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HOF: Who Gets In Today?

Who gets the required 75% vote today?


  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .
I don't know if it's easy to be a closer considering there's only a handful of reliable closers out there. Look at the Dodgers last year for instance...Gagne goes down and Brozaban puts up a 5.11 with only 21 saves. A healthy Gagne gives them the division title.

I'm sure we could argue the merits of both the closer and DH's place in the Hall for quite a while though.

As for Don Mattingly, he's essentially Will Clark in a more popular uniform.
 
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Sutter is the only one elected.

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/news/2006/060110.htm

(COOPERSTOWN, NY): Bruce Sutter, who revolutionized the split-fingered fastball and was among the first of the closing relief pitcher specialists, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting verified by Ernst & Young. He will be inducted into the Hall July 30 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width="30%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%">
sutter_cubs.jpg
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With the Chicago Cubs, Bruce Sutter won the 1979 National League Cy Young Award.
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A record 520 ballots, including 12 blanks, also the most in voting history, were cast by BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years' service, eclipsing by four the previous mark of 2005 when Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg were elected. Players must be named on 75 percent of ballots submitted to gain election. This year, 390 votes were needed.
Sutter was listed on 400 ballots (76.9 percent) to gain election in his 13th year on the ballot, the most since Bill Terry was elected in his 14th year in 1954. Ralph Kiner was also elected in his 13th year on the ballot in 1975. Sutter finished 43 votes shy of election last year.
His election brings to 261 the number of elected members of the Hall. Of that total, 196 are players, of which 103 have been through the BBWAA ballot. Sutter is the first pure reliever elected to the Hall. All 661 of his major-league appearances were in relief. Other relievers in the Hall are Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley, but they also were starters during their careers.
Another reliever, Goose Gossage, finished third in the balloting with 336 votes (64.6), one behind second-place finisher Jim Rice, the slugging outfielder who was named on 64.8 percent of the ballots. The only other players to be listed on more than half the ballots were outfielder Andre Dawson with 317 votes (61) and pitcher Bert Blyleven with 277 (58.3). Rounding out the top 10 were Lee Smith, Jack Morris, Tommy John, Steve Garvey and Alan Trammell.
Of the 14 players on the ballot for the first time, only two received sufficient support to remain in consideration, pitcher Orel Hershiser and outfielder Albert Belle. Players must be listed on five percent of the ballots (26 this year) to stay on the ballot for up to 15 years. Hershiser had 58 votes (11.2) and Belle 40 (7.7).
Also dropping off the ballot in his second year was outfielder Willie McGee (2.3). Other holdovers who will remain on the ballot are Dave Parker (14.4), Dave Concepcion (12.5%), Don Mattingly (12.3%) and Dale Murphy (10.8). Next year will be Garvey's last year on the ballot.
Sutter, who turned 53 Sunday, led the National League in saves five times and ranks 19th on the all-time list with 300 in a career cut short to 12 seasons due to injury. He had a 68-71 record and 2.83 ERA combined with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. The righthander, a native of Lancaster, Pa., was the NL Cy Young Award winner with the Cubs in 1979, finished in the top 10 of the NL MVP voting five times and was 2-0 with three saves and a 3.00 ERA in six postseason games. He was the closer on the Cardinals' last World Series championship team, in 1982. The six-time All-Star had one season of 40 or more saves and four seasons of 30 or more. He was named the NL Fireman of the Year by the Sporting News once and the NL Rolaids Relief Award winner four times.
 
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AKAK: "Sutter... maybe... though he sort of built the position."

Also invented the Split Finger Fastball .. pretty important contribution to the game, don't you think?

"Let's get Lee Smith, Rivera, John Franco, Trevor Hoffman into this discussion and benchmark "Closer" from there."

None of those guys belong in the Hall except for the Great One, who will be a first ballott inductee. I think the only exclusive Reliever who would make it as such .. unless Fingers was as well.

harrydangler: "As for Don Mattingly, he's essentially Will Clark in a more popular uniform."

Donny doesn't belong in the Hall, however, his numbers are WAY, WAY, WAY better than Will Clark. Its not even close.
 
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Thump: "Clark played 1 more season than Mattingly."

Clark played in 1,976 games compared with Mattingly's 1,785. That's a full season and a fifth of a season more than Donny, and Clark only has 23 more hits than Donny.

Plus, in your "14 seasons" you're counting 1982 in which Mattingly only played 7 games as a late season call-up. Clark had 15 full seasons in the bigs compared with Mattingly's 13.

Other than the Home Runs (62), the RBIs are about a season and change's worth of difference: 106.

Plus, Mattingly has a batting title, an MVP, 6 All-Star selections, 9 Gold Gloves, and 3 Silver Sluggers. None of which Will the Thrill has ..
 
Upvote 0
Thump: "Clark played 1 more season than Mattingly."

Clark played in 1,976 games compared with Mattingly's 1,785. That's a full season and a fifth of a season more than Donny, and Clark only has 23 more hits than Donny.

Plus, in your "14 seasons" you're counting 1982 in which Mattingly only played 7 games as a late season call-up. Clark had 15 full seasons in the bigs compared with Mattingly's 13.

Other than the Home Runs (62), the RBIs are about a season and change's worth of difference: 106.

Plus, Mattingly has a batting title, an MVP, 6 All-Star selections, 9 Gold Gloves, and 3 Silver Sluggers. None of which Will the Thrill has ..

Do you realize how ridiculous you sound trying to dig yourself out of this hole?

You said his numbers were "WAY,WAY, WAY better" and I just provided you the numbers proving you wrong yet you start your "fuzzy math" to defend yourself.
 
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Thump: "Do you realize how ridiculoous you sound trying to dig yourself out of this hole?"

How am I in a hole? Clark played in 191 more games than Mattingly and had 23 more hits lifetime ..

'Splain how Clark was better besides posting his totals.
 
Upvote 0
Thump: "Clark played 1 more season than Mattingly."

Clark played in 1,976 games compared with Mattingly's 1,785. That's a full season and a fifth of a season more than Donny, and Clark only has 23 more hits than Donny.

Plus, in your "14 seasons" you're counting 1982 in which Mattingly only played 7 games as a late season call-up. Clark had 15 full seasons in the bigs compared with Mattingly's 13.

Other than the Home Runs (62), the RBIs are about a season and change's worth of difference: 106.
I think this does refute your statement that Mattingly's numbers were WAY, WAY, WAY better.

Plus, Mattingly has a batting title, an MVP, 6 All-Star selections, 9 Gold Gloves, and 3 Silver Sluggers. None of which Will the Thrill has ..

Clark does have the 6 All Star selections, an NLCS MVP, 1 Gold Glove, 2 Silver Sluggers, and finished 2nd in average in 1989.
 
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