Every year, the MLB Hall of Fame voting brings people out of the woodwork with all kinds of opinions about the eligible players, and this year is no different. Some writers refuse to vote for guys that used steroids, some refuse to fill out a ballot because they feel that the ballot is too restricting (writers can only vote for 10 players each year, but there are often more than 10 players worthy of induction), and some do not vote for first-year players because of a variety of reasons.
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Out of the names on this year's ballot, two stand out as interesting cases. Tim Raines has been on the ballot for a number of years, and he has yet to be elected to the Hall despite a statistical resume that unequivocally says he should be in. John Smoltz is appearing on the ballot for the first time, and it appears he may get elected ahead of some more qualified players, according to Grantland.
Time Raines is one of the best players of the last 35 years, and nobody seems to understand or appreciate that fact. Raines stole over 800 bases in his career, making him one of five people to ever do so. His success rate when stealing dwarfs all other players with as many attempts. He reached base more times in his career than numerous other Hall of Famers, including Roberto Clemente and Tony Gwynn. Oh, and during the 1980s, Raines led all major leaguers in Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
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Smoltz was a great pitcher, and he is the only player ever with 200 wins and 150 saves. However, many seem to be interpreting his time as a reliever as a sign that he was a better pitcher than players that only started. In reality, there is a long history of players that have succeeded as relievers after beginning as starters, and many more that failed as starters before finding success out of the bullpen.
Smoltz trails fellow ballot members Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina in many career statistics, including WAR, and he does not have a postseason resume to match Schilling either. Yet, it appears that Smoltz will get in ahead of both.
Smoltz may be getting an artificial boost from having pitched alongside Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, both already in the Hall. He also may be getting some help because he is just a really likeable guy.
Regardless of the reasons why Smoltz may get in and Raines may not, it speaks volumes about the flawed process that is MLB Hall of Fame Voting.
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