The Captain Abides

The Captain became the second of the Core Four to be elected to the Hall of Fame today. He was a first ballot inductee but he still got screwed. One moron didn't vote for him so it wasn't unanimous as was the ballot for the great Mariano.  Along with Larry Walker in the regular ballot and Ted Simmons in the Veterans Committee bullshit. Another deserving nominee Red Sox asshole Curt Schilling was denied again because he is an out conservative and most sports writers are communists.

The voting for the Hall has always been screwed up as there was a big movement to not put players on in the first year of eligibility. Which is bullshit because you are a Hall of Famer or you are not. You don't magically become more of a Hall of Famer in one year. The other is that people who are definitely Hall of Famers but are denied for reasons other than their performance. Curt Schilling. Pete Rose. Now it is Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Now I hate Roger like the Arabs hate the Jews but I have to admit his performance demands that he be elected unanimously on the first ballot. The same for Bonds and Rose. Look they always do comparisons with players that in the Hall already.  You have to let in this outfielder or that because Harry Heilman or Reggie Jackson have much worse stats. There are a bunch of people in the Hall who did terrible things including murder. You have to go by their performance not their moral character. At least that's what I think. I would have to swallow letting Clemens in and Rose as well Their performance demands it. You are not in their because of you character. You are there because of you performance on the field.

Now we can wait for Spinelli's rant about how they should never be in the Hall.

By the way I hate that I have to stick up for famous Red Sox assholes like Schilling and Clemens.

Because you know one important fact that negates all others.

Boston Sucks.

Can a late start push any of these five players into the Hall of Fame?

By Joel Sherman New York Post June 18, 2016

Peyton Manning did not need that second Super Bowl victory to solidify his Hall of Fame credentials. What was provided was an upgrade for his plaque — two-time champion rather than one.

Ichiro Suzuki similarly has the bonus now to add all-time pro hit king and soon 3,000-hit man to his plaque. But Ichiro had long ago assured his Cooperstown credentials when he averaged 224 hits a season with a .331 average over his first 10 years as a Mariner.

What followed was familiar to most Hall of Famers — a decline in performance late in a career with overall averages falling while counting stats, such as total hits, kept climbing. Suzuki, as the oldest position player in the majors, has rebounded in 2016 to, so far, atypically produce an average akin to his prime.

Often 3,000 hits or 300 wins or other milestones are celebrated, but occur when the players are shells of who they were when they actually earned their Hall entrance. Derek Jeter, for example, moved from 11th to sixth on the all-time hit list his final season — which will look great on his plaque — but he did it as a .256 batter, not the hit maestro of his prime.

Obvious Hall of Famers can fade and not damage their electability. Miguel Cabrera, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols — like Ichiro — were Hall of Famers before this season began, and poor results would not harm their candidacies. Those who needed more to push them over the borderline (think Jimmy Rollins) or needed a strong back nine to just get to the borderline (think Mark Teixeira) have faltered this season.

Conversely, there are guys on the tail ends of careers helping their candidacies this season. We are not talking about those with fewer than 10 years of experience in their prime, such as Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. This is about thirty-somethings who should be more in the accumulating portion of their careers now who, to date in 2016, have upgraded their Hall status by acting like their younger selves: