I promise to
stop writing about Harold Baines’ selection to the HOF after this. Maybe.
What riled me up
this time was a piece in The Athletic by Cliff Corcoran, another true believer
in JAWS, oh, and conspiracies, too.
Corcoran thinks veterans’ committee members Jerry Reinsdorf and Tony
LaRussa—one signed Baines’ checks with the White Sox, the other wrote his name
on the lineup card—threw their weight around to win support for Baines. According to Corcoran, the veterans’ committee
has been susceptible to this kind of pressure numerous times.
Another problem,
apparently, is that too many geezers have a say in who gets into Cooperstown,
those “players favored by proponents of advanced analysis” being “the ones most
likely to fall off the ballot while the likes of Jack Morris and Omar Vizquel
endure.” Words fail me here.
Still, I can
quote Corcoran on his concern “whether Baines’ induction will open the
floodgates for the large swath of players whose qualifications for the Hall
fall between his and the established standard,” whatever that is. Corcoran wonders, “If Baines is in, why not
Rusty Staub” and others, like Bob Allison and Carl Furillo. To which I say, by all means Rusty Staub.
And while we’re
at it: Tommy John, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso and Billy Pierce. There, I’m done. Maybe.
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