Either way, HOF voters are slowly and surely turning the HOF into something I've lost a ton of interest in.

 

How so?

 

Or are you talking about them acting as the morality police and not voting in deserving guys because of their character issues?

How so?

Just a bunch of hypocrites playing politics. I didn't even realize the vote was about to happen until I saw the results while at the gym.

Results seem to indicate the beginning in a shift in voter attitude towards the "users".

 

Big jumps by Bonds and Clemens.

 

Piazza, who's been associated with steroids, getting in.

 

Bagwell, another who's been associated with steroids, a sure thing for next year now.

 

Really glad to see Raines get as close as he did. He'll definitely make it in next year, which is his last on the ballot.

 

Interesting article from Ken Rosenthal on why Bonds and Clemons votes were an illusion.

 

Don't be fooled, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds remain in PED purgatory | FOX Sports

 

Don't be fooled by the percentages.

 

The chances of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds making the Hall of Fame didn't necessarily improve with the results of the 2016 voting, which were announced Wednesday.

 

Yes, the respective percentages of both former greats jumped, Clemens from 37.6 percent to 45.2 and Bonds from 36.8 percent to 44.3. But both are still well short of the 75 percent minimum needed for induction – and both actually received seven fewer raw votes than they did a year ago from the eligible members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

 

The percentage increases for Clemens and Bonds, then, were something of an illusion -- and almost directly attributable to the Hall’s decision last July to eliminate voters who were more than 10 years removed from actively covering the game.

 

That decision led to 109 fewer votes than in 2015 – fewer votes by older writers who as a group presumably were less inclined than younger voters to support players linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

 

So, while a number of writers, including myself, revealed publicly that they were voting for Clemens and Bonds for the first time, the two players lost other votes, some from the 109.

 

In the words of U2, they’re running to stand still.

 

The Hall is not going to trim another 100 or so older voters every year; subsequent reductions will be far less dramatic. Clemens and Bonds might gain additional voters who are uncomfortable excluding them now that a player suspected of using PEDs, Mike Piazza, has been elected to the Hall. But only a relatively small number of writers changed their minds this year..

 

(Piazza, in his comments to reporters Wednesday night, all but ran from the PED question, saying: “The fans understand there’s no flawless institution. It’s the human condition that we all make mistakes. ... What I’m trying to say is, the game has healed and they’ve addressed the issue and we’re moving on and trying to be as positive as we can be.”)

 

Easy for Piazza to say -- he’s in. Clemens and Bonds each have six years of eligibility remaining -- six years to gain the more than 130 votes necessary for induction, based on the 2016 numbers (Clemens received 199 votes, Bonds 195). Maybe the opposition to them slowly will crumble, particularly with younger voters who will join the electorate after serving the requisite 10 years in the BBWAA. But would you bet on it?

 

Mike Mussina made the most meaningful gain in this year’s election, jumping from 24.6 percent to 43.0 by adding 54 votes. Edgar Martinez was next, going from 27 percent to 43.4 by adding 43 votes.

 

Thanks to the reduced electorate, Tim Raines went from 55 percent to 69.8 despite increasing his actual vote total by only five. Jeff Bagwell went from 55.7 percent to 71.6 despite increasing his total by only nine.

 

Raines and Bagwell are close enough to 75 percent to reasonably expect induction, as is Trevor Hoffman, who received 67.3 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot -- a sign that writers will embrace the best one-inning closers.

 

Clemens and Bonds, on the other hand, still must make up considerable ground. Six years is a long time, and perhaps enough voters will soften their positions toward players linked to PEDs during that period. Just don’t be fooled by the latest percentages.

 

Clemens and Bonds did not make any sort of leap forward on Wednesday. If anything, they barely got off the ground.

Beacuse these guys had awesome stats in 2015? What changes from year to year, they either are or are not.

 

The problem is the "only can vote for 10 rule". The last 2 years have had big classes, with slam dunk players like Frank Thomas, Glavine, and Maddux in their first year. When you get years with that many sure thing inductees, it forces some of those more marginal guys off some voters ballots for a year or two. Then in a year like this year where Griffey was the only sure thing, suddenly there is room for those guys that got pushed off.

 

The process is flawed. Each guy should either be a yes or no...period. Then you could shorten the length of time a guy is on the ballot to maybe 5 years. It would make the voting process more straight forward, and it wouldn't make it any easier to get into the hall of fame.

Why?

 

Because in my opinion that's not the proper professional way to don the cap. The team logo is in the front and Junior was an outfielder, not a catcher. When he's goofing around that's one thing, when your face is put on a HOF plaque, you need to look professional.

Because in my opinion that's not the proper professional way to don the cap. The team logo is in the front and Junior was an outfielder, not a catcher. When he's goofing around that's one thing, when your face is put on a HOF plaque, you need to look professional.

 

He didn't use those words but he basically said he wasn't really for having a backwards cap on his plaque. Said he didn't want to disrespect the game. He was on Mike & Mike this morning.

He didn't use those words but he basically said he wasn't really for having a backwards cap on his plaque. Said he didn't want to disrespect the game. He was on Mike & Mike this morning.

 

I wouldn't have expected anything else from Junior. :thumb:

Being the crusty “old school guy” that I am, I have always been sour on the PED guys for HOF and other accolades. However, when you think about it, cheating has been a part of baseball forever. Doctoring bats and balls, short grass/long grass, tilting dirt baselines down third and first, stealing signals, guys taking “bennies” or Creatine or any other supplements, etc., to get the advantage to perform better thereby making more money for themselves and team owners. I always use the Maguire/Sosa example because there is no doubt in my mind that MLB KNEW both were tainted when their home run chase was going on but it sold tickets, got a ton of media viewers, everybody was discussing the chase. MLB made money and propped up their game on the event at the time. This “integrity of the game” stuff is something I used to believe, when I didn’t have a clue as to the value of money. THAT, in my opinion, is all that it is about today, MONEY for owners, players, advertisers, media companies, even the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Results seem to indicate the beginning in a shift in voter attitude towards the "users". Big jumps by Bonds and Clemens. Piazza' date=' who's been associated with steroids, getting in. Bagwell, another who's been associated with steroids, a sure thing for next year now. Really glad to see Raines get as close as he did. He'll definitely make it in next year, which is his last on the ballot.[/quote']

 

Only 9% according to all the talk I heard yesterday. Most of the talking heads on MLB Network were saying that wasn't significant enough and they wouldn't make it in 6 years.

Kudos to Griffey Jr. on his highest ever vote total. Honestly, I was surprised he received that much of the vote. Not because he didn't deserve it, but given the time in which he played and his ability to crush the ball, on principle I figured the committee would come back with a lower vote %.

I think I read at the same age Bonds hit his 72 home runs, Griffey only hit 18. Because of his non PED use his body broke down normally and his decline proves that.

 

As a Red fan it was almost as if I was watching a broken down Kentucky Derby winner try to race. It was really sad the way time caught up to JR. Robbing us fans of seeing his greatness first hand.

I think ALL HOF ballots should be made public. Why should the writers be able to vote and not tell who they voted for or did not vote for? It should be a transparent process IMO. If everyone knew their vote was going to be made public, they may take their responsibility more seriously because they would know they have to defend it.

I think it's a joke that Piazza got in, and it has nothing to do with steroids/PEDs. I hate that he always got the benefit of the doubt on stats for being a catcher, but he never was penalized enough for being such a crummy catcher. Piazza is in because of fantasy baseball.

I forgot that Griffey is still being paid by the Reds. Gets about $3.6M annually through 2025.

Cool coincidence I came upon tonight...well my son found it.

 

First Jersey I ever bought my son was a Griffey Jr. Mariners jersey when he was about 2. While in elementary school he had a couple more Jr. jerseys and hats. While he's not a huge baseball fan, Jr has always been far and away his favorite player.

 

Now for the cool part...when Jr's name was announced when he was drafted by the Mariners, the announcer said...

"Seattle Selects number 1-1-5-4 from Cincinnati Ohio, George Kenneth Griffey"

My sons Badge Number as a Deputy Sheriff? You guessed it 1-1-5-4.