DyinForAChamp

Cooperstown, New York is a small town between Albany and Syracuse, but this small town is one of the most famous places in America, because it is home to a cathedral of our country’s national past time. Cooperstown, NY is the site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This museum is where baseball fans from around the world come to see memorabilia and to read stories about the best players of all time and learn about the best people in baseball. In the Hall of Fame are numerous plaques; on each of these plaques are silhouettes and inscriptions of every player ever to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. These plaques also include statistics of the respective player whose picture is on each plaque. The players range from popular ones such as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle to players only a few would know such as King Kelly, Walt Alston, and Joe Cronin. In the Hall of Fame are also people other than players, there are managers, umpires, announcers, sportswriters, and even team personnel. These people are obviously the best at what they do, and are voted in similarly to the players. For example, Branch Rickey is in the Hall if Fame, but not as a player, manager or even an umpire. Branch Rickey was the Dodgers executive who signed the great Jackie Robinson, and without him, there would have been a color barrier for much longer in the major leagues. The Hall of Fame is for the people who mean the most to the game, and these people deserve to be in there.

Currently there are 289 Hall of Famers and the list grows each year. To be included into this prestigious museum, a player must be voted in by either the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) or the veterans committee which consider the contributions of: umpires and managers, executives and pioneers, pre WWII players, and post WWII players. (Rules for Election) Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate individual accomplishment and less than 1% of the players who make it to the major leagues are inducted. The ultimate goal in every baseball player’s life is to reach immortality by being included in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But, there are many things that have to happen for the player to receive such an honor. There are players who are not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame that should be; such players include “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and Pete Rose. Under normal circumstances, these two players would be shoo-ins to the Hall of Fame.

            Baseball has been around for 120 years, and there are only a small amount of players who made the Hall of Fame. All the players who were inducted have done something in their careers to make them worthy enough to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Hank Aaron, Class of 1982, arguably one of the greatest hitters to ever live, was an easy pick for the Hall of Fame, as he held the career homerun record at 755 homeruns until Barry Bonds surpassed him recently. Aaron also holds the record for most RBI (runs batted in) as well with 2,297. He also was a member of the prestigious 3,000 hit club and the 30-30 club which is for players who hit 30 homeruns and steal 30 bases in one season. There would be no argument for a player of his caliber to be in the Hall of Fame.

Another player in the Hall of Fame is Josh Gibson of the class of 1972, who played in the Negro Leagues. While Gibson never played in the Major Leagues because of his skin color, and never recorded an official statistic in the Major Leagues, he is in the Hall of Fame based solely on hearsay and oral tradition from players who played with him along with few people who saw him play. It is believed that Josh Gibson hit 75 homeruns in 1931, which if true, would be the most ever in a single season. (Josh Gibson) According to everything that anyone has heard, this man must deserve being in the Hall of Fame, because he undoubtedly was one of the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball, regardless if he played in the Major Leagues or not.

There are also some players in the Hall of Fame that played in both the Negro Leagues and the Major Leagues; the most notable was a pitcher named Satchel Paige. He is the only Hall of Fame pitcher with a losing record at 28-31 for his career. (Satchel Paige Stats) He did not have a great career in the Major Leagues, but he made the Hall of Fame in a way similar to Josh Gibson, he was the greatest pitcher in the Negro Leagues. All the listed players are deserving of being inducted into the Hall of Fame one way or the other. Whether they had a great career in the MLB or the Negro Leagues, it is the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and is meant for the best to ever play the game and for the people who meant a great deal to the game.

            All the players in the Hall of Fame deserve to be there, but there are also many players that are not in the Hall of Fame that should be. Such players were said to have broken cardinal rules such as betting on baseball or “throwing the game”, so they should be denied the right to be in the Hall of Fame. But, the Hall of Fame is meant to immortalize the best players to ever play, so unless what they did helped their personal performance such as using artificial things like steroids and human growth hormone, which have been proven to illegally and unfairly help one’s performance, they should be in the Hall of Fame.

One player that comes to many baseball fans minds is “Shoeless” Joe Jackson. Although he does not have any of the highly prestigious records like Hank Aaron, he still was one of the best players to play the game. His career batting average was .356 which ranks among the best ever. (Joe Jackson) He is not in the Hall of Fame because he was banned from baseball for life due to his role in the 1919 World Series when the Chicago White Sox intentionally lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. One could argue that he should be banned because the man simply broke a rule, and for breaking that rule, he has to accept the consequences. If someone breaks a rule in any aspect of life, they are obligated to accept the punishment. The problem with this argument is that Joe Jackson really did not break a rule. As the story goes, the White Sox, who were playing the Reds in the World Series, were going to be paid for losing the games on purpose. Back then, the major league salaries were low, not anything close to what they are today. These players were going to be paid a scrumptious amount of money. They ended up losing the World Series, and no one seemed to notice that it was fixed until 1920 when information surfaced and the players where indicted. They were all cleared of the charges but everyone knows that they threw the games. “While seven of the eight "Black Sox" went so far as confessing, one player seemed to be relatively innocent – “Shoeless” Joe Jackson…and, in the last years before Babe Ruth took over the sport, was arguably the most popular. A sure-fire Hall-of-Famer.” (Everstine) Note that they were called the “Black Sox” because they threw the World Series and were dubbed “Black Sox”. As Ed Nixon says:

STATISTICS DO NOT LIE. Joe Jackson did nothing to throw any game in the 1919 World Series, he played his heart out in the game he loved! Some of Jackson's critics like to point out that he "slowed down" when going after certain balls hit to the outfield, or that he did not produce in the clutch. According to Donald Gropman, Jackson's biographer, Jackson did nothing amiss that would suggest he was throwing games, and further, one of the official scorers, Christy Mathewson, could see nothing dishonest with Jackson's playing. (1)

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson was innocent and this would put him in the Hall of Fame automatically considering his greatness on the field. Joe Jackson once said towards the end of his life: “I am going to meet the greatest umpire of all – and He knows I’m innocent.” (Everstine) Joe Jackson should be in the Hall of Fame because he was a fantastic player and the statistics showed that.

The most famous debate of the best player not in the Hall of Fame is the great Pete Rose. Pete Rose bet on baseball while he was a manager of the Cincinnati Reds and received a lifetime ban for his actions. The problem is he was one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game with 4,256 hits during his playing career. There has been a huge debate over the past few decades of why Pete Rose should and why Pete Rose should not be in the Hall of Fame. It is clear that he should. Jayson Stark argues his opinion: “It seems absurd to me that the man who got the most hits in the history of baseball doesn’t have a plaque with his name on it in the ultimate baseball museum” (Stark). On the opposing side, others have their opinion. “Should he be inducted at Cooperstown?” Mark Nagi states on his blog. “I say, keep Rose out of the Hall of Fame” (1). He argues that when Rose was managing, he would keep one of his pitcher’s in too long so he could win that night’s wager on the game. (1) Mark Nagi, who is a well respected sports writer, is not alone. A lot of people say Pete Rose should not be in the Hall of Fame. But what they fail to realize is the fact that Rose did not break the rules as a player, so he should be in the Hall of Fame, as a player. Many experts also believe this theory. “I have always maintained that if Bud Selig decreed Pete Rose eligible for the Hall of Fame pending the vote of the Baseball Writers Association, I would vote for him as a player.” (Gammons) Tommy Lasorda played in the Major Leagues, but he also managed in the majors. If he were to be inducted as a player, it would not seem right, Tommy Lasorda, Hall of Fame manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pete Rose, Hall of Fame player for the Cincinnati Reds. Also to contradict the opinion on that most people have, even Mark Nagi stated “The Hall certainly isn't a place that is restricted to players and coaches with impeccable reputations.” (1) Even though Nagi opposes Rose being in the Hall of Fame, he states that the Hall has players and managers in it that do have “bad rep”. One player that comes to mind is Ty Cobb, he was a fantastic player and is rightfully in the Hall of Fame as one of the best hitters to ever play. But, he also had character issues of his own. He hated everyone and everyone hated him, he was always the most disliked player in baseball. (Cobb 4) A fellow Detroit Tiger, Davy Jones said “He had such a rotten disposition and antagonized so many people it was hard to be his friend” (4) Ty Cobb was also widely known as a “blatant racist.” (4) So if this terrible man, Ty Cobb can be in the Hall of Fame with his attitude, Pete Rose should definitely be included.

            The National Baseball Hall of Fame is one of the greatest attractions for baseball fans across the globe, and if you are a baseball player, there are only two things in the world you want. These two things are to win a World Series, and to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Being in the Hall immortalizes a player, so that millions of people each year can see his plaque and remember how good of a player that he was. There are 289 players in the Hall of Fame, all thoroughly deserving. They all have their own moments and “criteria” for being included with baseball’s elite. Hank Aaron was the homerun and RBI king, whereas he also is considered the most consistent player of all time. Josh Gibson, who also is in the Hall of Fame, was inducted by his peers as he was supposedly the greatest power hitter of all time. Satchel Paige is in the Hall of Fame with a losing record in the major leagues, yet he was inducted for his excellence in the Negro Leagues. These are all players who are hands down Hall of Famers, and there is no legitimate reason why they should not be included.

There has been rumors heard around here on 610 WIP radio that the Phillies are shopping for Roy Halladay again. I said it at the deadline, and I'll say it again. We do not need Roy Halladay at the current price.

Roy Halladay is a top tier ace, but we would be paying too high a price for one year. Undoubtedly, the Phillies would have the best rotation in baseball if we got him, but rumors lately have been saying the Blue Jays would want Cole Hamels in one package. Cole Hamels had a bad year, we can all say that without remorse, but he is only 25 years old, has shown what he can do, and is almost guaranteed to be a future ace.

Another package would be the familiar Kyle Drabek and one of Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown or J.A. Happ. Roy Halladay is not worth this price for only one year.

If we traded J.A. Happ, Kyle Drabek, and Michael Taylor then the Phillies rotation would consist of Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and most likely Jamie Moyer. This is a great rotation, and it would definately put the Phillies in October if they stayed healthy.

The problem is, after next year (assuming the Phillies sign Lee to an extension) the rotation would consist of Lee, Hamels, Blanton, and then we have no one because Happ and Drabek would be gone. There is also a chance we couldn't sign Lee to a long-term deal because we took on Halladay's salary in the previous year.

Do not trade away the future and just go out and sign Rich Harden. This would give the Phillies a rotation of Cliff Lee, Rich Harden, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and J.A. Happ. Not to mention we would still have Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, and the other prospects for when Ibanez retires and when we lose either Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino.