Fred McGriff and the Baseball Hall of Fame: The Crime Dog Stands Alone in Cooperstown

Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby (1896-1963) said, “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

Hornsby, who entered the Hall in 1942, following a career that ran 1915-37, played 18 of his 23 seasons in St. Louis – 13 with the Cardinals and five with the Browns. So prolific a hitter, during the 10 year period 1920-29, Hornsby played in 1,430 games, batting .383 for the decade with 2,085 hits in 5,451 at bats.

While the players remained dormant, well, many worked off-season jobs working for actual workingman’s wages during the baseball season, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) labored at determining who would be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2023 will be made on Tuesday, January 24. The Hot Stove season has also been in full bloom while the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber.

Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2023 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez may inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent – the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility has expired. Votes for Ramirez moved slightly upward to 28.9 percent in 2022 from 28.2 percent in 2021 in his sixth year on the ballot, while Rodriguez checked in with 34.3 percent of the vote in 2022, his first year on the ballot.

In previous years I have complained that the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA are not released to the public. Now, the BBWAA has gone to the opposite extreme. Updates regarding the running percentage of votes received for the Hall candidates are disclosed periodically leading up to the vote deadline. This is a dangerous practice as those results could potentially influence the members of the BBWAA who have not yet cast their ballots – especially when personalities or personal bias is at play. Those votes should be announced for public consumption – after the Hall of Fame makes its official announcement of who has vaulted the 75 percent threshold. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA.

A prime example is Dan Shaughnessy with The Boston Globe. For three years in a row, Shaughnessy cast his lone vote for Jeff Kent, explaining that his vote is a protest against the steroid players. Members of the BBWAA are permitted to vote for up to 10 candidates, but many do not vote for 10. In my annual Hall of Fame column I have never supported 10 candidates in any given year. I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next nine years as Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) is on the ballot for the second year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season – a suspension well merited.

Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”

Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, they more than likely would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.

Rodriguez banged out 696 home runs, good for fifth all time, 2,086 RBI, fourth all time, 2,021 runs scored, good for eighth place, 3,115 hits, for 22nd place, seventh place in both total bases with 5,813 and extra base hits with 1,275. Rodriguez won three MVP awards, appeared on MVP ballots in 15 seasons, and made it on to 14 all star teams in a career spanning 1994-2016.

Ramirez, who played 1993-2011, hit 555 home runs – 15th all time, 1,122 extra base hits, good for 18th place all time, 1,831 RBI, 20th all time, a two-time World Series winner with the Red Sox, a 12 time all star, and 11 times batted over .300. He cracked 2,574 base hits for a .312 career batting average – impressive for a power hitter.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2023, only four former major leaguers would earn my votes – three holdovers, and a charity vote for first timer R.A. Dickey. Of those four, it is doubtful any of them will be enshrined on Sunday July 23, or anyone else for that matter, save for Fred McGriff. McGriff, a.k.a. the “Crime Dog” secured his spot in the Hall via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee this past December. Fourteen retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 14 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration.

Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the sixth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having dropped from 41.1 percent of the vote in 2021 to 23.9 percent of the vote in 2022. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even further in 2023 due to allegations of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In his fifth year on the ballot, Todd Helton has earned my support. The 17-year MLB veteran played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies (1997-2013) batting .316 in 2,247 games with 2,519 hits, 369 home runs, scoring 1,401 runs, and driving in 1,406 runs. The Knoxville native finished second in the 1998 Rookie of the Year balloting, earning five All Star game selections in consecutive years, from 2000 through 2004. Appearing on MVP ballots in six years, Helton’s breakout season was in 2000, leading the National League in hits with 216 and all of MLB with 59 doubles, 147 RBI and a .372 batting average, yet could only manage a fifth place finish in the MVP race that season. Earning 44.9 percent in 2021, Helton enjoyed a modest bump to 52 percent of the vote in 2022, but will more than likely not earn induction this summer.

Perhaps Shaughnessy is on to something regarding Jeff Kent. A friend asked me to revisit Kent, heretofore not on any of my “ballots” in the previous nine years. He’s no fan of Kent, so it seemed worth the time. Kent played for six teams throughout his 17 year MLB career, was five times an all star, earned votes for the MVP seven times, including winning that award in 2000. He hit 377 career home runs, 351 as a second baseman – the most in history at that position. He hit at least 20 homers and drove in at least 100 runs eight times – also most for a second baseman. In total Kent had 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, drove in 1,515 runs, while scoring 1,320, and batted .290. Solid numbers for a middle infielder and one who played cleanly. Kent appeared on 32.7 percent of the BBWAA ballots in 2022, thus it is unlikely he will more than double that number and qualify for the Hall in his final year of eligibility.

I’m throwing R.A. Dickey a vote when I doubt he will receive the requisite five percent to remain on the ballot. But, as a member of my New York Mets, Dickey won the Cy Young Award on the strength of a 20-6 record, 2.73 ERA, as well as making the all star team. Dickey led the league in complete games with five, three shutouts, and 239 strikeouts.

Neither those retired players earning my support nor those without, seem destined to reach the vaunted 75 percent on January 24. And, quite frankly, it’s a safe bet that the majority of the first timers will be a one and done, garnering less than five percent of the votes. Scott Rolen, Todd Helton, and Billy Wagner, the only holdovers garnering more than 50 percent of the votes in 2022 have the greatest chance of approaching paydirt this year.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 23 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as two Hall of Famers passed away in 2022, Gaylord Perry at age 84, and Bruce Sutter at age 69.

Gaylord Perry (09/15/1938 – 12/01/2022) entered the Hall of Fame in 1991 having pitched from 1962 through 1983. Infamously known to have doctored the ball with too many substances to mention, his election to the Hall in the first place should be considered dubious. Perry won 314 games while losing 265, completing an amazing 303 games out of the 777 in which he appeared for eight teams. Perry tossed 53 shutouts and 5,350 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.11. He won 20 or more games five times, earned votes for the Cy Young and MVP awards five times each, and appeared on five all star teams. Pitching for Seattle during his age 45 season in 1983, Perry could be considered the Ancient Mariner. He was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues – for the Cleveland Indians in 1972 and the San Diego Padres in 1978.

Bruce Sutter (01/08/1953 – 10/13/2022) earned admission into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2006. Sutter pitched for three teams during his 12 year career from 1976 through 1988. The fourth reliever inducted into the Hall at the time, and the first inducted never having started a game, Sutter posted a record of 68 wins and 71 loses, a 2.83 ERA and 300 saves, the most in the National League at the time of his retirement. He pitched 1,042 innings in 661 games, leading the league in saves five times. Sutter won the Cy Young Award in 1979 with the Cubs, receiving votes for that award four additional times, earned votes for the MVP six times, and named to six all star teams. On September 8, 1977, in a two inning relief stint versus the Montreal Expos, Sutter, in the ninth inning, pitched an immaculate inning – nine pitches, nine strikes – fanning Ellis Valentine, future Hall of Famer Gary Carter, and Larry Parrish. In another two inning relief effort, Sutter slammed the door on the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1982 World Series for the Cardinals recording the final six outs of the series.

May their memories be for a Blessing, may 2023 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while earning new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.