Hall of Fame finalists

[Mikey]

I think Alomar, Larkin, Dawson, and yes, Santo! will get in. Martinez will eventually get in. Playing DH hurts his chances. A lot of GOOD players up for consideration this year, but not HOF players.

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Alomar, Martinez, Larkin & McGriff on Hall ballot

NEW YORK (AP)—Roberto Alomar is among 15 first-time candidates of this year’s Hall of Fame ballot, joining holdovers Mark McGwire, Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven.

Edgar Martinez(notes), Barry Larkin and Fred McGriff also are new to the ballot this year. There are 26 candidates, three more than last year when Rickey Henderson was elected in his initial appearance and Jim Rice made it on his 15th and final try. Dawon fell 44 votes shy of the 75 percent needed and Blyleven was 67 short.

Also on the ballot for the first time are Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.

Other holdovers on the list announced Friday include Harold Baines, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.

McGwire, hired last month as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, is on the ballot for the fourth time. While he hit 583 homers, eighth on the career list, he has been stigmatized since his 2005 congressional testimony, when he evaded answering whether he had used steroids. He received 118 votes (22 percent) in last year’s vote, down from 128 in each of his first two tries.

Segui has admitted he used steroids.

Alomar, a 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove second baseman, had a .300 batting average, 210 homers and 474 steals in 17 major league seasons.

Martinez spent all 18 seasons with Seattle, winning two AL batting titles and finishing with a .312 average and 309 homers. A seven-time All-Star, he was a designated hitter in 1,412 of 2,055 career regular-season games.

Larkin was a 12-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove shortstop in 19 seasons, all with Cincinnati. He had a .295 career average with 198 homers and won the 1995 NL MVP award.

McGriff is tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th on the career home run with 493 and had a .284 average in 19 seasons. He led the AL in homers for Toronto in 1989 and the NL for San Diego in 1992.

<b>Reporters who have been in the BBWAA for 10 or more consecutive years are eligible to vote, and results will be announced Jan. 6. Inductions, which will include anyone elected by the Veterans Committee, are scheduled for July 25 at Cooperstown. The Veterans Committee vote will be announced Dec. 7.</b>

The complete ballot: Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[rok]

The trend is not Dawson's friend. I hope I'm wrong.

[funkster]

I've thought Santo would be in a few times now...

[veryzer]

alomar is the only lock. i don't think any of the rest should ever get in.

[vitaminB]

Tommy V: I hope you meant of the new guys he's the only one who should get in.

Dawson's case is very simple. There are three guys with 400 Hrs and 300 SB. Barry Bonds, Willy Mays, and Andre Dawson. Add that to 8 Gold Gloves, 8 All star games, MVP, ROY. What more do you want from a guy?

[veryzer]

<!--quoteo(post=70248:date=Nov 28 2009, 09:31 AM:name=vitaminB)-->QUOTE (vitaminB @ Nov 28 2009, 09:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Tommy V: I hope you meant of the new guys he's the only one who should get in.

Dawson's case is very simple. There are three guys with 400 Hrs and 300 SB. Barry Bonds, Willy Mays, and Andre Dawson. Add that to 8 Gold Gloves, 8 All star games, MVP, ROY. What more do you want from a guy?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

i meant the new guys, though i'm borderline on dawson. my heart says he deserves it, but i'm biased because he was my idol growing up. in the end, i think when you consider the era he was paying in, i think he should be in.

mcgriff, larkin, and martinez should not.

[Andy]

I'm a huge Dawson fan, that aside, I didn't know whether he belonged in the HOF. It seems the single biggest thing keeping him out is the recent (last 10 years) trend toward valuing OBP as the end-all-be-all stat.

However if think about it, there have been roughly 18,000 players to have played in the majors. Out of those, Dawson ranks 34th all-time in RBIs, 36th in home runs and 24th in extra-base hits. Dawson is one of six players to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases and he's the only eligible player with more than 1,000 career extra-base hits who is not in the Hall of Fame.

If you're in the top 50, out of 18,000 for power numbers, I would think you belong in the HOF.

[rok]

Had Dawson not suffered from bad knees all those years, he'd have been in already. Of this I am certain.

[MW4]

Isn't that the Alomar that spit on an Ump? That was big shit back in the day.

[SandbergMVP1984]

Looking at the stats, it's a joke that Dawson isn't in there already.