Committee Chairman

Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mariners HOF

Aug 11, 2013

With all the talk of Performance Enhancing Drugs in the world of Baseball, it is nice to look at a genuine superstar of the last twenty five years who has never been linked to a syringe. This weekend, the Seattle Mariners will honor Ken Griffey Jr., and make him the seventh man to enter their Hall of Fame.

“Junior” spent his entire 20’s (and one teen year) in a Mariners uniform and easily had his best seasons while playing in the Pacific Northwest. He was a statistical juggernaut there, winning the AL MVP in 1997 and leading the League in WAR three times, Home Runs four times and had an OPS over one on four occasions. He never had a bad season in Seattle and with the exception of Edgar Martinez, is likely the best Seattle Mariner of all time.

After he left Seattle for Cincinnati, his game deteriorated and he was never a “great” player again. As such, PED use was never suspected of the Griffey Jr., as many of his slugging peers had better power seasons in their 30’s, while Ken aged the way you would expect of a mortal human being.

In 2016 Ken Griffey Jr, will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame and we are certain he will be a lock for first year induction. This is a nice first step on his way to Cooperstown.

Chris Webber to #1: Basketball Revisions are up!

Aug 09, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

It is that time again here at Notinhalloffame.com. We have officially revamped our Basketball list, and there are a lot of changes from top to bottom. We have always been critical about the Basketball Hall, which has not been the easiest to follow, and is not high on the public consciousness in comparison to the sports’ popularity. However, it is a sport that we love, and as such, it is time to revise the list.

Our top two entries from last year’s list were inducted when first time nominee, Gary Payton (#1) and long-time nominee (#2) Bernard King were selected for induction. As such the top five has gone an overhaul, and we have a new number one selection.

We have selected first year nominee, Chris Webber as the number one selection for the Notinhalloffame.com list. C-Webb, had a very good professional career, mostly with the Sacramento Kings where he was a hair away from obtaining an NBA Finals appearance. Webber was also part of the Michigan Wolverines’ “Fab Five” which may not have won an NCAA Championship, but is easily the most famous team in collegiate Basketball over the last twenty-five years.

Spencer Haywood, who we feel was snubbed last year, has moved from #3 to #2. The #3 slot has been taken by first year nominee, Alonzo Mourning.

There are more first year nominees entering the Notinhalloffame.com Basketball list. This includes Penny Hardaway (#23), Sam Cassell (#39), Robert Horry (#46), Eddie Jones (#48), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (#51) and Steve Francis (#58).

As always, you can place your votes and opinions right now, and your votes do affect future rankings!

Kiss Cooperstown Goodbye, A-Rod

Aug 05, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

We knew this day was coming for some time. Alex Rodriguez was suspended by Major League Baseball for the rest of the 2013 Season and the entire 2014 Season for his role in the Biogenesis Scandal. A-Rod was not the only one suspended, but his penalty was far more severe than the other twelve men, as MLB felt they had evidence that he tampered with the investigation and under the by-laws of Baseball, they can penalize him harsher for besmirching the good of the game. Although Rodriguez is currently fighting the decision, we strongly believe that this will end any chance that he would have for the Hall of Fame.

Sadly, Baseball and Performance Enhancing Drugs have been intertwined for the last two decades. Regular readers of this website may have noticed that we have supported the candidacy of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire for Cooperstown. Our reasons were very simple for this, as during the time of their indiscretions, Major League Baseball and their Union had no policy against it, and frankly they profited very much by it in the late 90’s by McGwire’s single season Home Run chase of Roger Maris. In fact, some has gone so far as to say it saved the game after the 1994 strike alienated fans.

As the public became more aware (or sorry to say, finally saw the obvious) that these records were being aided by PEDs, fans began to turn on these hulking sluggers. Baseball was still profiting from these players to a certain extent, but they were also becoming embarrassed by them. It took many years, and extensive negotiations with the MLB Players Union, but by 2005 there was a Drug Policy in place, and players would be suspended if it was a violated.

This was not just for show, as suspensions were issued and not just to small names. Potential Hall of Fame players like Manny Ramirez were hit, and it was clear that this was a policy meant to eradicate the sins of the past. It doesn’t change what happened, but it is a path that MLB should be praised for, as they are the front runners in the major sports for their role in penalizing those who cheat by partaking in PEDs.

Actually, we will argue that they are the only major North American sporting organization that takes it seriously. It is been strongly alleged that the Biogenesis Scandal does not include only Baseball players; however ONLY MLB has sought out those who were part of it. There has been no attempt (or even comment) by the NFL, NBA or anyone else for that matter.

The climate has changed amongst the players too. Nobody can argue that the MLB Players’ Union is not strong, but they are on board with the strong testing; something that was far from the case a decade ago. Witness the sombre reaction to Ryan Braun’s suspension. His peers discussed disappointment with the former National League MVP, and the overall belief within a MLB dugout is that PED users are NOT good for the game.

This bring us to Alex Rodriguez, who had admitted to using enhancers during his time with the Texas Rangers; which should be noted was prior to any set policy by MLB. He stated that he was since clean, and went as far to publicly speak against it. As we now know (and based on what MLB claims is mountains of evidence) this was not the case, and he violated policies of the game.

This is the difference to us, as since there is a known code of conduct in place, we would have no problem understanding a Hall of Fame voter for blacklisting A-Rod. If we had a vote (and nobody does this write up better than our own, DDT), we aren’t even sure that he is a first ballot entry anyways, and that is even with we forget about the PEDs.

Although we can’t argue with the whopping regular season statistics of Rodriguez; however where were they in the Post Season?

A-Rod’s Regular Season stat line of .300/.384/.560 drops to .263/.369/.464 in the Post Season, echoing complaints that he is not a clutch performer. He did have a stellar 2009 Post Season, but that is countered by his benching (justified) in his last playoff appearance.

The Seattle Mariners had their best regular season the year after Rodriguez left for Texas. The Rangers never had a winning season in his three years there and improved by seventeen games, the year after (they paid) New York to take him. Alex Rodriguez only translated to one World Series for what was an All Star lineup. For a man with over 100 WAR, we have to openly question just how many wins he translates to.

We do know this. The above three paragraphs are irrelevant as far as Cooperstown goes, because he can officially kiss it goodbye. We can’t say that we will be going on our soapbox to change that opinion either.

RIP: Art Donovan

Aug 05, 2013

Published in Not in Hall of Fame News

On the Football Hall of Fame weekend, Canton lost one of its own, in the passing of Art Donovan, who was inducted in 1968. The Defensive Tackle was a five time Pro Bowl Selection and a member of the 1950’s All Decade Team and with the Baltimore Colts was a two time NFL Champion. However, it was not on the field that most people remember him for.

Art Donovan was one of the most colourful personalities of all time, and his appearances on the David Letterman Show raised his profile. His humour was transcendent and e would become a popular public speaker.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com offer our condolences to the friends and family of Art Donovan at this time.