The incident with Hirschbeck shouldn't affect Alomar's candidacy in any way.

Last I checked, it was called the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Great Players Who Were Also Friendly With The Media And Never Did Anything Wrong. Besides, the abbreviation of that second one would be way too long.

Anyway... If Alomar doesn't make it on the first ballot, it'll be a damn shame. Just as it was a damn shame that Albert Belle dropped off the ballot after his second year.

If Belle doesn't belong in the Hall, what the heck is Jim Rice doing in there?

Alomar -- Who Gives A SPIT??

Not Brooks,

You are right about the man vs. the talent. In Albert Belle's case a generation of sportswriters who dealt with him would have has to die off before he had any chance.

I know a certain ex sunpaper's sportswriter who was trying to interview Belle in the Orioles locker room and Belle grabbed his crotch and told the reporter to F*** off or he would bust his face.

Albert Belle took the word thug to a whole new level. Is he still in jail?

Robbie,

Was the finest all around second baseman in my 50 years! The spitting incident and post playing career have been unfortunate, but between the lines, truly the best glove, range, average, driving in runs, base running, the total package!

He may get in one day but not the first time up. Thats for guys like Cal.

I hear Ron Peters needs your cell number Pete. He said Pete Rose deserves to be in the HOF too. The betting was all a misunderstanding. He meant to say Pete was making charitable donations to the Ron Peters' New Mansion Foundation.

Good for Robbie though. He really does deserve to be acknowleged for what he did as a player that had nothing to do with that incident.

Maybe it's me, but even to this day, when I see that replay, it looks to me from the Alomars lips like he's saying "f**k you" and the spit comes flying out of his mouth. It just doesn't look like he rares back and spits in Hirschbeck's face.

While a certain golf megastar remains in hiding there have been numerous reports of him being seen hiking along the Oregon Trail, Natchez Trace, Mormon Trail, Sante Fe Trail, Chisholm Trail, Cherokee Trail, Old Spanish Trail, Wilderness Road, Ozark Trail, California Trail, Nez Perce Trail, and the Lewis and Clark Trail. The likelihood that he would be hiking all these different locations could be explained by his broader interests and greater stamina than South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

I still don’t quite understand the point of which ballot a player is. 1st ballot, 4th ballot, who cares? Either you’re a hall of famer or you aren’t, so if you feel you’re going to vote for the guy, then why not vote for him the 1st time?

Instead of leaving a player on the ballot for 15 years, make it a five year limit. That way the voters make up their damn minds and stop making marginal decisions like Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage and Rice over more superior players like Mark McGwire, Tim Raines and Albert Belle. These HoF debates are rediculous sometimes. Alomar deserves to be in the HoF because he was the most dominate 2nd baseman of his era, followed by Craig Biggio.

With what Hirschbeck said to Alomar, he deserved to get a loogie. Why can an ump call a player a nogood dirty f'n fag and get away with that?

The usual non-activity with the O's in the offseason has me on edge - what are we doing about getting a big bat while we wait for the youngsters to mature? I mean, come on! It is wearing on me this year. Or maybe another veteran pitcher?

Highlandtown Hank,

You need to sign on more often. We have beaten this issue like a whipped dog and traded more insults on the board than Don Rickles and his audiences.

The bottom line is what you see is what you get. If Andy Macphail does anything else it will be another stopgap player.

The big bat was Atkins. The veteren pitcher was Milllwood.

Many people on the board are fine with planning to lose again while the "rebuilding"plan inches forward. Some of us think the plan could be accelerated by the introduction of name talent to the roster.

The 2010 season will rise and fall on the backs of the young pitchers, whose development could be speeded by giving them more run support, so that they don't walk out to the mound white knuckled thinking they have to pitch a two hit shutout in order to win.

It will be a long season next year Hank. But, heck, it never was about 2009, 0r 2010. It's about 2011 and beyond. I think.

John Hirschbeck is a class act.

I understand Gil. I just hope, with being in the East, that we don't put unrealistic expectations on these youngsters - the way the Ravens did with Boller. The same with the bats. Atkins and Millwood, to me, are not ideal veterans to teach. I know Mora is gone and with 3rd and 1st in question and Weiters possibly moving to 1st, the 's plan is starting to sound like a game of Battleship. I try every year to find optimism, and maybe this year it is turning to impatience.

I'll never understand the whole getting in the first time thing. If a player deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, he deserves it. It's not like his stats or era changed after six, seven, whatever years of retirement instead of just five.

I can see where a sportswriter might become convinced to change his mind on a former player, but to effectively say, "I'm going to make you wait to get in," seems pretty vindictive to me, and speaks volumes about that sportswriter more than it does about any player.

Albert Belle is an interesting case even if you take his personality out of the equation. (Although, shouldn't how good of a teammate a player is be counted as part of the evaluation process?)

Belle only played ten full seasons. Many will say that's not enough. He was a dominating player for five of those seasons, however. That should be enough.

Then, there's the issue of being a DH. Harold Baines might gain more sympathy (besides being night-and-day a better person) because he was actually a very good OF before injuries forced him into the role baseball should never have created. Belle, on the other hand, played one-sixth of his games as a DH because he was suspect at best as a defensive OF.

Belle being totally off of the ballot seems silly.

Waspman,

I agree with you about Albert Belle, strictly by the numbers. He averaged 37 Home runs and 120 RBI over ten years and had nine consecutive 100 RBI seasons. In 1995 he had 50 Home runs and 50 doubles and I don't think anyone in the history of MLB had done it before or has done it since. He should have won the MVP in 1995. He beat Mo Vaughn in every offensive category except for RBI, which they tied at 126.

But the media literally hated the guy he hated the media. Do you remember him cursing out Hannah Storm and other reporters in the dugout during the 1995 world Series?

I believe that some of his rage could have been steroid induced, and his hip condition is common among steroid abusers. I don't think he was fingered by Jose Canseco because Canseco, like everybody else was scared to death of him.

Peter,
I just read your very nice piece on Alomar and Hirschbeck. I hate to bring it up, but don't I remember that Hirschbeck actually tried to fight Alomar the next day in the locker room because Alomar said something about his son? It was many years ago, so I don't remember the details, but didn't that happen?

check his stats , he has better stats than your boy ripken ,who hit in more double plays, played when he wasnot hitting,or fielding ,yes cal got two gold gloves in 19 years ,had alomar played he would have about17.better clutch hitter, bases full alomar,. not ripken actually ripken put on a uniform ,had two-three decent years ,thats all.