January 06, 2004
Hall of Fame Inductees
Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Update: Here's the ESPN article.
Update: I'm very happy Dennis Eckersley was voted into the Hall of Fame. He was an excellent starter and an even better reliever. I really enjoyed watching him play.
It's also interesting, in light of the Pete Rose controversy, that both these players successfully battled addictions in their careers. Eck's alcohol and Molitor's cocaine addictions were not held against them.
Why Can't Jim Ed Rice get ANY Love? He fell 104 votes short, in his last year on the ballot. I concede that his skills deteriorated quickly and abruptly at the end of his career, but for a period of about 10 years he was one of the most feared hitters in the league. Guess he didn't make enough friends in his time in the big leagues. This was his last chance on the general ballot, no?
I guess he still has 5 more cracks at it. I thought the limit was 10. After some reasearch it's 15. Looks like's I've got 5 years to crank up the "Show Love For Jim Rice" Propaganda Machine.
I forgot to pull out the Elect Bert Blyleven buttons this year but it still bothers me that he gets such little support. I thought people were beginning to understand statistics.
Course the Eck and Paul admitted their addictions, got help and got better. Paul isn't still doing cocaine and the Eck don't drink.
But Pete is still gambling. And Pete isn't asking for help to battle his addiction.
I think there's more to it than just the recovery aspect. Coke and booze are personal problems, for which baseball offers rehab help. Gambling, particularly on the game you're managing, has the potential to harm the entire game.