Hurlers have come out on top of this ballot process. This is a new direction that those who vote are going towards. Did you know in the previous twenty years if you were not Ryan, Sutton, Niekro, or Blyleven you did not get in? We had Glavine and Maddux get in last year and now three starters make it in with ease. Joining Randy Johnson, Pedro, and Smoltz is Craig Biggio. These four make up the Class of 2015. Apex Baseball will witness this moment in Hall history and share our thoughts on whom got in and those that missed the cut.
Very Difficult to Make it in if You Fail at First
First ballot hall of famers were supposed to denote the best of the best. Yet in recent years, first ballot was all that whom were allowed in. Those that came up short had little to no chance to scale the heights to get into Cooperstown. That Biggio finally made it in may mean the door is slowly creaking open. While too many thins the blood, having no one elected in a year is worse yet. Nothing say snobbery and die hard traditionalist than having no one deemed good enough to go to Mount Olympus. Thank goodness the voters are realizing this.
Numbers Devalued by PED’s
Everyone that had their heads out of the sand knew about the use of speed in baseball decades ago. This boost of energy was certainly performance enhancing but did not stop the magic numbers of 3,000, 300, and 500 of being an almost assured ticket into the hall. Now the hits, wins, and home runs have all been nullified with this generation’s fascination with PED’s. Anyone that was linked to the Mitchell Report or any obscure lab had their vote totals demolished by the electorate. This made it so that even when Craig got his 3,000 hits was he an automatic. Without the numbers, conjecture and likeability are the new standards to get in.
So we have four great players to make it in. With the new methodology, maybe some writers omitted Piazza for hurling his bat at Clemens one year. The other B in Houston did not make it as Bagwell got just over fifty percent. Raines and Schilling are so far off that even politcally correct rallies will not get them to the summit. So enjoy this class 2015, we will not see another one this large in quite a while. Baseball voters, please grow up and let more of the legends in. It is good for the game and helps recruit fans to the next generation.
