Cooperstown, N.Y. is a beautiful setting hidden among the rolling hills and glacial lakes of Upstate New York. Walk down Main Street on a sunny, spring day and you sense immediately why the grounds are so hallowed. This is a town unlike any other.
A town unlike any other also deserves a voting system that is so subjective that the grounds only allow a certain few to be welcomed as Hall of Famers. The National Baseball Hall of Fame prides itself on that exclusivity and that becomes no more apparent than each January when nearly 600 journalists take pen to paper and make statements to the world on who they think deserves immortality in Cooperstown.
Think of it – when have you heard of a voter not writing a column of their vote selection? Every unimaginative member of the press corps gets a free column idea while at the same time, judging an athlete who spent nearly 20 years making a living playing baseball. In all likelihood, these writers never made the Major Leagues or even saw any of these players in person in their prime. Seeing great stars of their time like Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris or Alan Trammell have to defend their career statistics is a real disgrace to their careers.
The good news for Tigers fans is that both Morris and Trammell greatly improved their status for candidacy during the 2010 vote. I’ve got to believe that once Blyleven’s almost guaranteed 2011 election happens, Morris and his 52.3% will start to creep closer to the 75% needed for election. Trammell’s 22.4% may benefit from a series of steroid-era players coming in the following years.
I’ve mentioned in the past how the love media has for a player (see Ozzie Smith’s numbers vs. Alan Trammell’s) can make the difference between Hall of Famer and those left out… this year was no different.