THEY COULD HAVE A SEPARATE CEREMONY FOR MCGWIRE AND CANSECO--THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME INJECTION: Excuse the lapse into Leno-esque humor, but this year's Baseball Hall of Fame ballot is out and besides mortal locks Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, it features a number of admitted and suspected steroidal freaks, including the Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, Ken Caminiti, Wally Joyner, and Dante Bichette.
While a number of worthy candidates return, including Jack Morris, Bert Blyleven, Tommy John, Andre Dawson, Goose Gossage, Jim Rice, and Alan Trammell, a very interesting first-time, non-chemically enhanced candidate is Harold Baines, who with the election of Ripken and Gwynn, is poised to be the eligible player with the most career hits (2,866--39th overall) not in the Hall (Pete Rose, of course, leads the list, with Rickey Henderson, Craig Biggio, and Rafael Palmeiro, all ahead of Baines). Baines would also be the eligible player with the most RBI (1,628-23rd overall) not in the Hall. There's no doubt Baines is a product of longevity, but according to Baseball Reference, his career compares favorably with Hall of Famers Al Kaline and Tony Perez and Billy Williams. If I had a vote, Baines would join Cal and Tony on the podium in Cooperstown, but then if I had my way, they'd be joined by the six others mentioned above (Morris, etc.), plus Ronnie Santo as a veteran's pick.
Who gets your vote?
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