THE SPORTS LISPERER

As a child, baseball meant more to me than just about anything. Earliest pictures of me are wearing baseball caps (probably led to my premature balding). I had a brief dalliance, I was very young, with the Yankees. We had a neighbor who was a Yankee fan and apparently, I was easily influenced. It was during that early tempestuous time that I learned that I was a member of a Dodger family and so, for the good of the family, I became a life-long Dodger fan.

We traveled throughout Mexico, when I was 8-12, oftentimes taking the bus from Mexico City to places such as Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca and Aguascalientes. During these trips, I would voraciously read baseball magazines that were full of stats and information. I would memorize rosters, scorecards and anything else Street and Smith’s Baseball edition had to offer. Pre-internet, this was Google. I would wait all day for the newspaper to arrive so I could see the daily highlight. HR. RBI. ERA. This is how I read the Box Score and learned all I know now about baseball. I firmly learned math by my obsession with baseball stats. And so, it goes with baseball-philes. Sorry, not Phillies. And this leads to my discussion today.

Is there anything more confusing than what makes a Baseball Hall of Famer? Baseball is the sport that has withstood the test of time and has maintained a stronghold in our national psyche. It’s our national past time. Yes, football has surpassed baseball in the hearts and minds of Americans, but baseball is still its soul. Nostalgia is a powerful muse and baseball is a muse that deigns to be dined.

We have strong opinions on baseball. Think of an aspect as small as ‘the shift’. People get into irate arguments over the minutiae of ‘the shift’. Think of how cheating and honesty is regarded when it comes to the game. From the 1919 Black Sox to Pete Rose to Steroids to the Houston Astericks; integrity and honesty plays a strong, yet polarizing role.

And greatness. How is greatness judged and standards held? Greatness is immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But how does one actually get into that hallowed Hall? I mean, football votes eight worthy candidates in a year. Of course, football rosters are 53 and baseball is 25 or 26 depending on the era. In football, there’s less of a line of demarcation in qualifying. 10,000 yards rushing usually gets you in. A quarterback winning a Super Bowl can be the underlining qualifier, while winning two is nearly a guaranteed enshrinement (apologies to Jim Plunkett, the only two-time winning starting QB not in the Hall of Fame:yes, Ben and Eli will get in). In baseball, it used to be easy. 300 wins? You’re in. 3000 hits? Yep. 500 home runs? For sure. 3000 strikeouts? Buy your tickets for Cooperstown. But now…. PED’s. Steroids. Gambling. Oh my God, will no one think of the children?!?

And so, this week, Scott Rolen was elected to the Hall of Fame. Seriously? Now, Scott was a terrific player and 3rd Base is an under-appreciated position in the Hall of Fame (Pie Traynor anyone?). But unless the most recent Steroid Era occurred, would Rolen even have made it to the tenth year of eligibility? He never finished higher than fourth in MVP voting and only three other occasions did he receive multiple votes (he finished 12th, 21st and 24th in his other highest finishes). Again, this isn’t to disparage Scott Rolen, a player who played the game the right way and has a deserving part in baseball lore; but does the story of baseball need him in the Hall of Fame? Not as much as other players.

Let’s take a look at Dave Parker, ‘The Cobra’. He even had a cool nickname. Parker finished with 2772 hits and was a former MVP. A two-time batting champ, he was also a two-time Gold Glover and had the most remarkable All-Star game performance in memory. He won the All-Star Game MVP, not because of his bat, but because of defense. Playing right field, he threw out a man at Third Base and later in the game, threw out the shocked Brian Downing of the California Angels, at home plate. The throw is one of the greatest throws for a game on a national stage. He was a key member of the 1979 Pirates World Series championship team and was a key member of the 1989 A’s championship team. Parker did not reach 3000 hits, nor 500 home runs but he was a dominant player in a decade where there were few dominant players. Dave Parker should be in the Hall of Fame.

For me, yes, numbers play and should play a part of the process. Era’s change and concepts change. The mound, the ball, the turf, the field of players, dimensions of the fences… it all changes and evolves. Orel Hershiser won 200 games and Mickey Lolich won 217. Does one deserve to be in over the other? One came from a dead ball era where the mound was thirty feet high; should that matter? I think it all does. For me, the ultimate Maginot line is… can the story of baseball be written without this person and were they dominant and the best player of the particular time?

In the weeks to come, I will be writing a blurb on ten players that should be in baseball’s Hall of Fame. I will not be supporting a demotion of some players (although like Scott Rolen, Harold Baines is a travesty) but glorifying players snubbed by the Hall of Snub. Dave Parker is my first player. Stay tuned.