Hall of Fame Ballots

The Hall of Fame Ballots were announced today and I guess we'll have to wait yet another year for Pete. Ricky Henderson does appear on the ballot for the first time and he has to be the super lock this year. He's a 10 time all-star and he's the all time MLB leader in runs, steals, and is 2nd in all time free passes next to Barry Bonds. He also won the MVP award in 90. One player that is interesting to me is Tim Raines. To me, to be in the Hall, you have to be one of the best for an extended period of time and I think Raines was that back in the 80s before the Roid Run era. Beginning in '81, Raines had 6 straight years of 70+ steals. From, '84 to '87, he batted .309, .320, .334, and .330. He's a lifetime .294 hitter with over 800 steals, 2600 hits, 1500 runs, and almost a .400 on base percentage. You could also make a case for Andre Dawson who was also one of the leagues top players in the mid '80s and also Don Mattingly. Mattingly's only problem is his dominance was only for a short period of time.

I can't believe Bert Blyleven is not in yet. He has 287 lifetime wins with a 3.31 ERA and over 3700 Ks. The number that blows me away is 252 complete games and almost 5,000 innings logged. His only big problem is only one 20 win season. He does have 9 seasons of 15+ wins.

The voting should be interesting.