Proof the Hall of Fame votes are rigged

[Allie Fox]

For the most part there is a breakdown of eras in baseball history.

deadball, liveball, pre-war, post-war, expansion, lowering of the mound, Divisional, Wild Card, steroid, expanded playoffs just to name a few.

Advanced statistics can pretty much level the field of accomplishment between all those eras although that takes all the fun out of arguing about whether Tris Speaker was as good a center fielder as Willie Mays.

[spacecaps]

In addition to the "steroid abuse" angle my father has told me time and time again that a footnote regarding baseball equipment should be introduced. Yes Bonds, Sosa and McGwire hit an extraordinary number of home-runs but the baseballs & bats they used differ greatly from the ones that were used when say Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson played. That fact should be pointed out because it may have had some bearing on their performance too.

Well yeah especially considering Sosa's was corked.

[megoapesnut]

Well yeah especially considering Sosa's was corked.

Beat me to it.

[megomania]

I keep pulling for the Braves' Dale Murphy to get in.

Pull no more...he missed again on his 15th and final try. He is the late-70s to early-90s version of Edgar Martinez.

Murphy 2111 hits
Martinez 2247 hits

Murphy 398 HR
Martinez 309 HR

Murphy 1266 RBI
Martinez 1261 RBI

Except for Avg (Martinez hit for average (.312 for career), Murphy more for power) their stats are almost identical. If Dale Murphy did not get voted in after 15 tries with only roughly 100 fewer hits but nearly 400 HRs, Martinez isn't ever getting in.

-Chris

[Goblin19]

If Murphy was a better hitter early in his career or didn't lose it so fast, he'd be in. His peak was HOF worthy, but he just has so little around it. He is a rare case.