair play. But will that happen next year too? Is he now forever left in the background because of the unproven (but likely) accusations of using enhancements? Time will tell, and it will speak loudly. Personally, I think voters eventually will acquiesce and vote him into the Hall and others will decry it as hypocrisy.

On another issue, I'd like to throw out these names for the Hall of Almost Famous: Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, Bret Saberhagen. (There are others too.) In my opinion, Rice was a great hitter and deserves enshrinement. Gossage too, because he helped change the role of relievers. But I don't think either will get in. Rice's numbers were short of most of the major metrics (e.g., 500 HRs, 3,000 hits, 1,500 RBI) and reportedly his attitude annoyed the writers who vote at this point, but he came darn close last year so perhaps there's hope. Goose? It's a harder sell. No one seems to remember that after he left the Yankees -- well, at least after the Padres -- he became just another reliever. Other than his final year (with Seattle!) he hadn't finished more than half the games he pitched; this man was not a closer the final seven years of his long career. But he had several years as one of the best. Of course, his time with the Yankees is his claim to fame, and while he was the most feared reliever at that time, I'm not sure he kept that status long enough for enshrinement. The man wasn't Mariano, whose eventual enshrinement is a foregone conclusion. Saberhagen? Excellent for a few seasons (two Cy Young awards), but not otherwise close to enshrinment. He just didn't have it for long enough to deserve it.

Just another guy whose baseball card is worth a few pennies more than the common player.