HOF Voters Need Checks and Balances
Mike Perrota
Issue date: 12/21/08 Section: Impact Staff Blogs
Feb. 5 - Cris Carter was thought to be a Hall of Fame lock.
Apparently not.
Amazing numbers. Great leader. Elite career. One of the greatest possession receivers of all time. Kind of scary to think that he has more catches than EVERY player in the NFL Hall of Fame (Jerry Rice isn't eligible until 2010).
Yet for the second consecutive year, Carter was passed over for the Hall of Fame, a distinction that he should have earned quite easily with his stellar numbers and gentlemanly conduct during latter of his career.
For a reason the HOF Board of Selectors aka the NFL Cosa Nostra are not sharing, Chris Carter will not be joining Bruce Smith or Rod Woodson at the induction ceremony. What's even more frightening is that the 44 sports writers that have a vote do not have to give one.
It is time for accountability. These voters seem to be more clueless than a boxing judge during a heavyweight fight, and we all know how that sport is perceived.
There seems to be no logic behind the selection process for the NFL or MLB Halls of Fame. For years the understanding is if a player was not cordial to the media, then voters would punish them by not putting them in the Hall of Fame. And they certainly stick to that credo for fear of losing player interview availability. Don't believe it. Ask Jim Rice. He's had been trying to get in since Miley Cyrus was born. And don't forget players like Albert Belle, who garnered only 19 votes in 2007 yet he had 10 straight dominating years in which he posted better seasons than the likes of Andrew Dawson, Harold Baines and the rest of the HOF waiting list. So they weren't great guys to interview in the clubhouse. This isn't supposed to be a popularity contest.
Did I mention someone voted for Jesse Orosco this year? What credentials does this voter have? Was that a fraternity prank? Talk about voter fraud.
Oddly enough, the man who received the most votes for the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame class in 1936 was Ty Cobb, one of the most despised players in sports history.
Apparently not.
Amazing numbers. Great leader. Elite career. One of the greatest possession receivers of all time. Kind of scary to think that he has more catches than EVERY player in the NFL Hall of Fame (Jerry Rice isn't eligible until 2010).
Yet for the second consecutive year, Carter was passed over for the Hall of Fame, a distinction that he should have earned quite easily with his stellar numbers and gentlemanly conduct during latter of his career.
For a reason the HOF Board of Selectors aka the NFL Cosa Nostra are not sharing, Chris Carter will not be joining Bruce Smith or Rod Woodson at the induction ceremony. What's even more frightening is that the 44 sports writers that have a vote do not have to give one.
It is time for accountability. These voters seem to be more clueless than a boxing judge during a heavyweight fight, and we all know how that sport is perceived.
There seems to be no logic behind the selection process for the NFL or MLB Halls of Fame. For years the understanding is if a player was not cordial to the media, then voters would punish them by not putting them in the Hall of Fame. And they certainly stick to that credo for fear of losing player interview availability. Don't believe it. Ask Jim Rice. He's had been trying to get in since Miley Cyrus was born. And don't forget players like Albert Belle, who garnered only 19 votes in 2007 yet he had 10 straight dominating years in which he posted better seasons than the likes of Andrew Dawson, Harold Baines and the rest of the HOF waiting list. So they weren't great guys to interview in the clubhouse. This isn't supposed to be a popularity contest.
Did I mention someone voted for Jesse Orosco this year? What credentials does this voter have? Was that a fraternity prank? Talk about voter fraud.
Oddly enough, the man who received the most votes for the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame class in 1936 was Ty Cobb, one of the most despised players in sports history.
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Dan
posted 2/09/09 @ 10:14 AM EST
Sports writers are typically so jealous of the elite athletes they cover that in the end, the resent the very "heroes" they spend their careers covering. (Continued…)
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