Committee Chairman
The Baseball List is revised
Last week we here at Notinhalloffame.com were thrilled to unveil the 2014 Rock and Roll list at a timeframe much quicker than we did last year. With that completed, we were able to focus on the Baseball section, which we have now finished and are happy to unveil today.
As happy as we are to present it to all of you, we know that the debate on the Baseball Hall of Fame will remain the hottest debate among such institutions and we welcome the polarizing opinions that comes with it.
As with all of the other lists we do, we alter rankings based on the input that you give us. The votes and comments mean a lot to us and we certainly encourage all of you to keep making this website as interactive as possible. As for the new entries, we base that first ranking on as much statistical analysis as possible, though of course in the sport of Baseball, stats are constantly being evaluated and re-evaluated and far too often the magical element of the sport is forgotten when we look at the eligible players.
The top of the list remained the same as we continue to have the banned Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson at 1A and 1B and PED tainted Barry Bonds at 1C, making him the top eligible player. His support on our site is mostly positive, though in dealing with him and many of the other PED users (or suspected users), we are dealing with absolutes as you have told us you definitely want him in, or definitely want him out. Until it shifts that more of you want him out, Bonds will likely maintain the top spot.
The same is said for Roger Clemens, who won more Cy Young Awards than anyone else, who remains at number 2. Like Bonds, he is a position where it appears that the Baseball Writers will not be selecting them for the Hall of Fame, and we wonder how long we will see Bonds and Clemens remain 1 and 2 on this list.
Although the top is unchanged, there are four former players who are entering the top 25, two of which we think will be first ballot Hall of Fame entries, with a strong possibility of a third.
“The Big Unit” Randy Johnson is the highest ranking new entry, taking over the number 3 spot, which was owned last year by first year inductee and fellow Pitcher, Greg Maddux. It is on the Pitcher’s mound where we will also find Pedro Martinez who enters at number 5, again a position which inducted another first year entry last year in Frank Thomas.
John Smoltz did not make our top ten, though he enters at number 13 and is a very strong Hall of Fame contender. The others in the top ten are Mike Piazza (4), Jeff Bagwell (6), Mike Mussina (7), Tim Raines (8), Bill Dahlen (9) and Curt Schilling (10). Among the “Eligible” top ten, only Dahlen is not on next year’s ballot and would have to enter based on the support of the Veterans Committee.
Also now eligible is Gary Sheffield makes his debut at 22, and we are very eager to see what the Baseball Writers do with him. The fifth and final new entry to the list is Carlos Delgado who we have slotted in at 63.
You know what we want from all of you! Check out these new entries and cast your vote or offer a comment.
Donovan and Ray Davies selected to the Songwriters HOF
As we have mentioned here on Notinhalloffame.com, we don’t foresee us ever ranking those who are not in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This is not to say that we don’t have respect for this institution as we certainly do, but as much as songwriting is an obviously vital part of music, this Hall of Fame does not raise even a fraction of the ire and passion that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does.
Regardless of that fact, there is a major event which occurred yesterday as they have announced their 2014 Class which includes a pair of recognizable names and three names who penned for some of the greatest musical legends of all time.
The arguable headliner is Ray Davies, the frontman and songwriter of the popular British band, The Kinks. The band themselves have long since been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though it can be argued that this is an overdue induction as Davies was not a songwriter who penned the standard rock tune. He could appeal to the working class, the avant garde and those who just wanted a cheery pop song.
The other high level name selected was Donovan, who also was selected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Scotsman was a major force on the Folk scene that was labelled as a genius by some and eccentric by others; of which they might both be right. No matter what, he was unique and he is a man of which time has shined a very positive light.
They are joined by another man from the United Kingdom, Graham Gouldman. He penned three well known songs that have persevered from the late 60’s, including two made famous by the Yardbirds (Heart Full of Soul & For Your Love) and Bus Stop which was recorded by the Hollies. He was a performer himself and was part of 10cc, which themselves had a decent run.
The fourth inductee is Mark James, form the United States. He wrote “Hooked on a Feeling” which was performed by his friend, B.J. Thomas and “Suspicious Minds” which was arguable Elvis’ last great hit. In our opinion, his greatest songwriting performance was “Always On My Mind” which was executed so well by Willie Nelson, that he often erroneously receives credit for writing it.
The final inductee is Jim Weatherly, also an American. Like everyone else selected this year, he wrote many hits but was known mostly for his work writing the majority of the songs for Gladys Knight and the Pips, including “Midnight Train to Georgia”.
We would like to congratulate this year’s class, and we will certainly keep an eye on who will be selected next year.
Lita to the WWE Hall of Fame
It was announced tonight on Monday Night Raw that Amy Dumas who performed as “Lita” in the WWE, will be part of the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame Class.
This should not come as a real shock, as she was one of the top women wrestlers in the 2000’s and the WWE has seemingly tried to induct a female every year since its return to annual inductions in 2004.
Amy Dumas began her wrestling career in 1998 and within a year she was performing in ECW as “Miss Congeniality” where she only appeared for five months before gaining attention from the World Wrestling Federation. She would debut in 2000 as the valet of Essa Rios, though it was clear that she was no ordinary valet.
Now named Lita, she would perform moonsaults on the prone body of the opponent of Rios after the match. It wasn’t a bad pairing, but her career skyrocketed as a member of “Team Extreme” with the Matt and Jeff Hardy, and she was quickly regarded for her athleticism and unique look. In the ring she would begin an on again-off again feud with Trish Stratus, and the two would make the Women’s division relevant in a way that has not been seen since the two retired.
She would make wrestling headlines when she left her real life boyfriend, Matt Hardy for fellow wrestler, Edge, turning her into the biggest female heel in wrestling. She retired as a four time WWE Champion, and arguable behind Trish Stratus as the most important female wrestler of the decade of the 2000’s.
We would like to congratulate Amy Dumas for her selection to the WWE Hall of Fame.
Deep Purple to number one on Rock and Roll Revisions
Ladies and Gentleman, we have always said that the Winter is our favorite time of year at Notinhalloffame.com. In a thirty day period, it is when the Rock and Roll, Baseball and Football Halls of Fame announce their new classes, and we have to back to the drawing board and revise our lists.
The first up is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and we are thrilled to announce that we have our revision done much quicker than we did last year. Our last year’s number one selection, Nirvana was selected on their first year of eligibility necessitating a new musical act to take over the top spot.
For the first time in our site’s existence, all of the acts that were selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were in our top 100. This includes KISS (5), Peter Gabriel (15), Cat Stevens (36), Hall & Oates (63) and Linda Ronstadt (93).
We have revamped our “Notinhalloffame” Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list based on our usual criteria:
1: Your Votes and Comments:
Votes are critical here. We have our own opinions here, but this has always been meant to be the intention here. High votes raise ranking, low votes plummet them.
2: The New Eligible Acts:
Every year, as certain bands are selected, we have new musical acts to take their place that are now eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Along with our opinions, the votes and comments that you gave in the “Future” sections help rank the new list.
Here is what we have determined for the 2014 List.
As we need to secure a new number one on the list, and there was no consensus top pick on the new crop of acts, we elected to go with your votes on an act that we have selected in our top five since we started this website.
The new Number One Selection is Deep Purple, the band that gave us “Smoke on the Water” and has received one of the highest percentages of support in our site’s young history. The British rockers were nominated by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the past two years though have failed to receive the support needed to make the final hump.
With the removal of Nirvana and KISS form the top five, Kraftwerk, Roxy Music, The Smiths and Jethro Tull round out the top five.
There are many new entries to the 2014 list, the highest ranking belonging to Green Day at #20. They helped resurrect the Punk Rock world, and could be a potential first ballot entry to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Nine Inch Nails also cracks the top fifty. The Trent Reznor outfit could potentially be the first act to fly the Industrial Music flag. Reznor is considered by many to be a musical genius, and his induction would not be opposed by many.
The top 100 has another new entry in Pavement, who takes over the #79 slot. They could be a legitimate darkhorse candidate for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The new acts are joined by the following:
#106 The Manic Street Preachers
#111 The Offspring
#134 Sarah McLachlin
#160 Lenny Kravitz
#247 Gang Starr
#299 Garth Brooks
#332 The Bare Naked Ladies
#366 Queen Latifah
#420 The Gin Blossoms
#427 Buffalo Tom
#443 Skid Row
#475 Warrant
#490 Selena
Gang, you know what we want you to do! If you have not yet voted or made a comment, please do so and make your vote be heard.