Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

[vonbrandingo]

I think Morris, Biggio, and Piazza will get the nod. Wish Edgar would get in, he deserves it. We'll find out today.

What do you think?

[NEFAN]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

No "roids" in HOF!

[ironmanfan]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

It may be no one, although Biggio has the best chance of any IMO

[frikativ54]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

I thought Biggio would have gotten in.

[mook03005]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

Wow no one....Biggio for sure next year..

[jwal23]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

It's a crying shame Biggio and Bagwell didn't get in...The stats are un-deniable (especially in bagwell's case when you consider his injuries and how they affected his stats)...but besides the stats there's other view points that make these guys great...their hustle and commitment that doesn't always show on the stat sheets like biggio's heart and hustle, same for bagwell as well, (he was one of the best baserunners in the league and he was a freaking first basemen)these guys were tough, hard nosed players who played the game the way it should be...and another point as well that should be considered is how much these guys have had an impact on this community. These 2 are rock stars around houston still to this day and deservedly so because of their greatness on and off the field...They brought endless excitement to the city and the community...countless days spent doing ACTUAL community work (not just setting up some fund and donating a couple of dollars to it)...I could go on all day about this but to sum it up Big and Bagpipes are the face of the Astros franchise and it's just a down-right sad day for the Houston area and baseball in general...personally I'm disgusted and I know that I'm not the only one that feels this way...shame on you voters...

[GoTigers]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

I think Biggio should've gotten in especially.. he may not be baseball royalty or a typ. 1st ballot guy, but I think it would've sent a message to all the roid guys... If you'd done it right, you'd be up there with him. I think it lessens the sting to them since nobody got the nod.

[xpress34]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

What a sham and a shame that the cheaters - Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, etc - figure out a way to continue screwing baseball and the good guys - McGriff, Morris, Murphy, Biggio, Walker, etc - by 'splitting the vote' and therefore causing there to be 'no joy in Mudville' this July as there will be no MLB HOF Class of 2013.

My bigger issue is with the jackass writers who don't even use all 10 spots they are given... they will only vote for 2 or 3 because they think the induction groups need to remain small. The initial class was FIVE (5) - Ruth, Wagner, Johnson, Speaker, Cobb.

Some writers even lamented publicly that they 'hope' there is still time and room on the ballot in coming years for McGriff and Morris and such. WTF? If you'd vote for them later, vote for them NOW!

I am really and truly disappointed in the BBWAA today.

[earlywynnfan]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

It's a crying shame Biggio and Bagwell didn't get in...The stats are un-deniable (especially in bagwell's case when you consider his injuries and how they affected his stats)...but besides the stats there's other view points that make these guys great...their hustle and commitment that doesn't always show on the stat sheets like biggio's heart and hustle, same for bagwell as well, (he was one of the best baserunners in the league and he was a freaking first basemen)these guys were tough, hard nosed players who played the game the way it should be...and another point as well that should be considered is how much these guys have had an impact on this community. These 2 are rock stars around houston still to this day and deservedly so because of their greatness on and off the field...They brought endless excitement to the city and the community...countless days spent doing ACTUAL community work (not just setting up some fund and donating a couple of dollars to it)...I could go on all day about this but to sum it up Big and Bagpipes are the face of the Astros franchise and it's just a down-right sad day for the Houston area and baseball in general...personally I'm disgusted and I know that I'm not the only one that feels this way...shame on you voters...

I'm not anti-Bagwell or anything, but his stats aren't exactly Ruthian. Your comment "when you consider his injuries and how they affected his stats" sound like an excuse as to why his stats aren't better. Well, BB history is filled with HOF-caliber players whose stats have been adversely affected by injuries (or a war, or racism.)

Am I the only one who is really surprised by the lack of Piazza love here? The best hitting catcher of all time??

Ken

[jwal23]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

I'm not anti-Bagwell or anything, but his stats aren't exactly Ruthian. Your comment "when you consider his injuries and how they affected his stats" sound like an excuse as to why his stats aren't better. Well, BB history is filled with HOF-caliber players whose stats have been adversely affected by injuries (or a war, or racism.)

Am I the only one who is really surprised by the lack of Piazza love here? The best hitting catcher of all time??

Ken

I won't argue your point about other players stats being affected by injuries, and yes of course his stats aren't "Ruthian" but this man put up some very gaudy numbers and along with Biggio was the face of the franchise and the city for many years...These writers need to step back and look at the big picture..the HOF is a musuem that shows/tells fans about the greatest players from the respective eras in baseball history and Bagwell was right up there with the rest of them from his era and should've been inducted before this year..sure there may be guys with just as good/some maybe even better statistical numbers, and I hate to go here because personally I hate all these sabermetric numbers (think I spelled that right, if not close), but even when Bill James names a player one of the top 4 or 5 best ever at his position that's gotta speak volumes if your looking at statistics alone...

...and yes im completely on your side about the Piazza debate...hands down should've been voted in this year along with several others...

[vonbrandingo]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

I was surprised about Piazza too. Seems like he was punished for his bacne and was lumped in with the other power hitters of the steroid era. We'll probably see him inducted sooner than the others though, since there's less evidence that he roided compared to Bonds, Palmeiro, Sosa, etc. It'll be interesting to see how they treat Thomas next year, being another power hitter from the era.

[vonbrandingo]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

Correction: not evidence, but speculation.

[emann]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

Best post I've read yet about this...

http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2013-01-09/baseball-hall-of-fame-vote-results-aaron-sele-bonds-clemens-ped

[gingi79]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

As a baseball fan I had three opinions I wanted to share for healthy discussion purposes. Many people may not agree and I understand opinions can run very strong on this topic so don't be offended if what I say contradicts your opinion.

1) Anyone older than 12 has noticed the disheartening downturn in talent and ability over the last decade when it comes to opinionated bloggers who get to call themselves "sportwriters." Rather than write articles defending why someone should or should not be in the HOF, all we get is whining about why the "writer" did (or didn't) vote for a player according to the "writer's" standards. Therefore, the entire article is actually about...the "writer". Opining in the context and pretense of relevant athletes doesn't mean you are writing about them when every sentence starts with "I". Those who can do, those who can't, critique......

2) Biggio was a very good ballplayer with an incredible ability to play numerous positions at the major league level. He was a humble, hard working player, a fan favorite who earned that title and the kind of guy everyone wants on their team. He is not however, a HOFer. I say this because his longevity and ability to stay healthy allowed him the one thing people love to use for their reasoning: the 3000 hits. Had his career lasted 2 less seasons, he'd be sitting with Dale Murphy and Tim Raines in the "close but not this year, kid" bin. Dale Murphy was the best player arguably in MLB but assuredly in the N.L. for 5 straight seasons. For another 4, he was HOF caliber. Biggio wasn't the best player on his team for any of his 5 seasons in the game. Tim Raines was the diet version of Rickey Henderson for most of his career. Raines and Murph belong in the Hall. Biggio will be the one that gets in and see opinion "1" for why.

3) Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell are the first casualties of the Steroid era. No proof, no failed tests, (hell, the guy who "sold out" MLB worked in the Mets clubhouse and DIDN'T mention Piazza) but the suspicion cloud still hangs over them. Why? Because they hit homers just like the steroid users did. They played at the same time. They both had big upper bodies. They bust be steroid users! Except...no one ever claimed they did. No one saw them, no one accused them, nothing on them in the Mitchell Report. But! Thanks to opinion "1", perhaps, maybe, in a certain light, on the 5th of May at 3:00 when the bells ring, hypothetically they did use.....No vote for you!

[trsent]

Re: Who will be in class of 2013 BB HOF?

I don't get it. Baseball hasn't punished any players of the Steroid Era, but the Baseball Writers are punishing players convicted or suspected of using? Since when are Baseball Writers judge and jury? It's a load of crap.

Put the best players of the era in the Hall of Fame.

What happens when Cal Ripken admits he experiments with Steroids? Does he then get removed from the Hall? Speculation about Mike Piazza, but no proof because he wasn't tested or whatever excuse? Frank Thomas was mentioned above. Boy he grew, but he was never linked to anything, so I guess he's a shoo in?

It just isn't right. The era was part of the game. Love it or hate it, the best deserve to be appreciated.

When MLB bans players for life like Pete Rose (can we forgive an addict already, by the way?) it is one thing, but MLB hasn't punished any of these guys.

Imagine if the Pro Football Hall of Fame punished Steroid users. No one mentions that because no one cares. It was part of society for an era and it is over now but you can't punish people for using a drug that at the time was socially accepted weather anyone admits it or not.

I always say, back in the day you'd watch McGwire and Canseco and comment how they must be on Steroids and no one thought it was illegal at the time.