The Class of 2010

Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey? I don’t think I would show up to that induction ceremony even if they were giving away free food. Well, maybe if they were giving away those Doubleday Park hot dogs. I still think about those suckers. I just can’t imagine a giant contingent of fans showing up for that induction ceremony.

Normally I am inherently opposed to umpires being in Hall of Fame. The umpire is the enemy; he is friend to neither the fan nor the player. I feel it is like giving a meter maid the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Doug Harvey only has a few things going for him in my book. He was the crew chief of the 1988 World Series. I can’t say anything bad about that, we won, there were no blown calls I remember, so he earns some points for that contribution. He was prematurely grey, going silver by his mid thirties, this is an obvious distinction and a sign of superior intelligence and I guess he earns some more points for that. And look at the shoes he is wearing in this photo, dude was rocking patent leather dress shoes during a game. I find that pretty cool. However, he is a the guy that started the delay of making calls, instead of making the ball/strike or safe/out call right away, he was the guy who put in that little pause. I hate umpires like that. Either way I guess he was respected by players and managers, I would love if guys like Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams start jeering him during his acceptance speech. Then Harvey could turn around and eject them, just a thought.

Whitey Herzog, I guess this is just a Cardinal fan favorite. The man managed the Cards for pretty much the whole 80’s. The won one world series and two pennants, I guess that is a pretty good job, he was only a below average ballplayer in his playing days. I guess Herzog gets in on the niceness vote, because his style of ball was boring. Give me Earl Weaver and the three run home run over good pitching, bunting and running. I can only imagine that people feel bad that he had to look at Willie McGee 162 days a year for almost ten years and this is his reward for all of that. If that is the case I guess I the guy really deserves it.

However there were quite a few guys passed up that I think deserved induction, I list them as follows:

Pete Rose, we have already dedicated a post to this, Charlie Hustle belongs in the hall.

Bert Blyleven, 287 wins and 3700 strikeouts, two world series rings, and a work horse. He was not always the ace of his team’s rotation, but he was a gamer with a great bender, and he once flipped off a camera during a national televised game. He belongs.

Mark McGwire, okay he juiced, but he juiced while it was legal. Let’s just get over it and put him in the hall, even when he wasn’t nut shrinkin’ the guy was a powerhouse. And his home run race helped save baseball after the strike. He belongs.

Lee Smith, was the preeminent closer of the 80’s to mid-90’s. Didn’t get injured often and was a seven time all star. Not always a lights out closer, but still great and belongs, unless you think the save and the closer are overrated, which you are probably right about, but right now I think he belongs.

Billy Martin, as a person, a bat-shit crazy paranoid sociopath; as a manager a bat-shit crazy paranoid strategic genius. He was an above average player, and as a manager maybe only average according to his managing record, but he produced some of the greatest moments in baseball with his time as the Yankee’s skipper. He was a one of a kind manager that you just don’t see any more today. Ozzie Guillen wishes he were as bad ass as Billy Martin was.  And he is giving the finger on his baseball card. He  belongs.

So that is what I think, thoughts?