I like Bill Conlin's idea. Change the voting period to five years. That is enough time to decide.

Pete, I agree that Rice is a borderline candidate, but probably deserves induction. He was one of the most dominant hitters from the mid '70s to early '80s, and he drove in over 100 runs eight times in his career.

As you mentioned in a previous post, I'm sure his surliness with fans and the media slowed the process, but when you're one of the few black players in a town not known for embracing black athletes, you can understand if Rice wasn't exactly a cover boy for an Emily Post etiquette guide during his career.

Kinda makes me wonder what Eddie Murray would have been like if he had played in Boston...

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Pete's reply: That's a very interesting question.

Given Rices tenuous relationship with the baseball writers (media), don't you think that this too added a number of years to his election.

While I agree that his numbers were borderline, when I think back to that era, I remember him as one of the feared hitters if not THE feared hitter during that time.

I am not asking you to indict your fellow writers, but don't you feel that may have extended his election some?

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Pete's reply: I really don't know how much effect it had. My guess is it was fairly significant, but it's just a guess. Keep in mind, however, that there were probably 400 writers it that time and maybe 100 of them ever came in contact with Rice personally, so it is questionable how much effect his surliness had.

What made him "the scariest hitter", a term you've used before, for that 10year period? What stats back this up?

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Pete's reply: I don't have numbers at my fingertips, but I believe for a 10-year period, he ranked first in several of the major departments, most notably runs and RBI. Not sure about home runs. I just remember pitchers saying he was the scariest hitter.

Why does the SUN not allow its writers to participate in Hall voting?

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Pete's reply: I explained that in yesterday's blog. They just feel we should not play any role in a news event.

Peter, if he was the scariest hitter in the game for a 10 year period....how is he a borderline candidate? In a quality vs. quantity debate he was arguably the best all around hitter in the American League for a decade.

There are a million stats floating around today, but here's my favorite. The best baseball players hit and hit with power. Some players can do one or the other, but few do both.

In Major League History, 30 players have had 4 or more 200 hit seasons. The only two who have more home runs then Jim Rice are Lou Gehrig and Stan Musial.

I don't understand something Peter. How can you be "the scariest hitter in the game for a 10-year period" and not be close to an automatic pick? Where's the line, 12 years or 15? Seems to me that if you're the best goalie, tennis player etc that you deserve the recognition.

Don't you think that Rice being an All Star jerk had most to do with his being ignored, like some writers decided to make him sweat as payback before finally doing the right thing on the last chance possible?

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Pete's reply: That's possible, but we're talking about a lot of writers who really don't talk to each other all that much about this kind of thing, so I don't know if there was that kind of consensus. It certainly didn't help him.

Justbdrop the word "probably".

The fact that people didn't vote for Rickey Henderson, is ridiculous.

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Pete's reply: The fact that people didn't vote for Cal, or Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio (who wasn't a first-ballot guy) is ridiculous, too, but I also think obsessing about the percentage is ridiculous. Do you really think Tom Seaver is the greatest player in the history of the game?

Pete,

Why the ban on post season and HOF votes from the Sun???

Pete,

What do you think about Bert Blylevyn ( sp ? ) ? I think he should be in. What do you think ? And why do you think he hasn't made it yet ?

...............................................................................................Pete's reply: I've been a big Bert booster for years. Don't get it. I think when he retired, he was third or fourth all-time in strikeouts and had nearly 300 wins. What more do you need to do?

How the heck can 28 people not vote for Rickey Henderson?

Jim Rice isn't even a marginal HOF'er.
He got in solely because some of the voters figured out that if Henderson were to go in alone, his acceptance speech would have run so lengthy, it would have pre-empted the exhibition game which follows and everyone would have been late getting back home.

Looking back through the "prism" of time, and considering the steroids era, it sure seems like several other players, including most notably Dale Murphy and Alan Trammell, should get more consideration.

Murphy had back-to-back MVPs, seven all-star appearances, 5 Golden Gloves, 4 Silver Sluggers, and more homeruns than Jim Rice (admittedly over a longer playing career). I don't think he was as feared a hitter as Jim Rice, but I think he's similar in many other respects.

If Jim Rice is in for being the "sacriest hitter in the mid-1970's to the mid-1980's" why has Albert Belle not gotten in, or even had appreciable votes. His numbers compare favorably with Rice, and even with the late Kirby Puckett, who was a first ballot Hall of Famer.

People like to question Belle's signing by the Orioles, but remember, Harold Baines and BJ Surhoff were unexpectedly All Stars that year, hitting behind Belle, and Belle was AL Player of the Month the month before he hurt his hip. (Not to mention that even after they traded away the veterans, Belle played the rest of the season, while people like Brady Anderson spent time on the DL, all while nursing the hip that would drive him out of the game a few months later).

Rice never led the league in runs scored and never led the league in ANY offensive statistical category for 10 straight years. The most he ever led in any category was 3 straight years in total bases. I could get into his lifetime OPS+ numbers but lets say they're nearly dead even with Don Mattingly and Bernie Williams, neither of whom belongs in the Hall.
BTW all these stats can be found at Baseball Reference.
Anyone who had the gift of Wade Boggs batting in front of him for 8 seasons should have no trouble getting 100 RBI especially playing in Fenway as a Right Handed hitter.
His Home/Road splits show him as barely league average offensively on the road.
If their was a "Hall of the Very Good" Rice would belong there. Again the BBWAA has watered down the standards for admission. This time for corner outfielders. Unfortunately it wasn't the first time nor will it be the last.

Rice is indeed a questionable pick considering his lack of post season appearances or league leading stats. Perhaps Boston fans paid for his HOF ticket. I'm considering becoming a fan of minor league baseball. The yankees and red sox have become the Wal-mart and Target of baseball. Large Market teams should all be placed in the same division If we can get a salary cap. congress has authority over baseball, we need to write them before teams start folding.

Pete you wrote: "In Major League History, 30 players have had 4 or more 200 hit seasons. The only two who have more home runs then Jim Rice are Lou Gehrig and Stan Musial."

That is a patently ridiculous comparison. Let's see, using that, Rice is better then Mantle, Ruth, and Ted Williams?
Ever stop to think that Great Hitters like Williams, who never got 200 hits in a year might be great hitters because they had the discipline and batting eye to take a walk?
That's like saying Eddie Murray was one of the 3 greatest hitters because he had 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.
I wouldn't give you a HOF ballot either. While I was at it I'd take away Seth Livingstone's too.

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Pete's reply: Just want to point out that I didn't write that, just to save some confusion.

Why not move the voting from the baseball writers to the ones that should have a say in it, the Hall of Famers themselves? Especially since it seems most writers come up with an excuse on why they didn't vote for a first ballot guy, like what happened to Ricky Henderson, or Cal.

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Pete's reply: Did you really say "since most writers" came up with an excuse not to vote for Cal. Didn't more than 96 percent vote for Cal on the first ballot? Please.

Pete you wrote: "In Major League History, 30 players have had 4 or more 200 hit seasons. The only two who have more home runs then Jim Rice are Lou Gehrig and Stan Musial."

Pete's reply: Just want to point out that I didn't write that, just to save some confusion.

Yes, now that I look more closely I see that you didn't. I've always detested those type of arguments.
As for Seth Livingstone he once admitted to me that in a discussion with a group of sports writers over who was the greatest switch hitter of all time the name Mickey Mantle never came up.
That's pretty pathetic.
Wonder why I'm not impressed with anyone's BBWWA credentials?
His argument for Eddie Murray was his 500 HR/3000 hit career.
Impressive yes, but it hardly matches up with Mantle having the 6th highest adjusted OPS of all time behind Ruth, Williams, Gehrig, Hornsby and the tainted Barry Bonds.
Eddie checks in at #172. I'd say its safe to say Mantle would be better.
Enough said.

To answer a post from Glassman about the HOF'ers voting... they haven't gotten Ron Santo in yet, and he's got numbers that blow away most third basemen in the league up to his point, including a majority of HOF third basemen! Oh, and he did it all as a diabetic. What excuse do they have?

You say that steroids are a cause of homer and it inflated the standard to 600 homers. But, Fred McGriff just fell shy of 500, but there's no "sniff" of steroids on the Crime Dog who was a dominant first baseman, and who also has the record for wearing his hat highest on his head in the Tom Emanski baseball lesson commercials... so, what happens to the guys like McGriff, who put up numbers that in any other era would have been considered HOF worthy?

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Pete's reply: Ron Santo has been off the BBWAA ballot for awhile. The living Hall of Famers vote on the Veterans Committee and they also have chosen not to put him in, so what does that tell you?

Pete-

Rice is in, but still no Bert Blyleven? No, the voting system is not poisoned at all...

Pete's reply: Did you really say "since most writers" came up with an excuse not to vote for Cal. Didn't more than 96 percent vote for Cal on the first ballot? Please.
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Sorry, didn't mean it that way Pete...I meant the ones that didn't cast a vote for Cal, or in Rickey's case, the writer from Tuscon who simply forgot to write his name down. It's just odd that some writers simply won't, on purpose, write a sure-fire 1st ballot guy on their ballot so he won't get 100% of the vote.

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Pete's reply: I really don't understand it either, since no one comes out and admits they do it.