Who Should Get Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

On Tuesday, Major League Baseball will announce the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In order to be eligible for the Hall, a player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning 20 years before and ending five years prior to election. The player must have played in at least ten seasons.

The voting for the Hall is done by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Writers must be active and members of the BBWAA for at least 10 years in order to be eligible to vote in the election. A player gains entrance to the Hall when he is named on 75% of all ballots.

In an earlier article, I voiced my displeasure with the BBWAA and its performance on voting for awards. My lack of faith in this group has been enhanced by Paul Ladewski, of the Daily Southtown. Ladewski wrote an article explaining that he left his Hall of Fame ballot blank this year in response to the accusation of steroids surrounding Mark McGwire and others.

Ladewski's protest ensures that neither Tony Gwynn nor Cal Ripken will receive 100% of the votes. No player has ever received 100% in Hall balloting. Tom Seaver holds the record with 98.6% of the vote when he was elected in 1992, although both Gwynn and Ripken will challenge that mark this year. Now, as a Mets fan, I think it's pretty cool that Seaver holds the record for highest percentage of votes. But as a baseball fan I think it's ridiculous that self-important hacks of the BBWAA play God, like Ladewski is doing this year.

If Ladewski does not want to vote for Mark McGwire for the Hall because of his highly-suspected steroid use, I think that's fine. But to refuse to vote for either Gwynn or Rikpen because they played in the "Steroid Era" is ludicrous. Neither player has been publicly linked to steroids, or has broken any rules. They deserve to be judged on the merits of their respective playing careers.