Deadspin: Rocca cast a vote for Hideo Nomo. The first thing that jumps out: Not a single writer that cast a vote for Armando Benitez, Jacque Jones, Kenny Rogers, J.T. Snow, Eric Gagne, Luis Gonzalez, or Moises Alou chose to own up to it. (Only one Hideo Nomo voter came forward—longtime beat writer and columnist Larry Rocca, whose ballot included Nomo, Jack Morris, Tim Raines, Alan Trammell, and no one else. Rocca spent five years working in Japan, so that may explain his Nomo vote. He's also on the "no one from the PED era gets my vote" train, and is the only one of the 136 voters revealed not to support Greg Maddux.) <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>571 ballots were submitted, 136 went public on BBWAA (24%), while 205 (36%) wrote about or tweeted ballot. This is not good for game</p>— jasoncollette (@jasoncollette) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasoncollette/statuses/421685173055283200">January 10, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I literally heard, "Thanks, Ben" as I flipped over; very cool. I’ll have to check out the podcast. The Cat, did you see my exchange with Barry Bloom, re: Bagwell? I'm kicking around the idea of starting a blog to champion Bagwell's credentials – if you’re interested, we could turn into a pulpit for shaming voters. I actually signed up for bagwellhof this morning – maybe Clutch could throw some creative at it?
Sure did (your emails with Bloom)... great stuff. I think a Bagwell blog would be a great idea. I know the Astros are pushing Biggio more because he's closer and because they want the "celebration", but Jeff's in a real danger zone and his case is even more compelling. Email me when you get a little closer and I'm definitely willing to help. I can't remember if it was you or someone else in this thread, but the point was dead on that the biggest problem in MLB's HOF voting is the lack of ability for voters to be reached. At least with football, the voters get together in a room and you can communicate with them about a guy's merits. I don't think everyone against Bagwell is necessarily a holier-than-thou prick about PED stuff. A lot of them just genuinely don't realize or appreciate what a dominant player he was.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Here is a fantastic ballot tracker by <a href="https://twitter.com/Weird_Meat">@Weird_Meat</a> <a href="https://t.co/UUIoAFa6Su">https://t.co/UUIoAFa6Su</a></p>— Astros County (@AstrosCounty) <a href="https://twitter.com/AstrosCounty/statuses/421688975661600768">January 10, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My column on Pearlman's site about this: http://www.jeffpearlman.com/without-genuine-ped-proof-biggio-bagwell-belong-in-hall/
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Rocca voted Trammell, Nomo, Raines and Morris. He explained on Facebook. <a href="http://t.co/VHUbiN5KHb">pic.twitter.com/VHUbiN5KHb</a></p>— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/statuses/421690505676992512">January 10, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It seems there are four blocks of voters: 1) smart, progressive voters who have made peace with PEDs 2) smart, progressive voters who are anti-PEDs 3) dumb, lazy voters who have made peace with PEDs 4) dumb, lazy voters who are anti-PEDs The vast majority of #1 are voting for Bagwell (while his total is well below where it should be; it's still 50%+); I don't think we can ever sway blocks #2 and #4. But block #3, which Barry was a member of: they *can* be persuaded, if you're respectful and persistent. As much as we vilify the BBWAA, *some* of them are genuinely open-minded, humble people (like Barry). As for the blog, *any*one in this thread who is contributing information (who voted for who; relevant tweets of pissy writers, etc.) - contact me and we can make this a collective effort, if interested. I'll email you and Clutch...
Hey Now, I definitely agree with doing anything to help educate these voters who aren't voting for Baggy. I would say however that shaming voters is NOT the way to do it!!!!! Sounds like you were able to have a good dialogue with a voter who was open to hearing what you had to say, and ultimately changed their mind and voted for him. This is the way to go about it. Bagwell is a very humble guy, and I know for a fact that he wouldn't be on board with you (or ANYONE else) shaming voters who weren't voting for him. The key is to find voters who are open to hearing further evidence as to why they should vote for Baggy. So I say to you and anyone else who might be thinking about shaming voters on a blog etc to please refrain from doing this.
Very cool. You and Hey Now! are doing great work. I appreciate it as a fan, and a fellow Clutchfans member.
I wonder....some of these voters say they will not vote for anyone that played during the PED era...does that mean they will not vote Albert Pujols, Griffey Jr, Derek Jeter, etc.?
Some of them will not. If Biggio is guilty by association, so are Jeter & Pujols (and maybe even Griffey).
I think those on the fence about Biggio to begin with (based on performance alone) use the possible PED association as an excuse to justify not voting for him. Nobody will keep Jeter out based simply on his performance... thus, he'll get in without any issue whatsoever. Pujols will likely get in much like Frank Thomas got in... never had a spike in production, was "big" when he first got to the big leagues (even though he could have roided up prior to his debut), and had one of the best 10 year stretches of any hitter ever (roids or no roids).
Sure they will get in with ease. Just saying that there are guys who are hardlined about this era. There are also guys who will say Biggio looked dirty, because of who he played with, but vote for Jeter despite dozens of teammates who used.
Pujols raises an interesting question. He was a 13th round pick out of a juco. He played 1 season in the minors, mostly at A ball (3 games at AAA). Then, he's the best thing since sliced bread for STL. That one season in the minors was a pretty good one...but not one, especially from A ball, that you would say, "This guy is going to be the best hitter of his generation."
Sure... but he did it from day 1 in the big leagues, and didn't give anybody a chance to "suspect" him. He was also 21 when he made his debut, eliminating the "he got better despite getting older" roid pathway. He wouldn't have cracked the roster out of spring training in 2001 had McGwire been healthy... and he parlayed a tremendous ST to an opening day shot that he took advantage of. Some guys have "it"... and the special ones don't spend very much time in the minors at all. People also forget that Pujols played everywhere when he first came up (3B, OF, 1B).
