Is This (Finally) Bert's Time?
Jeremiah Graves from Bleacher Report makes the case for Bert Blyleven to be inducted into Cooperstown...after being denied 12 years in a row. Some of his numbers are beyond impressive-242 complete games and 60 shutouts-yet he's denied year after year. With support growing annually, there is finally hope that he will be recognized for his pitching accomplishments. My question to you, the Twinkie Town faithful, is: do you think Bert should be inducted this year (or should he have been any of the previous 12 years)?
9 months ago
fischean
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He should have been inducted years ago
He’s got a good shot this year, his chances go down next year and if he doesn’t make it in 2012 he’s finished. Luckily 2012 is a weak ballot. Weak New guys + last year on ballot = inducted 2012 my best guess.
+1
I am more hopeful for him this year, though he should have been in years ago.
by what_would_gil_thorp_do on Nov 30, 2009 7:48 PM EST up reply actions
He should have been inducted each of the past 12 years.
Period. This “he’s not good enough to be a first ballot” stuff is nonsense. Either he’s a Hall of Famer or he’s not. An extra 5-10 years away from the game shouldn’t change that.
Agreed.
I find it pretty ridiculous that he hasn’t made it in yet.
"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all." -Earl Weaver
Yes!
The Hochevar Principle: The future comes to all teams. Some teams wait for it. Those teams finish in last place a lot.
Sorry
Too quick with the Enter Key. Anyway, I think the writers have reserved the “greats of the game” for first-ballot selections. If somebody is a little tarnished or a little questionable, he doesn’t get the vote in his first year.
Bert is deserving, and I think he will make it before his eligibility runs out.
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Nov 30, 2009 8:59 PM EST reply actions
Doesn't matter anymore
Kirby Puckett, who even most Twins fans agree was (at best) a marginal Hall of Famer, made it on the first ballot. Eddie Murray, a guy who I thought was simply a good player even in his prime (and, by the way, no one ever said “I want to go to the game today so I can see Eddie Murray in person!”) made it on the first ballot. The first ballot hasn’t been reserved for the cream of the Hall of Fame crop since the earliest years of the Hall, when there was a backlog of deserving players. I think the idea of reserving the first ballot for the very greatest players is one that has past its era of relevance.
"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
BULLS#%&!
Kirby Puckett, who even most Twins fans agree was (at best) a marginal Hall of Famer
NO WAY Kirby doesn’t belong in the HOF! Are you serious!? What Twins “fans” have you been talking too? The same guys who didn’t think Mauer should be MVP?
"Is it normal to wake up in the morning in a sweat because you can't wait to beat another human's guts out?" -Joe Kapp
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Dec 1, 2009 3:01 PM EST up reply actions
+1
Puckett was/is one of the Twins greats. I value Puckett over Mauer right now, though many people will probably have a heartattack when they see this.
"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any of us." - Kirby Puckett
I disagree, but that's the joy of opinions. :)
"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all." -Earl Weaver
Me, for one
Kirby is not an inner-circle all-time great player. He’s clearly the worst player elected on the first ballot. On the other hand, Joe DiMaggio wasn’t elected on the first ballot. The “1st ballot” nonsense is overblown.
I’d say Puckett isn’t in the top half of the Hall of Fame, but he’s a fair sight better than Jim Rice and Bruce Sutter.
I can't disagree
Even as a homer Twins fan, I can’t claim Kirby as a “slam dunk” hall of famer.
Also, my biggest issue is not as much with first ballot versus everything else, it’s with the voters who draw the line at 5th ballot or elsewhere.
by Adam Peterson on Dec 5, 2009 6:45 PM EST up reply actions
Puck made it on personality
Everybody loved the baseball player Kirby Puckett, and he had his career shortened by injury (or whatever glaucoma is). Murray got over the magic number of 500 homers.
by Alexi Casilla All-Star on Dec 1, 2009 12:48 PM EST reply actions
He'd get my vote.
Rev Halofan agrees too!
"Is it normal to wake up in the morning in a sweat because you can't wait to beat another human's guts out?" -Joe Kapp
by less cowbell, more 'neau on Dec 1, 2009 2:56 PM EST reply actions
Seriously
Look at the stats. The strikeouts. Complete games. The only thing keeping him out is wins, which everyone knows is a bullshit way to evaluate a pitcher. Bert might go on too much about keeping the ball down during broadcasts but he’s a hall-of-famer no doubt.
And you can agrue that......
20 more wins against 20 less losses. He’s in. He didn’t really prolong his career (i.e., Jim Kaat, who could also be deserving). Sometimes, just don’t understand. Really.
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