The Hall of Fame Vote

Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were elected to the Hall of Fame yesterday. I've come to accept the flaws involved in the Hall of Fame voting. How can 28 people leave Rickey Henderson off their ballots? It's because it's a flawed process. How can it take the voters 15 years to decide that Jim Rice is a Hall of Famer? It's because it's a flawed process. How can Jay Bell get 2 Hall of Fame votes? It's because it's a flawed process.

Too bad that the title I Am Third was already used by Gale Sayers for his biography because that title would have been perfect for Jim Rice. He's third in almost every hitting category in Red Sox history behind Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. Rice is also the 3rd best left fielder in Red Sox history behind those two greats. In addition - Jim Rice is the 3rd best player ever to come out of the state of South Carolina (behind Shoeless Joe Jackson and Larry Doby).

Many people will question the election of Jim Rice. I won't argue that the steroids backlash probably helped Rice get elected but I would argue that is the way it should be. Comparing Jim Rice's numbers to steroids era guys had been a huge detriment to Rice's candidacy. When I look at the list of all-time home run hitters - I have to question at least 9 of the players from the steroids era who are ahead of Jim Rice. In his prime was almost always in the top 10 in total bases and top 5 in MVP votes six times. When I saw him play - I said to myself "There's a Hall of Famer" and that to me has always been the key indicator.

I thought that Andre Dawson was also a Hall of Famer when I saw him play and I fully expect Dawson to eventually get to the needed 75% for induction. I have to wonder if Dawson had played for a single team whether he'd have been inducted by now.