Yes, the article has finally made its return.  This week I've decided to write about something I've thought for a long time.  It refers to the admittance into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  This year Nolan Ryan, George Brett, and Robin Yount all were inducted into the hall of fame.  Now, I don't really have a problem with them making it, but the numbers by which they made it are extraordinary.  Brett and Ryan received 98% of the vote each.  That's ridiculous.  Babe Ruth only got 97% of the vote.  It has become way too easy to make the hall of fame.  When the founders of the first and only true sports hall of fame decided to open in 1936, they thought it best that only the best of the best and greatest of the greatest could be enshrined into the hall.  As is, only 1 in 15,000 major leaguers makes the hall of fame, but that's still too many.
    The numbers a player puts up have become automatic bids into the hall of fame such as 3000 hits, 500 homers, and 250 wins.  Guaranteeing admittance just by the numbers could lead to disaster.  How many people is their that are close to a milestone that just stick around specifically to break it even though they aren't playing worth a damn anymore (Pete Rose).  However, I think this is a very dangerous thing.  We are about to come to a time when 500 home runs is not going to be that much.  Case in point is Jose Canseco.  He will probably get to 500 home runs, but do you consider him a hall of famer?  I sure don't.  Harold Baines is approaching 3000 hits, but he has spent his entire career as a designated hitter.  Is excelling at only one aspect of the game worthy of a hall of fame bid?  I don't think so.  Which leads me to the case of Robin Yount.  Now, I know he won two MVP awards and had 3,000 hits, but when you think of Robin Yount, do you think he was one of the greatest of the great?
    Now, the biggest problem with me saying that to people is that they say that Yount deserved to be in because he's better than a lot of people that are in.  Well, isn't that a wonderful reason to elect someone to the hall of fame.  In my opinion, only about 100 players truly deserve to be in the hall of fame.  The rest should be in the hall of good.  So really it's the voters' faults.  They started electing people along time ago that truly didn't belong.  I think it all started with Dizzy Dean being elected in 1953.  He only played for 11 years and had only 150 lifetime wins.  While he was a great pitcher when he was in his prime, he didn't deserve enshrinement into the hall.  I think to make it into the hall of fame, you must have wonderful statistics in your five greatest seasons such as .330 BA, 35 HR, 100 RBI, 100 runs scored.  But, you should also have consistent numbers throughout your career.  That's exactly why I think Roger Maris should not be in the hall of fame.  He had 4 or 5 great years in the prime of his career, but that was it.  He wasn't consistent.
    There are a lot of people that are in the hall of fame that shouldn't be there, but they are so there's really nothing we can do about it now.  However, I don't think it should ever be a factor that an eligible player had better stats than a player that is already enshrined.  I think each player should be taken on an individual basis on whether they excelled in the game at their time.  In today's game, I hate listening to a game and how many times I hear the words, "potential hall of famer."  Sometimes they say it about guys who have played less than three years (Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra).  Now granted, they are great players, but hall of famers--no, not even close, maybe in fifteen years.  There are very few people that I think deserve enshrinement in the hall as of now:  Mark McGwire is in, Tony Gwynn is in, Wade Boggs is in, Cal Ripken is in,  Barry Bonds is in, Roger Clemens is in.  That's it, Maddux, Glavine, Bagwell, Thomas, Sosa, even Griffey have a lot left to prove before they are worthy of the hall of fame.  In my opinion, if there is any question whatsoever about whether a person should be in the hall of fame or not, then he shouldn't be.  Because if there is any doubt, then they don't deserve it.  The fact that there is a question whether they should be in is enough proof to me that there is no way they deserve such an honor. (this excludes Joe Jackson who should be in).  So, in the next couple of years, everytime there is an election and you find out who was elected into the hall, just remember that they are not necessarily the greatest of the great, just pretty damn good.