Who are these guys?

[Bob Loblaw]

The eight voters for baseball's Hall of Fame who left Cal Ripken off of their ballot as apparently unworthy of joining the Hall.

[k_jerome]

1. i think theres certain guys that don't think anyone should be...

a unanimous choice. their thinking being that if Babe Ruth was not unanimous, no one should be.

[Bob Loblaw]

2. I've heard that before.

What do they do, get together and decide who's going to vote against someone? Or do a few guys vote against everyone? I mean really... who are the idiots who think that Cal Ripken doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame. I love baseball and most of its traditions, but this one just baffles me every time someone like Robin Yount has a few voters who essentially vote against them. OK, I'm done now.

[k_jerome]

3. i guess...

there are those that figure since Cal and Tony will get in regardless, they just don't vote for them. it is kinda silly.

[Captain Hilts]

4. Ripken was a streaky player who should have sat years earlier.

I like Cal, but he would have been a better player without the streak.

Tony Gwynn is the greatest hitter since Ted Williams.

[Bob Loblaw]

5. I don't disagree...

but it wouldn't make me withhold my vote. George Brett could hit a little too, with some power thrown in for good measure.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Brett was a great hitter by any standard.

Whether or not you count the pine tar one. He certainly is a Hall of Famer. And the Red Sox third baseman with the female trouble - his name escapes me right now - also was very good.

But Gwynn was good for a long time on what was usually a rotten team.

[Bob Loblaw]

7. Wade Boggs

[Counciltucky]

8. I have to agree.

Seriously, if you think that Cal Ripken is unworthy of joining the Hall of Fame, you probably shouldn't be a Hall of Fame voter.

Of course, I'd be a bit more liberal (in the dictionary terminology) in my Hall vote -- Ripken, Gwynn, Gossage, McGwire, Jack Morris, Andre Dawson, Don Mattingly, Bert Blyleven, Lee Smith, Tommy John, Steve Garvey, Paul O'Neill, and Scott Brosius (admittedly the other two don't necessarily deserve induction, but their roles in the Yankee three-peat merit at least a single vote), and I would write in Pete Rose for good measure.

[Captain Hilts]

9. I didn't say he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. But the streak became counter-productive...

keeping the streak going affected his play and isolated him from his team mates. He stayed at a different hotel than the team for the last couple of years of the streak.

I'm a Cal fan, but the streak wasn't good for him or the team, though it was GREAT for baseball after the strike. I was at the last game of the streak.

[Counciltucky]

11. The hotel thing was probably because of fans.

I read somewhere that Ichiro Suzuki has to do the same thing just due to the throng of fans. Can't fault a player for that.

Gotta agree that the streak was great for baseball. I went to the game in KC where he broke Sachio Kinugasa's world consecutive-games record. Of course, sibling rivalry is slightly injected when I think of the streak -- he broke Gehrig's record on my sister's birthday and then sat out three years later on my birthday, lol.

By the way, I didn't mean to imply that you said Cal shouldn't be a HOFer. I was referring to voters in general, those who wouldn't vote for Cal.

[erpowers]

12. Why

Do you have any idea why he did this? Do many other players do this type of thing? I know another poster said that Ichiro does the same thing due to the throng of fans. Are some of these players shy? I do not see how throngs of fans would cause a player to stay at a different hotel than the other team members.

[Indy_Dem_Defender]

10. There is always going to be

those couple of writers want to look controversial by not voting for a sure thing. Does the basketball hall of fame use sports writers to cast votes as well? If thats the case I'm sure someone will not vote for Michael Jordan just for the Pub.