In our methodical process to present the top 50 players of all of the franchises of the big four, our next goal is to take a look at how each one of them honor their past players and/or executives. As such it is significant news to us that the Cincinnati Reds, one of the longest tenured teams in Major League Baseball has announced that Adam Dunn will become the latest member of their team’s Hall of Fame.

A second round draft pick in 1998, Dunn would make the main roster in 2001 and would become quickly known for his tape measure Home Runs. A Red for eight seasons (2001 & 2008) Dunn had five consecutive 40 Home Run years (though the last was split with Arizona) and he would go yard 270 times with Cincinnati.

While Dunn would have some detractors for his low Batting Average, high Strikeout ratio and poor defense, he did have an excellent On Base Percentage (.380) and Slugging Percentage (.520) as a Red. The Reds never had a winning season while Dunn played there but his power displays certainly gave a lot of fans to cheer for.

Dunn beat out Aaron Boone, Danny Graves, Reggie Sanders, John Franco and Scott Rolen who were also nominated. It is possible that the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Veteran’s Committee will announce other inductees to join Dunn.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Adam Dunn for achieving this prestigious honor.

After being cut from the Dallas Cowboys, Running Back Darren McFadden has announced his retirement from the National Football League today.

A veteran of ten seasons in the NFL, McFadden was the fourth overall pick in 2008 out of the University of Arkansas. McFadden would twice accrue 1,000 Yards, one with Oakland (2010) and one with Dallas (2015) and tallied 5,421 Yards in total with 28 Touchdowns. He would also gain another 2,114 Yards through 254 Receptions.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish the best for Darren McFadden and his post-playing career.

Can we say again how much we love “Hall of Fame Season”?

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced their Semi-Finalists are out and it brings out many familiar faces.

Let’s get right to the 27 Semi-Finalists:

Steve Atwater: Safety, DEN 1989-98 & NYJ 1999. Atwater is a Semi-Finalist for the seventh year in a row and he was a two time All-Pro Selection. Ranked #17 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Ronde Barber: Cornerback/Safety, TB 1997-2012. Barber is entering his first year of eligibility and is a three time First Team All-Pro Selection. Barber helped the Buccaneers win Super Bowl XXXVII. Ranked #15 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Tony Boselli: Offensive Tackle, JAX 1995-01 & HOU 2002. Boselli is a Semi-Finalist for the third time and was a five time Pro Bowl Selection. He was also a three time First Team All Pro. Ranked #81 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Isaac Bruce: Wide Receiver, LAR/STL 1994-07 & SF 2008-09. Bruce is a Semi-Finalist for the fourth straight time and is a four time Pro Bowler. Bruce had 15,208 Receiving Yards over his career, which is fourth all-time overall. Ranked #18 on Notinhalloffame.com.

LeRoy Butler. Safety, GB 1990-01. While Butler has been Hall of Fame eligible since 2007, this is his first appearance as a Semi-Finalist. Butler was both a four time First Team All Pro and Pro Bowl Selection and he is also a Super Bowl Champion. Ranked #83 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Don Coryell: Coach, STL 1973-77 & SD 1978-86. Don “Air” Coryell is a Semi-Finalist for the tenth time and for the ninth year in a row.

Roger Craig: Running Back, SF 1983-90, LAR 1991 & MIN 1992-93. Craig returns as a Semi-Finalist for the tenth time in a row. He is a former NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1988) and a three time Super Bowl Champion. Ranked #11 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Brian Dawkins: Safety, PHI 1996-08. Dawkins is a Semi-Finalist for the second year in a row and was a Finalist last year, which was his first year of eligibility. He went to nine Pro Bowls and was chosen for four First Team All Pros. Ranked #7 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Alan Faneca: Offensive Guard, PIT 1998-07, NYJ 2008-09 & ARI 2010. Faneca is a Semi-Finalist for the third time and was also a Finalist the last two years. Faneca went to nine Pro Bowls, was a six time First Team All Pro Selection and is a former Super Bowl Champion. Ranked #4 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Torry Holt: Wide Receiver, STL1999-08 & JAX 2009. Holt is a six time Pro Bowler who twice led the NFL in Receiving Yards. This is his fourth time as a Semi-Finalist. Ranked #13 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Steve Hutchinson: Offensive Guard, SEA 2001-05, MIN 2006-11 & TEN 2012. Hutchinson is in his first year of eligibility and is a five time First Team All Pro Selection. Ranked #36 on Notinhalloffame.com.



Joe Jacoby: Offensive Tackle, WAS 1981-93. Jacoby is a Semi-Finalist for the eighth time and was a Finalist last year. The two time Pro Bowler was also a three time Super Bowl Champion. Ranked #52 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Edgerrin James: Running Back, IND 1999-05, ARI 2006-08 & SEA 2009. James is a four time Pro Bowl Selection and a two time Rushing Champion. This is his fourth time in a row as a Semi-Finalist. Ranked #19 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Jimmy Johnson: Coach, DAL 1989-93 & MIA 1996-99. Johnson is a two time Super Bowl winner and a five time Semi-Finalist.

Ty Law: Cornerback, NE 1995-04, NYJ 2005 & 08, KC 2006-07 & DEN 2009. Law is a five time Pro Bowler and three time Super Bowl Champion. He is a Semi-Finalist for the fourth time and was a Finalist last year. Ranked #30 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Ray Lewis. Linebacker, BAL 1996-12. This is the first year of Ray Lewis’ Hall of Fame eligibility and likely his last as he should get in immediately. He is a two time Super Bowl Champion and also a two time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.   Ranked #1 on Notinhalloffame.com.

John Lynch. Safety, TB 1993-03 & DEN 2003-07. Lynch is a Semi-Finalist for the sixth time in a row and has also been a past Finalist. Lunch went to nine Pro Bowls and was a Super Bowl Champion with Tampa Bay. Ranked #34 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Kevin Mawae. Center/Offensive Guard, SEA 1994-97, NYJ 1998-05 & TEN 2006-09. Mawae is a Semi-Finalist for the fourth year in a row and is also a past Finalist. He is also an eight time Pro Bowl and three time First Team All Pro Selection. Ranked #22 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Karl Mecklenburg. Linebacker, DEN 1983-84. Mecklenburg is now a Semi-Finalist for the seventh straight time and he is a six time Pro Bowler. Ranked #66 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Randy Moss. Wide Receiver, MIN 1998-04, OAK 2005-06, NE 2007-10, TEN 2010 & SF 2012. This the first year of eligibility for Moss who was one of the most dynamic players ever. Moss was a four time First Team All Pro Selection who is third all time in Receiving Yards. Ranked #3 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Leslie O’Neal. Defensive End, SD 1986 & 1988-95, STL 1996-97 & KC 1998-99. Despite being eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 2005, this is the first time that O’Neal has become a Semi-Finalist. He is a six time Pro Bowler. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Terrell Owens. Wide Receiver, SF 1996-03, PHI 2004-05, DAL 2006-08, BUF 2009 & CIN 2010. Owens returns for the third time in the Semi-Finals and he was a Finalist the previous two years. T.O. is second overall in Receiving Yards and is a five time First Team All Pro Selection. Of course, he already has a Hall of Fame jacket, whether he gets in or not! Ranked #8 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Simeon Rice. Defensive End, AZ 1996-00, TB 2001-06, DEN 2007 & IND 2007. Rice is on his first year of eligibility and is a former three time Pro Bowl Selection and Super Bowl Champion with Tampa Bay. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Richard Seymour. Defensive End/Defensive Tackle, NE 2001-08 & OAK 2009-12. This is the first year of eligibility for Seymour who was a three time Super Bowl Champion and seven time Pro Bowl Selection. Ranked #48 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Brian Urlacher. Linebacker, CHI 2000-12. Urlacher is Hall of Fame eligible for the first time in his career and he was an eight time Pro Bowl and four time First Team All Pro Selection. Ranked #9 on Notinhalloffame.com.

Everson Walls. Cornerback, DAL 1981-89, NYG 1990-92 & CLE 1992-93. Despite being eligible for the Pro Football for nearly twenty years, this is the first time that Walls made it to the Semi-Finals. Walls was a four time Pro Bowl Selection and he led the NFL in Interceptions three times. Unranked on Notinhalloffame.com.

Hines Ward. Wide Receiver, PIT 1998-11. Ward is a Semi-Finalist for the second time in a row and he is a four time Pro Bowl Selection and a Super Bowl Champion. Ranked #31 on Notinhalloffame.com.

This group of Semi-Finalists will be trimmed down to fifteen in January. They will automatically be joined by Contributor Finalist, Bobby Beathard and two Senior Finalists; Jerry Kramer and Robert Brazile.

As you can imagine, we will be paying close attention to that announcement!

Well that didn’t take long.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Joe Morgan, who also is the Vice-Chairman of the Hall and a member of the Board of Directors has sent a letter to the voters urging them not to vote for PED users. Rather than dissect the letter, we are showing it in its entirety below:

Dear BBWAA Hall of Fame Voter:

Over the years, I have been approached by many Hall of Fame members telling me we needed to do something to speak out about the possibility of steroid users entering the Hall of Fame. This issue has been bubbling below the surface for quite a while.

I hope you don’t mind if I bring to your attention what I’m hearing.

Please keep in mind I don’t speak for every single member of the Hall of Fame. I don’t know how everyone feels, but I do know how many of the Hall of Famers feel.

I, along with other Hall of Fame Baseball players, have the deepest respect for you and all the writers who vote to decide who enters Baseball’s most hallowed shrine, the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For some 80 years, the men and women of the BBWAA have cast ballots that have made the Hall into the wonderful place it is.

I think the Hall of Fame is special. There is a sanctity to being elected to the Hall. It is revered. It is the hardest Hall of Fame to enter, of any sport in America.

But times change, and a day we all knew was coming has now arrived. Players who played during the steroid era have become eligible for entry into the Hall of Fame.

The more we Hall of Famers talk about this – and we talk about it a lot – we realize we can no longer sit silent. Many of us have come to think that silence will be considered complicity. Or that fans might think we are ok if the standards of election to the Hall of Fame are relaxed, at least relaxed enough for steroid users to enter and become members of the most sacred place in Baseball. We don’t want fans ever to think that.

We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here.

Players who failed drug tests, admitted using steroids, or were identified as users in Major League Baseball’s investigation into steroid abuse, known as the Mitchell Report, should not get in. Those are the three criteria that many of the players and I think are right.

Now, I recognize there are players identified as users on the Mitchell Report who deny they were users. That’s why this is a tricky issue. Not everything is black and white – there are shades of gray here. It’s why your job as a voter is and has always been a difficult and important job. I have faith in your judgment and know that ultimately, this is your call.

But it still occurs to me that anyone who took body-altering chemicals in a deliberate effort to cheat the game we love, not to mention they cheated current and former players, and fans too, doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame. By cheating, they put up huge numbers, and they made great players who didn’t cheat look smaller by comparison, taking away from their achievements and consideration for the Hall of Fame. That’s not right.

And that’s why I, and other Hall of Famers, feel so strongly about this.

It’s gotten to the point where Hall of Famers are saying that if steroid users get in, they’ll no longer come to Cooperstown for Induction Ceremonies or other events. Some feel they can’t share a stage with players who did steroids. The cheating that tainted an era now risks tainting the Hall of Fame too.

The Hall of Fame means too much to us to ever see that happen. If steroid users get in, it will divide and diminish the Hall, something we couldn’t bear.

Section 5 of the Rules for Election states, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

I care about how good a player was or what kind of numbers he put up; but if a player did steroids, his integrity is suspect; he lacks sportsmanship; his character is flawed; and, whatever contribution he made to his team is now dwarfed by his selfishness.

Steroid use put Baseball through a tainted era where records were shattered. “It was a steroidal farce,” wrote Michael Powell in the New York Times. It is no accident that those records held up for decades until the steroid era began, and they haven’t been broken since the steroid era ended. Sadly, steroids worked.

Dan Naulty was a journeyman pitcher in the late 1990s who admitted he took steroids, noting that his fastball went from 87 to 96. He told Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci in 2012, “I was a full-blown cheater, and I knew it. You didn't need a written rule. I was violating clear principles that were laid down within the rules. I understood I was violating implicit principles.”

The Hall of Fame has always had its share of colorful characters, some of whom broke or bent society’s rules in their era. By today’s standards, some might not have gotten in. Times change and society improves. What once was accepted no longer is.

But steroid users don’t belong here. What they did shouldn’t be accepted. Times shouldn’t change for the worse.

Steroid users knew they were taking a drug that physically improved how they played. Taking steroids is a decision. It’s the deliberate act of using chemistry to change how hard you hit and throw by changing what your body is made of.

I and other Hall of Famers played hard all our lives to achieve what we did. I love this game and am proud of it. I hope the Hall of Fame’s standards won’t be lowered with the passage of time.

For over eighty years, the Hall of Fame has been a place to look up to, where the hallowed halls honor those who played the game hard and right. I hope it will always remain that way.

Sincerely,

Joe Morgan
Hall of Fame Class of 1990 Vice Chairman

P.S. Families come to Cooperstown because they know it’s special. To parents, it’s a place they can take their kids for an uplifting, feel-good visit. It’s a place where kids can see what true greatness is all about. It’s a place where youngsters can dream that one day they too might get in. This place is special. I hope it stays that way.

Hardly on the fence is it?

Specifically, this applies to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Gary Sheffield who were named in the Mitchell Report, and Manny Ramirez who failed two tests. Sammy Sosa did not officially fail a test, but did test positive in an “anonymous” test in 2003.

Bonds and Clemens saw their vote total increase above the 50% mark for the first time in the last vote, with many of the voters stating that the induction of Bud Selig, who was the commissioner over the PED era triggering their change of heart.

This won’t be the last time we hear about this in the next two months!