Andre Dawson elected to MLB HoF...Mark McGwire not

[Deberg_1990]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100106/...o_hall_of_fame




NEW YORK – Andre Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame on Wednesday in his ninth try, while Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar fell just short of earning baseball's highest honor.

Dawson received 420 of 539 votes in voting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, 15 more than the 75 percent necessary to gain election. The eight-time All-Star outfielder had fallen 44 votes short last year.

"It was well worth the wait. I can't really describe the elation," Dawson said during a telephone conference call. "If you're a Hall of Famer, eventually you're going to get in, no matter how long it takes."

Blyleven had 400 votes (74.2 percent), up from 338 last year, and the pitcher will likely get in because he has two more tries on the BBWAA ballot. The highest percentage for a player who wasn't elected in a later year was 63.4 by Gil Hodges in 1983, his final time on the ballot.

"Hopefully, next year will be my time," Blyleven said in an interview on MLB Network.

Alomar received 397 votes (73.7 percent) in the second baseman's first appearance and was followed by pitcher Jack Morris with 282 (52.3 percent), a big rise from his 237 last year.

"I feel disappointed, but next year hopefully I make it in," Alomar said at his home in New York. "At least I was close."

Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin, also making his first appearance, was on 278 ballots (51.6 percent), followed by reliever Lee Smith at 255 (47.3 percent) and slugger Edgar Martinez at 195 (36.2 percent). Martinez, on the ballot for the first time, is viewed as an early test of how voters will receive players who were primarily designated hitters.

Mark McGwire received 128 votes (23.7 percent), 10 more than last year and matching the total from his first two times on the ballot. Eighth on the career list with 583 homers, he has been stigmatized since evading questions from Congress in 2005 about steroids use.

McGwire was hired in October as St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach and is expected to hold an introductory news conference at some point.

Dawson will be inducted July 25 at Cooperstown along with manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey, elected last month by the Veterans Committee.

Dawson hit 438 homers in a career that spanned from 1976-96. Nicknamed "The Hawk," he was voted NL Rookie of the Year in 1977 with Montreal and NL Most Valuable Player in 1987 with the Chicago Cubs, the first member of a last-place team to earn the honor.

A victim of owners' conspiracy against free agents after he left the Expos, Dawson signed a blank contract with the Cubs during spring training. Then-general manager Dallas Green filled in the dollar amount of $500,000, making Dawson the second-lowest paid regular on the team.

Dawson stayed with the Cubs through 1992, then spent two seasons apiece with Boston and Florida. He had a .279 career average with 1,591 RBIs and 314 steals, playing through 12 knee operations.

He is one of only three players with at least 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases, joining Barry Bonds and Willie Mays.

The close calls for Blyleven and Alomar marked the first time in BBWAA balloting that two players fell fewer than 10 votes short in one year.

Alomar received the most votes of any first-year candidate who wasn't elected.

Next year's ballot also will include newcomers Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, Larry Walker, Jeff Bagwell, John Franco and Kevin Brown.

[penchief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

"clutchiness"

Jeter's post-season slash stats -- .313/.383/.479; OPS of 863

Edmonds post-season slash stats -- .274/361/874; OPS of 874

And Jeter's 'clutch' moments, while there are many, aren't any more incredible than Edmonds'. The Cardinals wouldn't have won a pennant in 2004 or 2006 without him, or the WS in 2006. Not to mention their runs in 2001 and 2002. Pujols was a metronome, but when the Cardinals were really making noise, it was because Jim Edmonds was on his game. Folks outside of STL don't really realize this, but it's absolutely true.

Jeter's a product of being in 138 post-season games by virtue of playing for a team that prints its own money. Now he's still a HOFer because he's a superlative offensive SS, but CF is really the OF version of SS, both players are incredibly important to the defense. Defensively, it's no contest; Jeter's average at best while Edmonds rates historically well.

Offensively they're simply much different players, but Edmonds more than holds his own and is, IMO, the more valuable offensive player over the course of their careers. Jeter's a top of the order hitter playing in front of the best lineup in baseball and still doesn't score as many runs per AB as Edmonds did. Edmonds has more RBI than Jeter in 2000(!) fewer ABs. Jeter was clearly a base-stealer wheras Edmonds was not, but if the point in stealing bases is to get in scoring position, wouldn't those SBs be offset by the fact that Edmonds was still the superior run-scorer? He was certainly a better run-producer. Even if you don't think Edmonds was clearly a better offensive player (though I don't see how), they're obviously in the same ballpark.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Jim Edmonds would be a MFing GOD had he played in the Bronx. They're comparable from a 'clutch' standpoint, comparable from an offensive standpoint and there's no contest when it comes to defense.

It really is critical to recognize that all these #s weren't coming from some flash in the pan left fielder or lumbering 1b. These came from arguably the best defensive CFer in baseball (again, based on the Bill James fielding bible and other metrics, not to mention ones own eyes). To get that combination of elite offense and superb defense from such an incredibly important defensive position only happens a couple of times/decade.

All told, Edmonds was underappreciated throughout his career.

I'm not knocking Edmonds. I never was. I was taking exception to your claim that Jeter was a "miserable" defensive infielder. That is simply not so. Miserable defensive players don't win four gold gloves. It's also not true that he is merely "average." He may not be the slickest SS in the game but he has proven to be better than average.

As I said before, you can't measure Jeter by statistics alone. You point to the playoff stats and clearly both Jeter and Edmonds have been superb. That said, I was referring more to Jeter's knack for being in the middle of crucial plays and always having his head in the game at the right time making the great play when it is needed most.

Jeter is a great all-round player. He's a great baserunner in addition to being a good fielder and excellent hitter. One attribute that is underrated is consistency. Nobody has been more consistent than Jeter. Dude has only batted lower than .300 twice in his career. And the lowest he has ever batted has been .292. He may be the only active player who has a legitimate shot at coming anywhere near Pete Rose's hit record.

I'm not saying that Edmonds is not worthy of consideration but to say that he should go in ahead of Jeter is something I just can't agree with.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by penchief

I'm not knocking Edmonds. I never was. I was taking exception to your claim that Jeter was a "miserable" defensive infielder. That is simply not so. Miserable defensive players don't win four gold gloves. It's also not true that he is merely "average." He may not be the slickest SS in the game but he has proven to be better than average.

As I said before, you can't measure Jeter by statistics alone. You point to the playoff stats and clearly both Jeter and Edmonds have been superb. That said, I was referring more to Jeter's knack for being in the middle of crucial plays and always having his head in the game at the right time making the great play when it is needed most.

Jeter is a great all-round player. He's a great baserunner in addition to being a good fielder and excellent hitter. One attribute that is underrated is consistency. Nobody has been more consistent than Jeter. Dude has only batted lower than .300 twice in his career. And the lowest he has ever batted has been .292. He may be the only active player who has a legitimate shot at coming anywhere near Pete Rose's hit record.

I'm not saying that Edmonds is not worthy of consideration but to say that he should go in ahead of Jeter is something I just can't agree with.

I'll certainly give Jeter a nod for his consistency and durability, few in baseball history can match it.

I also didn't say I'd give Edmonds a vote over Jeter, Jeter's a no-doubt HOFer, Edmonds is a guy I'd let sweat for a few year but finally give him my vote.

But when the two are both playing their best baseball, Jim Edmonds was the better player.

(and we'll simply have to agree to disagree on Jeter as a fielder. Remember - Palmiero won a GG at 1b despite being the DH all season, the GG is as much about offense as it is about defense anymore. Jeter's a glorified 2b playing SS, his range his sub-standard by any metric and his hands are only a little above average; A-Rod should've been playing SS with Jeter at 2b)