The BBWAA Still Has No Brain

For any of y'all that have followed my writing over the last 2-3 years you will recognize the next piece because it is an updated version of a previous post from my old blog, but the Baseball Writers Association of America has once again erred on the biggest stage.

We here at Views from the Couch would first and foremost like to congratulate Barry Larkin on his induction to the Pinnacle of baseball success he was a deserving recipient of induction with a lifetime .295 average, three Gold Gloves (when they were actually for the best fielder), 11-time All-Star, over 1300 runs scored and a lifetime OBP over .370.

But we aren't here to slobber over what kind of great shortstop Barry Larkin was (and he was) we're here to talk about the egregious oversight by the BBWAA of leaving Jeff Bagell out of Cooperstown yet again. The only positive is that some of them are starting to see the error of their ways and his total vote % went from 41.7% in 2011 to 56%.

For all baseball fans we need to rehash the kind of player that Bags was, and away we go...

Jeff Bagwell, whose stats are inarguably Hall of Fame worthy was just left off the ballot for absolutely no reason. Here are his numbers along with his most comparable offensive players:

Looking at the statistics the * denotes a Hall of Famer. So 2 of his 10 most comparable players are already in Cooperstown. Then you have to assume Chipper Jones (arguably the greatest switch hitter of all time), Vladdy Guerrero (top 5 RF in the history of MLB) and Frank Thomas (521 career HR, over 1700 RBI and a lifetime SLG% of .555) are locks for the HOF. That makes 5 out of 10 of the most comparable players to Jeff Bagwell will be or are already on plaques. Helton in my opinion is also going to be a HOFer which would make it 60% of peers are going into The Hall.

I also made specific notes of how many years in the league because after Todd Helton steps foot on the field in April, Jeff Bagwell will have played the least out of all of those players, and he is in the top 5 in every one of the offensive categories listed down the board, including inexplicably leading in steals. He bests Cepeda and Stargell in just about every offensive category albeit in two and 6 years respectively. Weird they have a * in front of their name.

Newsflash to everyone: BASEBALL HAD A STEROID ERA, AND DESPITE POPULAR BELIEF EVERYONE DIDN'T USE. *everyone shudder uncontrollably*

There are players such as Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez and many others that played during this era all with Hall of Fame caliber numbers, but here's the difference between those players and Jeff Bagwell: They were all tied in one way or another to performance enhancing drugs, while he was not. And now by some forgone conclusion with the Baseball Writers Association of America they are going to play judge and assume each player is guilty until proven innocent. Well that's a crock of grabage and by this logic NO ONE IN THIS ERA WILL GET VOTED IN FIRST BALLOT.

That Means:

Pedro Martinez, the most dominating pitcher through the Steroid Era is in fact a fraud and does not deserve to get in based on when he played.

Derek Jeter, the posterboy for everything good in baseball doesn't get in despite obtaining just about every Yankee record and leading them to multiple World Championships because he played when the Backstreet Boys made sitting backwards in chairs a hot commodity.

Randy Johnson, the most intimidating pitcher, 300 game winner and arguably best lefty of a decade gets left out.

Smoltz, Glavine, and Maddux? Nope

Albert Pujols? Definitely not.

Do you see what these malignants are doing? How can someone be guilty with vehement denials, no evidence pointing at him and no failed drug tests? Simple: he's not and his career is getting martyred because of some people's ignorance. "Look at me, I wrote about baseball for 10 years, therefore I know all and whatever decision I make is therefore the right decision."

That is the criteria to be able to vote for the Baseball Mecca, is to have written about baseball for 10 years in a newspaper or some sort of mass media outlet. (Alright, the VFC is taking off, all I need is another 9 years or so and I'll get a vote right?)

Somehow because he was a power hitting first baseman when Boyz II Men was on your cassette player, he is all of a sudden guilty of cheating with no evidence against him. I think this is a travesty and would love to hear any BBWAA member's defense against not voting for him. Here is what the BBWAA judges for criteria:

Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

Playing ability: Top Notch (ranked as the 4th best First baseman OF ALL TIME by renowned baseball statistician Bill James in 2001's "New Historical Baseball Abstract")


Integrity: Never in any scandals (steroids, performance enhancers, or cheating of any kind)
Sportsmanship: Always one of the most respected players by managers and players in era.


Character/contributions: Started a charity in the only city he ever played (15 years in Houston) called Rapid Rehousing to combat homelessness.


OK That's not enough for you, and you're looking for the "black ink" on his resume, or the awards, here ya go.
Highlights

• NL MVP: 1994


• NL Rookie of the Year: 1991


• NL All-Star: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999


• Gold Glove Award (1B): 1994


• Silver Slugger Awards (1B): 1994, 1997, 1999


• Houston Astros Career Leader in Home Runs (449), RBI (1,529), Walks (1,401), Runs Created (1,715), Sacrifice Flies (102) and Intentional Walks (155).


• Holds Houston Astros single season records for Batting Average (.368 in 1994), On-base percentage (.454 in 1999), Slugging Percentage (.750 in 1994), OPS (1.201 in 1994), Runs (152 in 2000), Total Bases (363 in 2000), Home Runs (47 in 2000), Walks (149 in 1999), Times on Base (331 in 1999), Intentional Walks (27 in 1997) and At Bats per Home Run (10.3 in 1994)


• Baseball statistician Bill James, in his New Historical Baseball Abstract, listed Bagwell as the fourth best first baseman of all time.

I would also strongly suggest you read that clip I put in above about denying steroid use because he talks about working out all the time. When his trainer's told him to stop doing different lifts because it would hinder his flexibility and elasticity in his arm, he didn't listen to them, which is why he couldn't throw at the end of his career. So he worked out and tried to get better naturally and not through a syringe and he is getting penalized for what, working too hard? If you're the BBWAA is this sort of saying, "I want you to be a good player, but not too good, or else I'll personally knock you down a peg".

Simply put, this was one of the good guys in this sport and you just gave him the big F You, I hope you feel good about yourself because I didn't even get the HONOR of voting and I feel like someone just ran over my dog, backed up and ran over it again. I can only imagine how BagPipes and his family feel on what should have been a momentous day. This is a travesty of gargantuan proportions and the Writers should be ashamed of themselves.

Stay Tuned

Norton