So Ricky Henderson, perhaps the most selfish player in the modern era,

[WCGreen]

gets into the Hall of Fame but Burt Blylevyn, one of the best pitchers in the 70's, is still sitting on the outside looking in...

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

1. Ty Cobb was a complete scumbag......

......but he belongs in, as does Rickey. It's not really a debate.

Bert probably belongs in, but for christ's sake the fact it took Jim Rice as long as he did to get in was a joke.

[driver8]

23. And Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, as well.

It is an absolute shame that they are keeping Pete Rose out -- especially since Ty Cobb is in.

[driver8]

24. And Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, as well.

It is an absolute shame that they are keeping Pete Rose out -- especially since Ty Cobb is in.

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. My only question is

did Henderson demand that the Hall give him a Ferrari?

[Forkboy]

3. It's the little things that matter.

[Forkboy]

4. Ricky is a dick, but he deserves to be in there.

Burt would get my vote too though.

[KitchenWitch]

5. Bert got snubbed again.

As a Bert fan, I am getting used to it.

[Ikonoklast]

6. Ricky Henderson is not happy with your analysis.

In the end Ricky Henderson did what Ricky Henderson needed to do to make Ricky Henderson a better player.

If you have a problem with other players not being as utterly fantastic, talented, and humble as Ricky Henderson, then Ricky Henderson feels sorry for you.

Ricky Henderson deserves all the praise and accolades that Ricky Henderson gets.

[WCGreen]

7. Ricky Henderson was famous for stealing bases in games when

they were leading 12-1 and no one was holding anyone on...

[jobycom]

9. So did Bert start tossing underhanded when his team was winning?

Henderson is one of the top baseball players ever, Blyleven was a darned good pitcher in his era. It may or may not be sad if Blyleven fails to get in, but if they kept Henderson out, there'd be no more reason for the HoF.

[WCGreen]

10. .279 batting average,,,,

3701 Strike Outs...

3.31 ERA...

1322 Walks...

3 SO to every walk...

Henderson is good, but not great. If he is able to get in on the first ballot, Burt belongs there too...

[jobycom]

17. That's not even defensible. Henderson is one of the top players ever.

He did what he did better than anyone else who has ever played the game. He holds all-time records in steals, lead-off home runs, and runs scored.

What has Blyleven done better than anyone else who ever played the game? Yeah, he was a great pitcher. His strikeout total is impressive, but far below Nolan Ryan's. His win total is impressive, but far below Cy Youngs's, or even modern era leaders like Clemens and Maddox. For that matter (I just looked this up), he has one win less than Tommy John, a lower win percentage than John, and about the same era, and Tommy John isn't in it, either.

Maybe he should be in it (so should Tommy John). But to argue that Henderson shouldn't, or that Blyleven should be in before Henderson, is just wrong. Henderson was a record-setting, once in a generation talent. Hell, he was a once-in-game-history player.

You've heard the line about Henderson, when Bill James was asked if he should be a hall of famer, and he replied that if you cut Henderson's numbers in half, he'd be two hall of famers?

[WCGreen]

22. I said if Hendeson is in Burt should be in...

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Bad analogy

There're times for pitchers to let up a bit, such as when they've got a comfortable lead. But there're never times for pitchers not to try to get hitters out.

OTOH, there are times when attempting steals is at best selfish and at worst bad strategy, if it can be called "strategy" at all.

[jobycom]

16. Maybe so, but to imply that Henderson's total was significantly padded

by steals in 14 run leads is silly. Sure, he probably padded a few. A few of Nolan Ryans 5700 strikeouts were unnecessary--a groundout would have been better. Some of Brett Favre's touchdown passes probably came late in blowouts, too. Then again, so did some of Trent Dilfer's touchdowns.

Point is, Henderson was definitively great, so criticizing some of his numbers and his attitude as a way to promote Blyleven isn't productive or fair. Blyleven got cheap wins now and then. Every baseball player has cheap stats as well as the hard-earned type. That's why totals matter.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. Very well put

I was no fan of Henderson, but that's about his personality. His numbers are Hall-worthy — even that .279 average, because it doesn't take a .320 hitter to produce runs, and that's one thing he did better than almost anyone else.

[jobycom]

19. 1115 RBIs, and 2295 runs scored.

The runs scored is the record, the RBIs isn't in the top 100. So yeah, he's one of the top run producers.

Check out those direcly behind him in runs scored. Any names ring a bell?
1 Rickey Henderson 2,295
2 Ty Cobb 2,246
3 Barry Bonds 2,227
4 Hank Aaron 2,174
Babe Ruth 2,174
6 Pete Rose 2,165
7 Willie Mays 2,062
8 Cap Anson 1,996
9 Stan Musial 1,949
10 Lou Gehrig 1,888
11 Tris Speaker 1,882

A lot of those names kill him in RBIs, but Rickey produced runs with his stolen bases. He's in rarified air with that company.

[HuskerDU]

12. I don't disagree that the guy was a stat padder but I think in that

instance it would be called defensive indifference and he wouldn't be credited with a stolen base.

[Oeditpus Rex]

15. Defensive indifference can be ruled only

when the catcher doesn't attempt a throw under late-inning, big-lead circumstances. It can't be called because the first baseman is playing off the bag because that's often a defensive strategy.

[HuskerDU]

21. Doh! Of course if the catcher throws to second and Rickey is

safe he would get a steal. Up 12-1 late in the game with noone holding him on, I figure that the catcher is more likely to run out to second and punch him than try to peg him out!

[msanthrope]

11. Ricky Henderson agrees with your analysis of Ricky Henderson.

[Jamastiene]

8. Rickey Henderson might have been a complete ass, but he was

a great baseball player. You are right though, that Bert Blylevyn was great too.

[MrSlayer]

14. Rickey Henderson, the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history, was a no-brainer pick.

An absolute, no doubt about it, first ballot Hall of Famer. Whether or not he was selfish is absolutely meaningless.

[NewJeffCT]

20. Sorry, Blyleven was a pretty good pitcher, but not HoF material

One 20 win season his whole career and only one 19 win season, and a 287-250 overall record isn't that impressive - he won only 53% of his decisions.

Rickey Henderson was an intimidating & dominant player in baseball from the early 80s through the 90s... he constantly disrupted pitchers and teams had to plan around his presence in the lineup.

[Magrittes Pipe]

25. Rickey scores runs. Runs win games.

As Bill James once said, split Rickey's career in half, and you'd have TWO Hall-of-Famers.

That said, it's a travesty that Blyleven's not yet gotten the call.

[bluestateguy]

26. That is just nonsense

He was a hot dog, no doubt, but he was the best at what he did: stealing bases and leading off the game. He earned the right to hot dog.

All of his ex-teammates have testified to Rickey being a 100% team player. Never did drugs, never broke the law and never started shit in the clubhouse. We need more players like that in baseball.

I'll defer to your judgment, however, about Bery Blyleven.