Maybe the Hall of Fame voters got it Right

Since news has spread of the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame results people have bashed the voters, the voting system, MLB and the MLB Hall of Fame. People have taken issue with the fact that Greg Maddux didn’t receive 100% of votes and that Armando Benitez was listed on someone’s ballot and that Dan Le Batard allowed the fans on deadspin.com do his voting. Many people think the system is broken and that players, like Jack Morris, should have made it into the Hall of Fame at some point in the past 15 years.

Maybe the system, the voters and the Hall of Fame didn’t get it wrong this year; maybe they got it right.

Greg Maddux was a special pitcher and in recent days many people have suggested he was not only one of the greatest ever, but arguably the greatest ever. Many people thought he had a chance to be the first player ever to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame. The kibosh was put on that idea when Ken Gurnick of mlb.com said he won’t vote for any player from the steroid era. It doesn’t sound like necessarily thinks every player in that era took PEDs but it sounds like he thinks every player could have taken PEDs. To be honest, that’s not that far-fetched.

It was a time in baseball where management, ownership and league officials turned a blind eye towards steroid and performance enhancing drug use. And as we’ve come to find out, it wasn’t just baseball but also cycling, track and field and probably many other sports. Gurnick obviously feels like many other voters do, that PED users don’t belong in the Hall of Fame and he’s proving a point by saying even the most unlikely suspect is still a suspect. As long as Gurnick can vote for the HOF and sticks to the same criteria Mariano Rivera won’t be unanimous nor will Derek Jeter. Maybe Gurnick is right. Maybe because everyone in the “steroid era” could have taken PEDs they should be off the ballot. Maybe.

Some have suggested that every one of the 571 hall of fame ballots should have a name behind it. As of now ballots are confidential unless the voter allows fans to see their ballot. These people suggest that players like Armando Benitez wouldn’t get a vote if everyone knew who they were. But maybe these ballots should stay sealed. Think about it, why should anyone’s beliefs be thrown out to the wolves to be fed upon? If someone thinks Armando Benitez is a hall-of-famer then that person should be able to vote for him without being harassed. His or her name shouldn’t be tossed around and mocked because of their Benitez vote. Maybe because every writer deserves to save face sometimes they shouldn’t have to show their ballot. Maybe.

Dan Le Batard has been stripped of his right to vote for the MLB Hall of Fame for life even though he is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He is being stripped of that right because he allowed fans to choose his nominations. What’s wrong with that? Why can’t he allow other people to choose who he selects for the HOF. The fans are the ones who pay to see the games. The fans are the ones who get in barroom brawls defending their team. The fans are the ones who cry when their team loses the World Series or celebrate when their team wins the World Series. The fans are the ones with the passion for the game, not the voters. So why not allow the fans to do the voting? Le Batard might be onto something, allowing the people who really care to do the voting. Maybe the fans should vote for the Hall of Fame. Maybe.

Baseball is a fun and intricate game. There are many rules and then there are many “unwritten” rules—whatever that means. The players that play that fun and intricate game better than any other players deserve to be enshrined in Cooperstown, NY in the baseball Hall of Fame and maybe there is nothing wrong with the  current system to figure out who those players are. Maybe it needs no fixing.

Maybe the system is all right, but it’s probably not.