Jim Rice got jobbed.Again.
The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) couldn't see fit to give him his due and put him the the Hall of Fame on his 14th year on the ballot. He had 72.2% of the vote. Just a bit shy of 75% needed to make it in. He's been on the ballot more times than any other player and not been put in the Hall. If he's not elected in his last year (2009), he has the possibility to be put in by the Veterans Committee in 2010.
Click here to see the rules on the BBWAA voting procedures
Click here to see the voting info for the Veterans Committee
What a kick in the pants. Like the Buffalo Bills of HOF ballots; always the bridesmaid, never the bride and all those other analogies one thinks of. Jeeze Jim, thanks for showing up, sorry you're still not good enough for us, why don't you come back next year and we can do this all over again. How fun!! I can only imagine he's pissed - I'm pissed for him.
Rice's stats speak for themselves: .298 lifetime batting average, 382 HRs, over 2400 hits, 8 all-star appearances in his 16 seasons.
So what is the problem? He wasn't a media darling, didn't always get along with the folks writing the stories - some of those same writers who are now holding his HOF fate in their hands.
This is a flawed system. These writers undoubtedly are going to have SOME BIAS when it comes to their personal interaction with a player; this may cloud their ability to judge a player solely on their BASEBALL performance. And isn't that what we are supposed to be judging here? A players BASEBALL performance? Their HR, AVG, OBP, total hits, etc. - their stats?
What is the solution? I wish I could offer one here. Fan voting? Maybe. Player/manager voting? For sure. Maybe the solution is votes collected from the BBWAA, fans, and players/managers. I don't know. But I'm sick of the way it is, and I don't see it changing any time soon.
I sincerely hope next year Mr. Rice receives those last 16 votes he needs and crosses the threshold into the hallowed HALL to take his place among the other legends of the game. There's no doubt in my mind it's where he belongs.
