Piazza Snubbed, Randy Pedro Smoltz And Biggio Get In

Cant really knock any of the guys that got in. Just furious with the snub once again. Randy and Pedro were obvious locks. Smoltz deserves it. I explained my thoughts on Biggio yesterday, but I dont have a problem with him getting in. He hit some of the magic number milestones and had a long, productive career. The 4 that got in were deserving enough.

Clemens and Bonds not getting in is obviously ridiculous. Regardless of steroids, to not include those guys in a place that honors the best baseball players of all time is just silly. Steroids took those guys to an immortal level, but they were 2 of the all time greats in the game of baseball no matter what. You can’t talk about the greats of that generation and just ignore those 2 guys. Its a joke they arent in there, but I guess I understand if you have some hard rule against steroid uses.

But thats why the Piazza snub is once again the silliest of all. No direct ties to steroids. Just a lot of suspicion because of the era he played in. Did Piazza probably take something along the way? Yea, probably. Like all of his contemporaries. But hes the greatest hitting catcher of all time and no actual proof tying him to the hardcore steroids, which were essentially legal during his playing days. He’s the one guy getting fucked here based off of suspicion and innuendo, and its bullshit. They say next year should be enough to get in, but thats what they said last year. I truly think he will get in next year but you never know with these BWAA assholes.

PS – As far as the voting goes:

1) Need to do away with the 10 guy limit.

2) Need to do away with the notion of whether or not hes a “first ballot” guy.

You should look at the list. Decide if the guy is a Hall of Famer or not. And vote accordingly. No limit on the number of guys. Lets say for argument sake there was 20 guys of Randy Johnson and Pedro’s caliber on the ballot. They should all get votes if they performed at a Hall of Fame level. And as far as the “first ballot” stuff – its just completely made up. If you wanna create a “First Ballot” wing at Cooperstown and honor the guys that were automatic picks on their first shot, fine. Otherwise, theres no difference between 1st ballot or 2nd or 3rd or 4th etc.

If you’re a Hall of Famer, thats all that should matter. Weird made up voting rules shouldnt impact that.