Slim List of New Hall Candidates in 2008 = Gossage’s Year for Hall?
|
|
|
|
|
The results of the vote for the 2007 MLB Hall of Fame are in, just barely sealed and certified but the pundits conjecture regarding the possible 2008 Hall electees has begun in earnest.
Dayn Perry of FOXSports.com wrote concerning the 2008 Hall vote that former outfielder and prolific base stealer Tim Raines, with his career batting average of .294 and a host of other impressive stats, stands out over the other potential new entrants in terms of merit for Hall consideration.
Perry continues;
So with the only serious new candidate in 2008 not likely to be enshrined, that means a better chance for ballot holdovers. After all, it’s just this scenario that allowed for the ill-advised election of Bruce Sutter in 2006. Next year, the thin ballot means that Gossage will probably get his overdue nod. Since Gossage first became eligible for election in 2000 his vote percentages have gone as follows: 33.27, 44.27, 43.01, 42.14, 40.74, 55.2, 64.6 and 71.2. As you can see, that’s a general upward trend. This week, Gossage fell only 21 votes shy of induction, and with a less crowded field on the docket he’s likely to pick up those missing ballots next year. That’s good news, since Gossage absolutely deserves to be in the Hall.
Rice has a puncher’s chance going forward. This time around, 63.5 percent of writers voted for him, but that’s actually a decline from his 2006 ballot percentage (64.8). Blyleven fell below 50 percent this year, and he’s not well poised to make a big leap in ‘08. Dawson declined as well, down to 56.7 percent from 61 percent, and the woefully neglected Trammell is inexplicably at 13.4 percent, down four points from last year.
There’s always the possibility that no one could be elected next year (it’s happened before in 1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1960, 1971 and 1996), but the likelihood is that Gossage alone will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. Rice will have a shot in what will be a lean year for hitters, but he’s not quite as well positioned as Gossage. Many others are also deserving — Raines, Blyleven, Trammell, Dawson — but next year figures to be a belated nod to one of the greatest relievers of all-time.
Baseball Library writes this about Goose Gossage;
The hard-throwing Gossage was one of the most consistent relief pitchers ever. His 310 saves placed him eighth on the all-time save list and his 115 relief victories ranked third all-time behind Hoyt Wilhelm and Lindy McDaniel.
Despite Perry’s early prognostications concerning the next Hall inductee(s), there are 12 months before the next balloting. A lot can happen, players can pick up momentum in the eyes of the writers eligible to cast ballots.
And while Goose may not have brought heat at speeds in excess of 100 MPH as many of today’s relievers often do, his heat was hard, heavy and consistent for whole lot of seasons with speeds in the high 90s. In spelling relief, “The Goose” was one of the best.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |