11 Comments
Dec 10, 2021Liked by David Lesky

I agree and disagree with everything you said! One day I think Rose, Bonds, etc. should be in the HOF, the next day I'm the total opposite. Very good read. Thanks

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Dec 10, 2021Liked by David Lesky

That fact that Bonds and Clemens aren't in the HOF for baseball really sours my opinion of the HOF in any regards. I feel like people try to create the HOF as a big deal and have arguments on it....and I get it...but if you aren't going to have the hits leader, home run leader, and one of the best pitchers in the game not in....what exactly is the HOF? Not that anyone cares but I've always been in a "whatever" mode on the HOF until they fix the voting process. I have fond memories of Bonds chasing 73 and watching....going to the tv to make sure I see his AB;s. McGwire and Sosa created an environment baseball needed at the time and it was great. Steroids or no steroids, hitting a baseball is pretty damn hard and they were the best at it. No real comment here David....just spewing. lol Thanks!

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Your comment near the end of the piece about Manny and ARod being out in your mind because they were caught cheating sparked a thought - what about Gaylord Perry? How many times was he caught cheating, yet he's in the Hall. I can't recall anyone examining the issue through that lens.

I think they should all be prominently featured in the Hall, but not as members. Once these guys & their contemporaries from the Steroid Era(tm) are all out of eligibility, I hope the Hall creates a committee to consider the question of 'would be in but for the taint of steroids' to resolve the question once and for all (j/k, that last bit is a joke; this argument will never die).

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Dec 10, 2021Liked by David Lesky

My Ballot

Todd Helton, Ryan Howard, Jeff Kent, David Ortiz, Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner.

Helton and Howard were two of the best offensive first basemen of their time. MLB Now did a great job of arguing why Helton should be in. Jeff Kent and Scott Rolen are in the same line as far as I'm concerned. They were both consistently good for many years.

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Dec 10, 2021Liked by David Lesky

Buck story

We were at the Negro Leagues Museum talking to Buck one day. My four year old son threw a baseball at his grandmother. Buck reached out and caught it. His reflexes were better at 90+ than mine were in my early thirties.

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Dec 10, 2021Liked by David Lesky

Abreu

Bonds

Clemens

Jones

Kent

Ortiz

Ramirez

Rodriguez

Rolen

Schilling

Bobby Abreu might be the most underappreciated great player of his era. His 60.2 bWAR is higher than Ichiro, Piazza, Berra, Vlad Guerrero, Stargell, Sisler and several other Hall of Famers.

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Dec 10, 2021Liked by David Lesky

If you can find the episode(it's a few years old), Brian Kenny did a good job of making his case for the HOF.

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