This is where we usually start the new thread..............

2012 Hall of Fame Ballot

Jeff Bagwell, 1B
Jeromy Burnitz, OF *
Vinny Castilla, 3B *
Juan Gonzalez, OF
Brian Jordan, OF *
Barry Larkin, SS
Javy Lopez, C *
Edgar Martinez, 3B/DH
Don Mattingly, 1B
Fred McGriff, 1B
Mark McGwire, 1B
Jack Morris, RHP
Bill Mueller, 3B *
Terry Mulholland, LHP*
Dale Murphy, OF
Phil Nevin, 3B/1B *
Rafael Palmeiro, 1B
Brad Radke, RHP *
Tim Raines, OF
Tim Salmon, OF *
Ruben Sierra, OF *
Lee Smith, RHP
Alan Trammell, SS
Larry Walker, OF
Bernie Williams, OF *
Tony Womack, 2B/SS *
Eric Young, 2B *
* -- first year on ballot.

If I had a vote....only Larkin and maybe Morris.

Jeromy Burnitz......really?

Jack Morris.

Jack Morris and Jeff Bagwell would be my choices.

First Red Sox post in the new thread: FIRE BOBBY V!

First Mets post in the new thread: SELL THE TEAM, COUPON

My sentimental side would like to see Trammell get in, but given some of the other shortstops of his era, I don't see him getting in any time soon. Still, one can't help but notice that players from Detroit tend to be overlooked by the BBWAA. I don't know who among the Detroit sports media are currently in the BBWAA (Mitch Album?) but the late Joe Falls, who for years was a sports columnist for the Detroit News, claimed that every year he always returned his HOF ballot blank. Will Morris finally get in? I still say the only reason it hasn't happened yet is because he didn't play in a big market, and because (when he played) he apparently was an asshole to the media. I still say that the only reason Lou Whitaker was kicked off the ballot after his first year was because in seventeen years he never spoke to the media and because he was a Jehovah's Witness who refused to stand for the national anthem. The Veteran's committee should eventually induct Whitaker, and that would be the time for Trammell to get in as well. It's also noteworthy that, despite such similar careers, Trammell's baseball cards are worth much more than Whitaker's.

Interestingly, there aren't any votes here for Bernie Williams yet, in spite of the large number of Yankees fans on the board. I'm torn. He certainly had a great career and excelled in the post season, but it's hard for me to think of him as a dominant player. I admit that it could be my Boston bias speaking though. Jeter, yes. Rivera, yes. Petite, probably (though the HGH thing knocks bothers me).

Only one year away from Mike Piazza and Roger Clemens being eligible. I wonder which player will get in first ballot (arguably the best-hitting catcher in baseball history) and which one will be shunned (a once great pitcher who "allegedly" did PED's). Finally a little bit of justice for the 2000 World Series.

IIRC, Johnny Bench had one of the highest 1st-year ballot percentages of any HOFer. I see Piazza getting in, but not Clemens. I don't see any of the steroid crowd ever being inducted, ever.

Commissioner Selig will change the rules to make certain statistical achievements automatic inductions to the HOF, even if the players aren't voted in.

(And also, the teams which have one of their former players go into the Hall will get home field advantage in all interleague games that year.)

I hope you are wrong Linda. Obvious cheaters should not be in the Hall. That includes Clemens, Bonds, Ramirez, and A-Fraud. I didn't include McGuire because his career numbers don't even warrant consideration, in my opinion.

I was being facetious, but considering that Selig has made no attempt to erase the records set by the steroid generation of ballplayers, it really wouldn't surprise me.

I should have recognized your facetiousness...I'm becoming a cranky old man. It's just that that fucking Bobby V has me so worked up!

Bud's entire term as commissioner deserves to have an asterisk next to it.

How does everyone feel about players whose pre-steroid stats would warrant induction in the HoF, like Bonds & Clemens? I hate Clemens with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns (thank you, Diane Chambers), but if we assume he started cheating after he left Boston, his numbers during the first 9-10 years of his career are HoF-worthy. The same applies to Bonds pre-San Francisco. My feeling is, if you cheat during your career it should negate everything before and after, at least when it comes to awards & recognition, but I realize others may feel differently.

I hope they make Clemens go to Cooperstown when Piazza is inducted, give Piazza the shard of bat that Clemens threw at him in the 2000 WS, and let Piazza shove it up Clemens'... (fill in the blank).

I agree with you Rich. If character is supposed to count for something, then these guys are disqualified in my eyes. Plus, you can't judge a person's career by the first 7 or 8 years. For the first six years of Nomar's career, he was constantly referred to as "Future Hall of Famer" Nomar Garciappara. Does anyone consider him a Hall of Famer today?

To his credit, Valentine handled himself very well during his press conference.

How do the majority of Bostonians feel about Valentine? It is true he is still loved by certain Mets fans (but of course the Mets had a good team back then and played in a World Series in 2000).

It's tough to say. The reporters are so squarely in his camp that it's tough to get an unbiased read. It seems like opinion on the Red Sox message boards that matter is pretty negative. Part of the problem is that ownership has handled the offseason so badly, the fact that Bobby V. is ownership's choice is a strike against him. Particularly since the appearance is that the new GM wanted to hire Dale Sveum.

Plus, I've viewed him as the worst case scenario since day one, so I'm disposed to hear the bad comments more than the good.

Smiff,
I'm curious as to why you're so opposed to Valentine. Most Met fans that I know thought he did a good job here. He was always a bit too sensitive, and certainly arrogant at times, but he can manage a baseball team to win. It reminds me of what Bill James once said about Martin :
"Billy Martin is the best manager in baseball if you want to win NOW."