Why? Houston ALWAYS gets left out in the cold. It just seems like something fun for sportswriters to do.
I don't really think there is but maybe a couple of dumb sportswriters. There is no doubt he will be 1st ballot.
It isn't because he's from Houston. It's the way he's limped down the stretch here, a lot of people are forgetting how good he was in his prime, just like they forget how great Frank Thomas was. Both should be Hall of Famers and the last few years have nothing to do with why. But those are the years that stick out right now. By the time Biggio is up for election, the stench of his final seasons will be gone and people will look at the big picture.
no it isn't. it's because they never watch astros baseball. they have no clue. these guys aren't paid to watch teams all around the country...but ultimlately they're left with votes on those teams. NL guys get slighted because the bigger market teams are AL teams...the dominant teams in the bigger markets on the East Coast are AL teams. So the guys covering those teams there don't ever see the 'stros. They wake up one day and look at cumulative stats to see if someone is HOF-worthy...and it's been done like that forever because of that problem.
Interesting poll numbers on ESPN.com right now about Biggio. I'd expect these numbers to have a bump given that it's the day after all the 3,000 publicity, but I was shocked at how high some of the results are. The conventional wisdom has really swung to Biggio being First-Ballot. Remember 3 years ago when people were actually debating if he was HOF-caliber? Biggio Poll on ESPN: 1) What are Craig Biggio's Hall of Fame chances? 71.7% First ballot 25.5% In but not on first ballot 2.7% Won't get in 7) Who is the best second baseman of the last 25 years? 46.6% Craig Biggio 23.2% Ryne Sandberg 20.0% Roberto Alomar 5.3% Jeff Kent 2.5% Lou Whitaker 2.4% Alfonso Soriano I've been telling my wife the past couple years that Biggio's induction will be our family vacation that year!
In the words of Lou Brown.."that's a hell of an idea". If he's first ballot and retires after this year, would that make it in 2012 or 2013?
People really don't give the Hall of Fame voters enough credit. They are incredibly adept at doing their research before voting on guys. I think they do the best job. There are very few people you can make a case for that should be in that aren't and vice versa. Houston fans have this insecurity for some reason that all their players are overlooked in every sport and that's just not the case. They may not get all the respect they deserve because they are in a small market, but when it comes time to vote, the HOF voters don't screw small market guys. Name an Astro who gets screwed by voters in any award?
Guess what? The media doesn't vote on the gold glover winners. Managers and coaches (and maybe players not sure) vote at the end of a season for gold glove winners.
these guys revert to cumulative stats because they're not able to see these guys play regularly. they can't. i'm not saying they necessarily have an axe to grind with smaller market clubs...i'm suggesting that they don't typically see them play. and i've HEARD HOF voters say, "wow, i was surprised when i looked at his stats over the years and he had done X." i heard a guy on ESPN this morning (not a HOF voter, admittedly) say Biggio wasn't a HOFer because he was never the best player in the NL, or even in the top 5, in any given year. ridiculous on all counts.
Right, but my point is that by the time the voting comes around, the voters have done their research. I'm not saying he gets full credit now, I think I said that earlier. They say the same thing about Frank Thomas. When the time comes to vote though, the voters will be informed and will make the right vote. They USUALLY do. I bolded usually because I think they've made a few bad mistakes. (Kirby Puckett in, Blyleven out)
Jayson Stark (as always) wrote an article on Biggio, too. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2920433 I'm feeling lazy about posting it
your point was that what was sticking out in people's minds was him limping towards 3000. that's what i was primarily disagreeing with. because i don't think most have been watching closely enough to know that. not in other markets. i think 3000 stands out...by itself. that's what's being remembered. and that's why there's the Biggio love fest on ESPN right now. no one is talking, today, about how he's limped there. my point is...these guys never really know how your guys are playing. just as i don't know much about the Twins this year other than what i've seen from the 2-3 times i've seen them play and a cursory look at stats.
i'm gonna steal from that Stark article to make my point: "Maybe it didn't take those five hits he got Thursday -- on a night when he became the first player in history to paint a five-hit masterpiece in the game in which he got his 3,000th hit -- to make the inhabitants of this planet comprehend that this fellow is a no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer. But why do we have that feeling that about 97 percent of the non-Texans in our audience only came to that realization about two weeks ago? It isn't easy to sneak up on that 3,000-Hit Club, you know. With the last few men to join that group before Biggio -- Rafael Palmeiro, Rickey Henderson, Cal Ripken, Boggs -- we saw them coming 500 hits away. But come on now. Admit it. You never even noticed Biggio was on that precipice until he got to, like, 2,976."
