Checking off my 2001 HOF Ballot really accentuated some things I've long suspected about HOF voting.
First off, Kirby Puckett is really a borderline HOFer at best. Put him under the Sandy Koufax school of short careers, small peak, etc.
I don't get what all the fuss is about Jack Morris. He is NOT a HOFer! He led the league in wild pitches 6 times so he has that going for him. Put a shrine on display for his 1991 WS game #7 performance but that's all that needs to be in Cooperstown for Morris.
Steve Garvey is a really solid candidate that should get really strong consideration from the Veteran's Committee. Now, Garvey isn't the prototypical power hitting first baseman, he hit a career high 33 HR's in 1977, but looking at his stretch from 1974-1981 and you would be hard pressed to find a more consistent and reliable hitter in the National League, outside of Pete Rose.
Bill Mazeroski is the worst HOF candidate ever! I'm struggling to even find a season worthy of a bench spot on my team. Again, he should have a shrine like Morris for his WS heroics, not a plaque next to Mantle, Aaron, and Mays!
While we're at it, Bruce Sutter, and Bert Blyleven are 1A and 1B for terrible HOF selections. Seriously, you're going to give those guys a plaque but not Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds? How can the leadership in Cooperstown accept these results?
If we're going to start putting in borderline NL OF's from the 1980's (I'm talking to you Tim Raines and Andre Dawson!) then Dale Murphy needs to be enshrined. Yes, his peak was very short, and he fell off a cliff after 1987, but it's hard to overlook back to back MVP's and the power displayed in that era.
Another candidate whom I often use in the SIM, Tom Henke, really has some dominant closer seasons. If we're going to start allowing the 1 inning specialist closer, Trevor Hoffman missed breaking that door down by 5 votes!, then Henke deserves reconsideration. He was way more dominant than Lee Smith, who doesn't feel like a HOFer to me. They better depict those coke bottle glasses on his HOF plaque!
Thanks for listening everybody. How are your ballots coming along?