On the Walls of the Hall of Fame

I wrote way back in January about my bowling league and our longtime secretary, Mac.  Tonight, we’re unveiling our inaugural league Hall of Fame class.  We named the Hall of Fame after Mac, and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of the process.

Our league has been around for over 80 years.  I believe it’s one of the oldest leagues in the country.  I thought that a league of our age should have a hall of fame of sorts; after all, there had to have been a number of guys who were great bowlers in their time, and considering how many guys have been in the league for 20, 30, even 40 years, I figure there had to have been guys who spend that long in the league way back when as well.

I mentioned it to a couple of my fellow league officers, and we brought it to the league at the annual pre-season meeting.  Everyone was on board, so throughout the year, our secretary pored through decades of records and pulled a number of names to represent past eras.  We then had the league vote on some more recent nominees as well.

Tonight, we’ll induct five posthumous honorees (including the league founders), two guys from the past who will be in attendance, and five guys who still bowl with us.  It’s a great mix of past and present, and I hope that the guys who have been around for a while, guys who knew Mac and were close to him, feel like we did him justice with our efforts to honor him.  I also hope that some of the younger guys, the ones who have joined the league in the last couple years, can appreciate the history of the league that they’re now a part of.

I know it probably sounds silly.  “It’s just a bowling league.”  That’s true, it is.  But for those of us who’ve been there for a long time (I’ve been associated with the league for 12 years now), who’ve seen some faces come and go, but twice that many come and never leave, it’s more like a family.  A family you only see three hours a week for nine months out of the year, but a family nonetheless.  And tonight, I’m looking forward to honoring both our forefathers and our brothers.

I’ll Put On My Shoes While I’m Walking Slowly Down the Hall of Fame

The official website of the National Baseball Hall of Fame lists the rules for the Baseball Writers Association of America’s annual Hall of Fame election.  Rule number five is stated as follows:

“5. Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

With that in mind, here is who I would have voted for (you’re allowed to check up to 10 names on the ballot): Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Jack Morris, and Mike Piazza.

I’d vote for PIazza begrudgingly; I never liked the guy, but that was probably based more on who he played for than anything about him.  I can’t deny that he was possibly the best offensive catcher of all-time.  All four of those guys are Hall of Famers to me.

Not on the list?  Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.  Of course, looking at the results, nearly two-thirds of voters felt the same way.  But while we know how they voted, we don’t know why they voted how they did.

My stance is based on the words “integrity” and “character.”  Because of what’s happened with their cases, we’ve seen the character that Bonds and Clemens have shown, and frankly, I don’t like it.

Of course, you can make the argument that since they never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and never admitted to using them, how can we say with certainty that they used?  That’s a fair argument.  Who am I to decide that?  Ultimately, no one.  However, there’s a reason why the clouds of suspicion are thicker around them than their contemporaries.

You can also make the argument that they were Hall of Famers before they started using PEDs.  My response to that is this: how can you separate the two periods?  How do you know when they started using?  And you’re electing a person in their entirety; the plaque doesn’t say “BARRY BONDS (BUT ONLY UNTIL 1998).”  To me, that argument holds absolutely no water.

A brief word on Tim Raines: sure, his accomplishments probably are good enough to be in the Hall.  But he also told a grand jury that he snorted cocaine during games and slid headfirst so he wouldn’t break his coke vial.  That shows a lack of integrity and character as well.  And if I’m on an elevated horse with my hypothetical vote, well…sorry, Rock.

Is it a “sad day for baseball,” as some have said?  I don’t know.  I think when your all-time home run leader is convicted for obstruction of justice in regards to whether or not he used performance-enhancing drugs, it’s much sadder.  In fact, it might have been a good day; now we have a baseline, and can move forward in future elections.

One last thing: I hate the idea of a “first-ballot” Hall of Famer.  Either you’re a Hall of Famer or you’re not.  Don’t vote for a guy in his second year but not his first simply because “he didn’t deserve to go in on the first ballot.”  That’s awful.

::puts away soapbox::