I have to say, I was a little surprised by the results of the Hall of Fame voting results today.  Obviously Rickey Henderson was a cinch to get in, but I didn't expect Rice to make it as well; I'd figured that his case had become so polarizing that there weren't going to be any defectors from the anti-Rice camp.  But, he slid in on his 15th and final ballot.  As I said a couple weeks back, I don't think he's worth induction, but he's hardly the worst player in the Hall, and he won't devalue induction any.

Andre Dawson's support (67.0%) seemed a bit higher than it should have been, especially in comparison to his former teammate, Tim Raines (22.6%).  Bert Blyleven continues to pick up votes (62.7%), and he'll probably get the call in the next few years.  Jack Morris' support continues to baffle me (44.0%), again considering the low vote totals for his former teammate (and in my mind more deserving candidate) Alan Trammell (17.4%).

David Cone should have gotten more than the 3.9% that he garnered, and will fall off the ballot, along with Tommy John (final year of eligibility), Mark Grace, Matt Williams, Mo Vaughn, Jay Bell, Jesse Orosco, and Dan Plesac.  And the whole Mark McGwire issue (21.9%) isn't going away anytime soon.

Looking ahead to Cooperstown...well I'm excited, as he once told Padres GM Kevin Towers, to hear "Rickey speaking on behalf of Rickey".

MLB hall of fame, ricky henderson, jim rice, bert blyleven, andre dawson, david cone, tommy john, mark grace, matt williams, mo vaughn, jay bell, jesse orosco, dan pleasac, mark mcgwire

Some players don't merit a full post, becuase they're so clearly in or out that there's not much else to say.  Here's the list of infielders that meet that criteria.

Matt Williams

I wonder how things might have been different had the 1994 strike not occured.  Certainly Williams does, because it could have changed his career, as well as possibly the history of baseball.  Had he eclipsed Roger Maris' single season home run record, perhaps there's not much of a scene around the whole McGwire/Sosa chase for 62 in 1998, and we never get into that whole mess.  Plus it would have helped his candidacy as a Hall of Fame member.  With 378 home runs, that season would have pushed him closer to 400, which might have changed how people viewed his career.  As it is, he's a slugger that, historically speaking, didn't do much more than hit home runs, and his .268 average would only get him in if he played superior defense, which he didn't.

Mark Grace

Very nice player, very well-liked teammate, excellent fielder, and he introduced the term "slumpbuster" into the American lexicon.  He still falls into the category of a very good player that never really did anything spectacular, and was never among the elite.  Nice career average (.303, with 2445 hits), but the .442 slugging percentage is well below standard for the position.

Mark McGwire

In the words of Jesus and Pals on South Park, "I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole."

Mo Vaughn

He should never have left Fenway Park; otherwise he could have had at least a borderline Hall career.  Three times in the top 5 of the AL MVP voting as a Red Sock, but never came close to .300 after he left for Anaheim, and was pretty much cooked by age 32.  Not a bad OBP guy for a big fella though (.383).

Jay Bell

I always enjoyed getting Jay Bell on my fantasy team.  You always seemed to be able to sneak him through to the end of the auction, you'd get him for usually $10 less than he ended up giving you, and you could never argue with getting 15 HR from your middle infield guy.  Value players also usually don't get into the Hall of Fame.  Plus, that 38 home run season in 1999 just stands out like a Brady Anderson-sized sore thumb.

MLB hall of fame, matt williams, mark grace, mark mcgwire, mo vaughn, jay bell