Hall of Fame shutout

Today the Baseball Writers Association of American  (BBWAA) announced that no ELIGIBLE PLAYER was voted for induction this summer into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

It's only the 8th time in HOF voting that no one was elected, and the first since 1996.

In my opinion the BBWAA writers have reached a new low.

I just don't know how any baseball writer, who supposedly knows more than the fans, could not vote in Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Tim Raines, Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Curt Schilling, or Mike Piazza.

The steroid era has ruined the selection process.

Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and yes, Alex Rodriguez, have made it almost impossible for any voter to vote for ANY player from the steroids era.

The new stats, from the SABR side of baseball are also responsible.

I understand the need for research in baseball, but the destruction of 1980's and 1990's players because of their WAR, their OPS, their BABIP, or their zone defense ratio, is simply absurd.

In the 60's and 70's my friends and I knew a great player when we saw one.

We didn't need someone to come up with convoluted stats to tell us that Hank Aaron and Al Kaline would one day end up in the HOF.

The also didn't need to show me some one's WAR to show me that Mark Belanger and Tito Francona don't belong in the HOF.

Dale Murphy's rejection by the BBWAA is disgraceful.

If Murphy, the 1982-83 National League MVP, can't get voted in, then the writers should have the vote taken away from them.

Jack Morris won 254 games...254!

Morris won three World Series rings, won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980's.

Tim Raines was one the best all around baseball players in history, a terrific blend of speed and power on the bases.

Baseball writers need to get their act together.

Punishing the steroids guys is understandable, but to leave Biggio, a great player, with 3,000+ hits out of the HOF because he played in the steroids era, is a joke.

Even worse is that some BBWAA writers voted for players like Shawn Green, Steve Finley, Julio Franco, and Aaron Sele.

I hope the Veteran's Committee rights the writers wrongs one day, and elect Murphy, and other deserving players who have been excluded because they only hit 493 home runs and only won 254 games.

The Baseball Hall of Fameweekend will still go on, and the HOF is honoring 19th century players, umpires, and others on July 28th.

To see the details, just go to http://bbwaa.com/