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STAN ISAACS Out of Left Field |
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THE GREATEST PLAYER OUTSIDE THE HALL of FAME |
Rose is still ineligible for the Hall,
but even the Hall isn't flawless
By
STAN ISAACS
of TheColumnists.com
Pete Rose will remain the greatest player outside the baseball
Hall of
Fame. I have just received my Hall of Fame ballot and even if
I were inclined to vote for him, I could not because Rose is,
as usual, not on the ballot. The powers that be in baseball,
fearful that those who cast ballots might vote for Rose, acted
a few years ago to make him ineligible for Hall of Fame consideration.
Rose,
for those who have not been paying attention to baseball dialogues,
was banned for allegedly betting on baseball games. Rose insists
that though he bet on other sports, he did not bet on baseball.
That is, in effect, a capital offense in the sport. When Rose
agreed to a lifetime ban, baseball agreed not to reveal to the
public any of the evidence against him. Enough evidence of Rose's
betting with bookmakers has been leaked, however, to persuade
most baseball people that Rose did bet on the sport while he
was a manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Friends of Rose are resigned
to this as well, and tell him that the first step toward any
reconciliation by him with baseball would be an admission by
him that he did bet on games. Rose sticks to his denial.
Voting is limited essentially to newspaper reporters who have
covered baseball for at least 10 years. More than 500 voters
are eligible and a player must receive 75 per cent of the votes
to gain admission. A player must be retired five years before
he becomes eligible for the Hall; if he does not make the Hall
after 15 years he is dropped from consideration. Last year 499
ballots were counted and two players, Carlton Fisk and Tony Perez,
received more than 75 per cent of the votes. Behind them were
Jim Rice with 52 per cent and Gary Carter with 50 per cent.
The Hall of Fame voting is a big deal. Fans care about this.
Hell, I care about this. I am agitated when a favorite player
of mine is slighted. Year after year I voted for Richie Ashburn,
a great Philadelphia Phillies player and a beloved Met his one
year with them, only to have him fall short. He finally made
it when he passed into the hands of the Veteran's Committee,
which is little more than a popularity contest among old baseball
people. This is something of a back-door entry, but once in people
forget how a player gained entry.
I take it seriously up to a point. When Jim Bouton became eligible,
I voted for him. I reasoned that Bouton, at best a journeyman
pitcher, deserved a slice of glory for having written the book,
"Ball Four." This was a hilarious look behind the scenes
at baseball foibles that even gained the attention of non-baseball
fans. I could vote for Bouton because I know that a player falls
off the ballot if he doesn't gain at least five per cent of the
vote in any year. I figured Bouton would at least get one vote
and then disappear. He actually got three votes in his one year
of eligibility. I know that Ira Berkow of the New York Times
also voted for him but the other scalawag chooses to remain anonymous.
The cruelest cut came when Bouton told me, "I wouldn't have
voted for me."
For several years I had my ballot returned to me because I voted
for Satchel Paige, the Negro Leagues immortal who had a few remarkable
seasons in the American League at the end of his career. Paige
was ineligible because he hadn't played a minimum of 10 years
in the big leagues. I argued that he did not play in the big
leagues, not because he wasn't good enough, but because he, as
a black man, was not allowed to play. Finally, the Hall of Fame
people changed the rules and Paige gained entry.
Baseball has never needed any recounts, but politics do play
a part. The Hall of Fame people in Cooperstown like to see people
win nomination because it helps the annual induction ceremonies
at the upstate New York community if there are live bodies inducted
into the Hall. The Cooperstown people can at least depend on
the Veterans Committee to come up with an oldtimer or player
from the Negro Leagues to help attract tourists to the July ceremonies.
There are players who don't belong in the Hall of Fame. None
more than Rabbit Maranville, a career average .258 hitter who
was notable only for playing more than 20 seasons into the 1930s.
After retiring from baseball, Maranville ran the sandlot baseball
program sponsored by the Hearst newspapers. When Maranville came
up for Hall of Fame consideration, chain publisher William Randolph
Hearst gave orderss to all the baseball reporters and editors
working for his many papers acorss the country to vote for Maranville.
Voila, Maranville is in the Hall of Fame with a plaque every
bit as large as that of Babe Ruth and Carl Hubbell.
The deadline for voting is Dec. 31. A maximum of 10 names is
permitted, but I usually vote for only seven or eight. I haven't
done my hard analysis yet, but I know that I surely will be voting
for Keith Hernandez, and probably for Kirby Puckett and Don Mattingly,
who are on the ballot for the first time. If Pete Rose were eligible,
I would reason that he has been in purgatory long enough and
I would vote for him, too.
© 2000 by Stan Isaacs.
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