I have to complain about something. George Ken Griffey Jr. did not get 100% vote for the MLB Hall of Fame. (Side note: today I found out that Griffey Jr.’s real name is George. Maybe I was the only one to not know this information, but regardless, it took me by surprise). Anyways, back to my complaint; Griffey should have been unanimously selected to the Hall of Fame and he wasn’t because the voting system, and voters, are flawed.
There are three baseball writers out there who, presumably, have watched a lot of baseball throughout their lifetime, but did not think Griffey was worthy of the Hall of Fame. Apparently, they did not think he was good enough to be in the same museum with guys like Jim Rice (took him 15 years to get in), Bruce Sutter (whose average season as a relief pitcher would qualify him for 5th inning duty on the Yankees in 2016), and Bill Mazeroski (who is in the Hall for one home run, and one home run only). Griffey, the best all-around player of the 90’s, was not good enough for them. Griffey, the kid who helped revolutionize the game and make it fun to watch again, was not good enough for them. Griffey, who wore his hat backwards and hit 500 foot HRs, was not good enough for them.
Why did these three stooges not vote for him? Only they really know. We might never find out who they are because voters have the right to keep their ballots private, which is another flaw. If voters had to disclose who they voted for then there would be more accountability, and thus purer results. If I had to guess, they didn’t vote for Griffey because they hold the pretentious opinion that no player is worthy of unanimous vote. Hank Aaron only got 97.8% and Babe Ruth only got 95.1%, so why should Griffey get 100%? Or they used their 10 spots for other players because they knew Griffey would easily get in, but to me that is gaming the system and defeats the purpose of voting.
Regardless, whatever their reason is, those three people are wrong and any sensible person knows it. I’m not in the business of finding out who these people are and shaming them, but if they do come public, the Hall of Fame committee or whoever is in charge should seriously question their judgment.
End of rant.
