Will this finally be the day when Jack Morris and Marvin Miller get their long overdue Hall of Fame calls? Baseball's Winter Meetings will get their traditional start with the announcement of the Veterans' Committee vote. There are 10 men on the "Modern Baseball" era ballot, but only two stand out. And it'll be a travesty if they're once again denied a plaque in Cooperstown.
Let's start with Marvin Miller. It's an absolute joke that he still isn't in the Hall of Fame! Because this guy has meant more to the game of baseball than half the people who've already been inducted (seriously, what did Bowie Kuhn, Miller's nemesis during the 1970s, do that was worthy of Hall of Fame induction?).
Marvin Miller is one of the most influential people in baseball history. He turned the MLBPA into the most powerful players' union in all of sports. He gave the players leverage against the owners when they had none, and all players over the past 40 years have reaped the benefits that Marvin Miller fought for. Without him, there wouldn't have been free agency (at least not until much later). Without him, salaries never would've skyrocketed the way they have. Without him, baseball wouldn't be the multi-billion dollar business it's become. If ever there was a Hall of Fame executive, Marvin Miller is it.
Of course, there's always been a lot of resentment towards Marvin Miller from the owners. He took away a lot of their power, and he was held responsible for the labor unrest that led to numerous work stoppages between 1973-94. For a long time, these executives were the ones voting on the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee, so, of course they were going to keep Marvin Miller out! Which was patently unfair. Since then, the system has been revamped twice.
Miller came up one vote short in 2011, the final election before he died. This is the second election for which he's been eligible since his death. He was never able to make an induction speech in Cooperstown, which is a shame. It's time to right this wrong. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Among the nine players on the "Modern Baseball" ballot, there's none that I advocate more than Jack Morris. I was a Jack Morris fan throughout his time on the writer's ballot, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I think he belongs. And I simply just don't understand the argument that the people who are vehemently anti-Jack Morris try to make.
I feel like a broken record in my arguments for why Jack Morris should be a Hall of Famer. He was the winningest pitcher of the 1980s (yes, you could arbitrarily choose any 10-year period, but that's not the point). He started on Opening Day, meaning he was the No. 1 pitcher on his team, 14 straight times. He started Game 1 of the World Series three times, including in back-to-back years for different teams. Morris pitched for four World Series winners, and, I hate to keep bringing it up, but Game 7, 1991.
Not enough for you yet? He won 254 games in 18 seasons, pitched more than 200 innings 11 times, and tossed 175 complete games. That's an average of nearly 10 complete games a season. These days, we don't even see 10 complete games in a season for entire teams. Simply put, Jack Morris was an ace who finished what he started. He was one of the most feared pitchers in baseball during his day. I consider him comparable to Bert Blyleven, who was voted in by the writers in 2011, his 14th year of eligibility. Morris got as close as 66.7 percent from the writers before he ran out of time. I think he wait will finally be over.
Voters can select up to four candidates on their ballots, but I think Miller and Morris stand head-and-shoulders above the other eight names. However, I'm a firm believer in filling out your complete ballot, so I am going to choose two additional players. And, no offense to Ted Simmons (whose bat I had as a kid), Luis Tiant or Dave Parker, but they pale in comparison to the other five.
So...my extra selections are coming from the group of Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy and Alan Trammell. Murphy and Trammell are both criminally underrated for what they accomplished during their careers. I question whether or not those careers are Hall of Fame-worthy, though. Same for Don Mattingly, a sentimental favorite who I've actually cast a "vote" for towards the end of his time on the writers' ballot.
Which leaves us with Steve Garvey and Tommy John. Like Morris, I've always championed Steve Garvey, although not nearly as strongly. I think he's fallen into that "very good, not great" category, which is why he's never really been considered. Which is ridiculous. Because Steve Garvey was an outstanding defensive first baseman who played in an NL-record 1,207 consecutive games and was the anchor of those excellent Dodgers teams of the 70s (as well as the '84 Padres). I always thought he deserved more Hall of Fame support.
Tommy John, meanwhile, is someone I never thought of as a Hall of Famer until I started seeing his name in all those comparisons to pitchers currently in the Hall of Fame. Some of his numbers were due simply to longevity, but he still made 700 starts and had 288 career wins. There has to be some credit given, too, for being able to pitch effectively in the Major Leagues for 26 years. He also deserves bonus points for having a surgery named after him. A surgery that has extended how many careers over the years?
Historically, it's been just as tough to get in via the Veterans Committee as it is through the writers. Only two players (Joe Gordon in 2008 and Ron Santo in 2011) have been voted in by the Veterans Committee since the major system revamp in 2007. I think that changes this year. I think Morris gets in. I just hope Miller joins him. Because, frankly, he belongs in the Hall of Fame more than any of the nine players.
No comments:
Post a Comment