It’s one of the most eye-popping statistics in all of sports. Who is the all-time vote getter among the Hall of Famers in Major League Baseball? Ruth, Aaron, Mays … maybe DiMaggio? The correct answer is none of the above. Amazin’ Met Tom Seaver continues to wear the crown of the highest vote getter in Cooperstown. I won’t even insult the aforementioned outfielders by debating their skills but certainly you could make a cogent argument that Seaver is not even the finest hurler in the Hall. But know sportswriters have a unique opportunity to make a statement by ushering in Ken Griffey, Jr., one of the few players whose reputation for playing the game cleanly and correctly goes unchallenged. Griffey remains one of the great homerun hitters of all-time; a slugger who had it not been for nagging injuries, many he accrued slamming into walls stealing stats from his slugging opponents, might have shattered Henry Aaron’s record long before Barry “Balco” Bonds. A unanimous decision, 100 percent of those voting should welcome in the ballplayer that took the road less traveled. And by the by, shame on Mike Piazza for opting to don a Mets hat into the Hall rather than the lid of the team that developed his young talent, nurtured it and made it the centerpiece of their organization … The Los Angeles Dodgers.
