So If You were a Card Carrying Member of the BBWAA...

Who would you vote for induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame??? This year's ballot, mailed out to 10 year veterans of the BBWAA (Baseball Writer's Association of America), has only 23 names on it, the lowest number of players in quite some time. Ten are being considered for the first time, and if you've already read a couple of blogs, you'd know they were:

• Jay Bell (1988 Topps)
• David Cone (1987 Topps Traded)
• Ron Gant (1988 Topps Traded)
• Mark Grace (1988 Topps Traded)
• Rickey Henderson (1980 Topps)
• Jesse Orosco (1983 Topps)
• Dan Plesac (1986 Topps Traded)
• Greg Vaughn (1990 Topps)
• Mo Vaughn (1991 Topps Traded)
• Matt Williams (1987 Topps Traded)

And returning for another shot at baseball immortality:

• Harold Baines (1981 Topps)
• Bert Blyleven (1971 Topps)
• Andre Dawson (1977 Topps)
• Tommy John (1964 Topps)
• Don Mattingly (1984 Topps)
• Mark McGwire (1985 Topps)
• Jack Morris (1978 Topps)
• Dale Murphy (1977 Topps)
• Dave Parker (1974 Topps)
• Tim Raines (1981 Topps)
• Jim Rice (1975 Topps)
• Lee Smith (1982 Topps)
• Alan Trammell (1978 Topps)

Both Vaughn cousins become the first players nominated to have a rookie card from the 1990's (I think...I could be wrong). Of the 23 players on this list, I have 19 players' rookie or first Topps cards (all but Blyleven, John, Parker, and Rice). Tonight (I promise I'll do it), I'll post scans of each person's cards, and when the ballots are counted and new HOF's are announced, I will scan and display every Topps card from that person's playing days.

If I had a vote, my ballot would consist of Baines, Dawson, Grace, and Lee Smith (Chicago bias), Henderson (how could you NOT VOTE FOR RICKEY??!), McGwire (doesn't matter what got him there, he got there), Raines (need another Expo in the Hall), Mattingly (if for any reason than that even when the Yankees were in a WS drought, they had a superstar), Cone (Cone spelled backwards is Enoc right Harry Caray?), and Orosco (someone has to vote him in...remember when Deshaies campaigned for just one vote?). Nine guys should be good enough.

And you thought I'd never talk about baseball ever again...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

P.S. That's why you're a friend of the blog drizz. I've just made the fix on the list on Morris to state that his rookie card was 1978. I put the cards up there so I knew what cards to look for when it was time to scan them.

Unfortunately, when Whitaker was up for election (2001), he only got 15 votes total for a paltry 2.9% of the 515 votes submitted. He is no longer even in consideration. Shame. It would have been nice in a perfect world for both Tram and Whit to get into the Hall together a la Tinkers-Evers-Chance. jba