Can't be Pete, Ricky no doubt, Rice just lowered the standard for all the up coming outfielders. He couldn't hit outside of Fenway, no defence, what do ya think Pete?

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I think he was one of the dominant hitters of his era, who averaged 100 RBI in his 14 full major league seasons. He was rightfully on the bubble, but I've got no problem with the result.

Pete,

Why no love for Dale Murphy? 2 time NL MVP, 7 time all star, near 400 HRS???

This is more than Rice in 2 extra season if you count his last two when he hung on.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I like Murphy too, but he drove in fewer runs, scored fewer runs, struck out a lot more and 33 points under Rice in career batting average.

Maybe Rickey will declare himself the greatest during his HOF acceptance speech! If he does it will be fun watching all those HOF'ers behind him give him a shove off of the stage!

I see Mark Grace didn't get enough votes to even remain on the ballot. I guess being the hits leader of an entire decade doesn't mean much. Pete- why no love for Donny Baseball? I understand about having a shortened career, but for a time he was one of the absolute best in the game on both sides of the field. Didn't his teammate Winfield cruise right into the Hall? That just doesn't sound right to me.

Pete,
Good job predicting this year's results. Do you think Mark's, the guy who claims he wore a Yankee cap to Orioles' games,hero Mattingly will ever make it? Here's hoping the only way Mattingly or Tex ever make it to Cooperstown is if they buy a ticket!

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I like Mattingly. Good guy. Don't blame him for Teixeira's decision.

I never understood why Rice never made the HOF before today. He was a great player, but I guess if you are not an crack smoocher with the BBWAA you just get froze out. That is a shame. I also think that the hall should put Tommy John and in some way Dr. Frank Jobe who developed the ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery that saved many baseball careers.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I think they should put Dr. Jobe in.

Gotta agree with you, both Henderson and Rice belong, Rice should have been voted in before. Blyleven - man, what a curve he had, he deserves to get in but you never know.

one of the few times i agree with you 100%. iam 52 and know that ricky was and will be the greatest leadoff hitter ever ,but rice had great years but fell off faster then the melting snow in his middle 30s. youre right on about his personality , down right grump i thought ,but the big question blyleven, his stat wont be touched by anybody i see in the next twenty years . ;strikeouts wins shutouts innings, what is the deal with that . i think dawson should be in ,great stats power fielder , all with crippled knees.plus tommy john with 290 wins , but i could never figure the voting out anyway .

I sure would love to know who the 5% of the voters were that didn't vote for Rickey Henderson in the hall of fame! I can't imagine what criteria would have led them to the conclusion that Rickey doesn't belong on a first ballot.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I wonder myself, but nobody has ever been unanimous.

Congrats to Rickey and Rice. Having watched Rickey play in his heyday, it was interesting to me to watch alot of guys try and mimic his batting style and basepath thievery (anyone remember Shooty Babbitt?), and not even come close. That guy was a double waiting to happen. As for Rice, definitely not a guy I wanted O's pitchers to face with the game on the line...but fortunately, during the 80s the Sux had pretty much no pitching (Mike Torres...yuck) and if all else failed you had Mr. Kerosene, Bob Stanley, waiting in the bullpen. Now on to other matters. Will the signing of catcher Robby Hammock of the Diamondbacks have any impact of the supposed happenanyminutenow signing of Greg Zaun?

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: No, I doubt it has any bearing on the Zaun situation.

Look, Rice had some darned nice years but he is no Hall of Famer. Cooperstown continues to be watered down by inducting the very goods along with the greats. Only problem is that it wasn't meant for the very goods. What a joke.

I think Rice was a great player and have no problem with him being in the HOF. That being said however, what put him over the top was the push of the ever-growing Red Sox bandwagon of the past few years, especially amongst the national press. If Blyleven had been a Red Sox for even one season he'd be in already...

I'm not saying anything thats not already been said , but it seems to me that the " Hall " has lost a lot of its meaning . Its become the " Hall of the Very Good " .
Why must we be compelled to induct seemingly everyone that had a "good" career . To me it wouldn't matter if there were years in between anyone getting voted in . It should be only the elite . Can anyone actually compare Tony Perez to Lou Gerhig ?

Blyleven should be in. If Rice is in then so should Dave Parker. Compare Parker and Rice stats

Mr. Schmuck,
Really interesting about the fan reaction for Jay Gibbons. His stats last year were fair, I guess. Neat to see him sign.
Whats the chances of Mike Young accepting a trade to Ballymore? Wouldn't mind giving up a pitcher to Texas for this guy. What do you think?

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: We'll have to wait until the Rangers decide whether to trade him.

Pete,

I'm with you 100% on this one, both Rickey and Rice most deserving and I too want to see Bert Blelevin get there too! Rickey Henderson is a very talented but odd guy. Did you know that during his playing days and now certainly the only player who batted left handed exclusively and threw right! Jim Rice's greatness often overlooks the unabashed racism he had to overcome in Boston during an era where African American atheletes continued to not be media darlings!

I don't understand why Rice limps in and there is no love for Blylevin, Dale Murphy and especially Tim Raines.

Raines was one of the best players for several years in the NL. and is a farce he is not in.

Pete-

Henderson was very deserving of Hall of Fame Honors. In a way, he revolutionized the art of base-stealing. Henderson was probably a little too self-absorbed, putting himself ahead of teammates at times, but make no mistake, he was supremely talented and earned his way into Cooperstown.

Rice like numerous candidates belongs in "The Hall of the Very Good."
He DID NOT lead the league 10 years running in ANY offensive category. In fact the most consecutive years he led in anything was Total Bases and that was 3 straight years.
A quick look at baseballreference.com would prove that.
His adjusted OPS for his career was 128 a full point above Don Mattingly and 3 points above Bernie Williams, neither of which is a HOF candidate.
On 6 occasions was he ever above that career average.
His Home/Road splits were ridiculously skewed to heavily favor him at Fenway. He was little more then a league average hitter on the road, something else that can be easily checked at Baseball Reference.
His crappy personality had little to do with keeping him out of the HOF.
As someone mentioned the writers again lowered the bar for future corner outfielders by letting him.