That’s how I read it.
Guys like A-Rod, Bonds, Clemens, and Rose were (and still are) seen as egotistical jerks, which is probably not that uncommon among top-level athletes, but I think it’s also the case that their denials have held far more weight with the voters than their insincere apologies.
So, when they consider those guys, it’s not only “you did this bad thing,” but also “and I have a hard time viewing you sympathetically.”
Andruw Jones is a pretty marginal pick. There have been worse.
Andruw Jones won the Gold Glove 10 times and was a 5-time All-Star. Put some respect on his name.
Jones was one of the greatest defensive centerfielders I’ve ever seen. He also let himself get out of shape and basically pissed away his talent after he turned 30.
I do like that Beltran’s induction will bring the number of HOFers drafted or developed by the Royals to 4.
Hmmm… let’s see if I can do it without help.
Beltran (given)
George Brett (of course)
Whitey? (did he play for the Royals?)
OK, I’m stuck. Who is the 4th?
ETA: And now I see that Herzog played for the KC A’s, not the Royals.
As usual, I cheated.
Carlos Beltran
George Brett
Dan Marino (1979, Round 4)
John Elway (1979, Round 18)
Thinking more about this, and it makes me think that there are two general paths for players who are stars early, but don’t continue playing at that level.
I may not be correct in this analysis, but it seems to me that HoF voters are more willing to reject guys in Group 1, maybe in part due to the non-awesome second halves of their careers, while Group 2 is seen more sympathetically.
Boo! Hiss!
To be fair, Sandy Koufax and Lou Gehrig were rather EXTREME cases of peak value. Mad props to Dale Murphy but his MVP years weren’t even without shouting distance of the peak years of Gehrig or Koufax.
However… you may be on to something. There are other examples too though that are not guys with the dominance of Koufax or Gehrig - Dizzy Dean comes to mind. Dizzy is an odd choice, to say the least. He’s precisely as qualified as, say, Johan Santana or Tim Lincecum.
Dizzy did have a long career as a broadcaster.
He did, and he was well-known and beloved for his turns of phrase.
OTOH, he was elected as a player, not a broadcaster. But, it wouldn’t surprise me if his popularity due to his personality factored into his election.
what you and others have pointed out is what irritates me about voters for HoF, using personality instead of objective on the field results (would Ty Cobb be elected today based on his conduct on and off the field?). Same thing with Albert Belle not being selected for All-Star games because of his “attitude” despite his convincing stats
One of the things I’ve learned in recent years (largely thanks to baseball experts here, like @RickJay ) is that a lot of the modern popular knowledge about Cobb – in particular, things like racism – were likely inflated, if not fabricated entirely, by certain writers, especially Al Stump, who wrote a very critical biography about Cobb shortly after his death; that portrayal has remained, and been inflated by things like the 1994 movie about him.
He was an intense player, and an intense person, but his reputation was likely slandered.
but as I said, he was also “hated?” for sliding spikes high
For certain, he was a no-holes-barred competitor, but I doubt he was the only one who did that at that time.
As noted in his Wikipedia entry:
A more relevant, modern-day example: Curt Schilling.
Performance-wise, Schilling had a pretty good case for the Hall. He had eight straight seasons with a bWAR of 4.9 or better, and six with a 6.0+. Six All-Star teams, came in second place for the Cy Young three times, and earned three World Series rings.
He topped out at 71% of the votes in his 9th year on the ballot, but it’s pretty clear that he lost support due to, frankly, being an argumentative asshole and a generally miserable human being, especially in recent years.
Regardless, the Hall of Fame, famously, does have the “character clause” in its guidance to voters on what to consider in candidates. So, the Hall itself tells voters to consider things beyond “objective on the field results.”
There’s a famous quote attributed to Cobb by sportswriter Fred Lieb about the possibility of sharing a hunting cabin with Babe Ruth:
I have never slept under the same roof with a n****r, and I’m not going to start here in my own native state of Georgia.
Now, it’s possible that several people had it in for Cobb, but Occam’s razor indicates that he was a grade A asshole.
Schilling’s open hostility and shady business dealings post-career are clearly what has kept him out. He was extremely respected DURING his career. (In my opinion, he should be in; he is a dickfuck, but not in any way that seems to have affected his value or honesty as a ballplayer. He was a great pitcher who helped many teams win.)
Cobb, by comparison, was not really in any sort of controversy at all AFTER his career. His most prominent baseball opinion in retirement was his limitless admiration of Roy Campanella.
That’s my recollection, as well. At the time, the “Bloody Sock Game” put him up there with Kirk Gibson as World Series heroes.