HOF: Ripken, Gwynn in; McGwire, Canseco out.

[DirtyKash]

Ripken, Gwynn elected to Hall of Fame as McGwire falls far short

By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
January 9, 2007

AP - Jan 9, 2:06 pm EST
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Mark McGwire fell far short in his first try for the Hall of Fame, picked by 23.5 percent of voters while Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. easily gained baseball's highest honor.

Tarnished by accusations of steroid use, McGwire appeared on 128 of a record 545 ballots in voting released Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Ripken was picked by 537 voters, appearing on 98.5 percent of ballots, falling just short of the record percentage of 98.84 set by Tom Seaver when he was selected on 425 of 430 ballots in 1992.

Gwynn was just behind with 532 votes, 97.6 percent, after compiling 3,141 hits and a .338 batting average during his 20-year career with the San Diego Padres.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to know that people think that what you did was worthy," Gwynn said during a telephone conference call.

Ripken played in 2,632 consecutive games to break Lou Gehrig's major league record of 2,130, and set a new standard for shortstops with 431 home runs and 3,184 hits for the Baltimore Orioles.

Goose Gossage finished third with 388 votes, falling 21 shy of the necessary 409 for election. Jim Rice was fourth with 346, followed by Andre Dawson (309), Bert Blyleven (260), Lee Smith (217) and Jack Morris (202).

McGwire was ninth, followed by Tommy John (125) and Steve Garvey (115), who was in his final year of eligibility.

McGwire's dismal showing raises doubts about whether he will ever get elected -- players can appear on the BBWAA ballot for 15 years -- and whether the shadow of steroids will cost Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro places in Cooperstown.

"I think it's a big, dark cloud, obviously, that's hanging over the game," Gossage told ESPN after the announcement. "I really don't know what to think of this steroids era."

Jose Canseco, on the ballot for the first time, received six votes, well below the 5 percent threshold needed to stay on future ballots. In his book two years ago, Canseco accused McGwire and others of using steroids. The book's publication was quickly followed by a congressional hearing on steroids during which McGwire evaded questions, saying: "I'm not here to talk about the past."

Harold Baines, who received 29 votes, reached the 5 percent threshold. Bret Saberhagen got seven votes in his first appearance on the ballot and Ken Caminiti, who admitted using steroids during his career and died in 2004, received two.

[DirtyKash]

6 votes for Canseco, that's less than Albert Belle.

[DravenX]

I knew Cal and Gwynn would get in. They are two great players.

[Reds_fan_4_life]

i wish David Concepcion would finally get the respect he deserves and gets voted in the Hall. all these years and i thought he would be in years ago.

[DirtyKash]

	Votes	Pct.
Cal Ripken Jr.	537	98.5
Tony Gwynn	532	97.6
Rich Gossage	388	71.2
Jim Rice	346	63.5
Andre Dawson	309	56.7
Bert Blyleven	260	47.7
Lee Smith	217	39.8
Jack Morris	202	37.1
Mark McGwire	128	23.5
Tommy John	125	22.9
Steve Garvey	115	21.1
Dave Concepcion	74	13.6
Alan Trammell	73	13.4
Dave Parker	62	11.4
Don Mattingly	54	9.9
Dale Murphy	50	9.2
Harold Baines	29	5.3
Orel Hershiser	24	4.4
Albert Belle	19	3.5
Paul O'Neill	12	2.2
Bret Saberhagen	7	1.3
Jose Canseco	6	1.1
Tony Fernandez	4	0.7
Dante Bichette	3	0.6
Eric Davis	3	0.6
Bobby Bonilla	2	0.4
Ken Caminiti	2	0.4
Jay Buhner	1	0.2
Scott Brosius	0	0
Wally Joyner	0	0
Devon White	0	0
Bobby Witt	0	0

[missionhockey21]

Rice at 63.5 % saw his number of votes decline, which is a shame because I hope every year that he is nearing success. To have the kind of power numbers he had, prior to the error of massive weight lifting and steroids use, in combination with a high average that has sent many of his peers with similar numbers is easily deserving. Not to mention while he didn't have the longevity of some, during his prime he was among the most feared of hitters in baseball (an easy top five based on what I read.)

None the less, the two who got in were of no surprise and obviously well deserving to say the least.

[love_that_reefer]

Gossage falls just short which is a crime if they let Sutter in. Hopefully next year Goose and Rice get in and McGwire will have his someday.

[Fishercat]

Conception's OPS was noticeably below .700...let's get real.

And I want Rice in too. From what I have read/heard/etc., there were very few (if any) players as feared as Jim Rice in his prime. He took an OOTP Fall (34, and then he lost all his talent points), but seriously, there's no one above him in MVP Shares except Dave Parker who is eligible.

[missionhockey21]

Conception's OPS was noticeably below .700...let's get real.

So is Ozzie Smith, actually below Concepcion's. You also have to keep in mind that Davey was among the big red machine lineup and virtually always batting 7th or 8th versus Smith batting up in St. Louis's order due to a poorer lineup talent. And speaking of the era, for shortstops, Conception was far from a poor hitter during his time at the position. It's true that Smith is a top 10 defensive shortstop, but Concepcion is nearly always ranked very highly among the best shortstops this game has seen in the past 30 years. That isn't to say that I am claiming Concepcion is more deserving than Smith, just that the argument for him does have some merit. Personally I think Trammell has a need to go in first before Concepcion.

[HollywoodLeo]

If Bruce Sutter's allowed in it's a crime that Goose and Lee Smith both get snubbed.

[HollywoodLeo]

Congrats to Tony and Ripken

[Molina00]

No surprise on Ripken and Gwynn. Congratulations to them. No surprise on Canseco either, lol. I wasn't sure if McGwire would or not, but I thought he might have gotten a little more of the vote than that. Too bad for Gossage though. He just barely missed it.

What I can't believe is that Bobby Witt didn't get a single vote, it's a tragedy! Okay, I can believe it , but at least 1 vote would have been nice for one of the top pitchers in Ranger history.

I don't understand how the all-time saves leader can fall so far short of induction either. How many players hold a major all-time MLB record and yet are not in the HOF? And with that kind of vote percentage he never will be.

[BoSox34]

I definately think Rice and Goose should have gotten in. Congrats to Tony and Cal though for awesome careers and were easily deserving of the Hall of Fame induction.

[Fishercat]

So is Ozzie Smith, actually below Concepcion's. You also have to keep in mind that Davey was among the big red machine lineup and virtually always batting 7th or 8th versus Smith batting up in St. Louis's order due to a poorer lineup talent. And speaking of the era, for shortstops, Conception was far from a poor hitter during his time at the position. It's true that Smith is a top 10 defensive shortstop, but Concepcion is nearly always ranked very highly among the best shortstops this game has seen in the past 30 years. That isn't to say that I am claiming Concepcion is more deserving than Smith, just that the argument for him does have some merit. Personally I think Trammell has a need to go in first before Concepcion.

I don't see how that helps Conception's argument (the lineup thing). If anything, that says that they had to pitch to both of them: one because he had big boppers behind him and the other because the guys were on base.

Ozzie Smith and Dave Concepcion had similar hitting statistics. However, Ozzie had about 1000 more plate appearances and about 90 more games. Assuming both have a positive offensive impact over the guys behind him (well, positive overall behind them, but the stats only apply offensively, and the assumption could be wrong), Ozzie had 1000 more chances to help his team at the dish.

And I can't speak for BP's quality, but they have Smith at a good 25 more wins above replacement player (WARP1) as compared to Concepcion. BP also has Ozzie as being a +272 at SS for RAA, Concepcion at +134.

Then you have the awards as a more subjective source.

Gold Gloves: 13-5 (Concepcion's stopped when Ozzie hit the league)
All-Stars: 15-9

As players, they are pretty comparable, but I'd prefer both be out than both be in, as they were both putrid offensively, granted, the average OPS in 1980 was .616 for SS...so eh...

[Kingdom]

Porter99 slipped his vote in for Buhner while no one was watching.