Bernie barely escaped the 5 percent killshot, a threshhold that cut from future voting the likes of Jeremy Burnitz and Tim Salmon.
I said this before: Someday, 10 Lindsay Lohans from now, people will look back at Joe Torre's Yankee teams, see four World Championships in five years, and wonder WTF? They will look at that wall in Cooperstown, see only Jeet and Mo, and conclude that all those World Series rings just happened on their own - like random molecules in a collider.
If Torre's Yankees played in Cinncinati, they would built an extra wing by now.
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This post makes no sense. Fred McGriff had 493 homeruns. Peter Gammons loved Bernie Williams. And this is the first time I've heard about "Midwest bias."
I loved Bernie too, but he falls just short of HoF caliber. He was basically through as an elite player at 32 years old.
Age 32? OK: I hereby invoke the Sandy Koufax rule. (The pitcher's version of Roger Maris... except Roger isn't in, is he?) And how many rings does Barry Larkin have on his fingers?
Don't mean to besmirch Crime Dog McGriff. But did those Yankee World Championships just happen on their own? The Big Red Machine has Morgan, Perez, Concepcion, Bench - and Pete Rose, waiting for clemency. NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE. NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE...
But thanks for the comment. I probably should have been more precise. Posting in anger, always bad idea.
Look, as I said I love Bernie. He was my favorite player at the time, eventually eclipsed by Jeter.
But you KNOW you can't use championship rings as a determining factor. Luis Sojo has 5 rings.
And of course those championships didn't happen on their own. You can win a title with very good players or you could lose with a team of All-Stars. Barry Bonds has zero rings, Bengie Molina has two. So does Edgar Renteria (with a WS MVP trophy to boot!).
I just think Bernie didn't play great enough for long enough, and didn't reach any of the career milestones that voters care about. One batting title isn't going to do it.
Sandy Koufax had to retire due to injury, and he retired after one of the greatest pitching seasons ever. Bernie limped off into the sunset.
Roger Maris doesn't deserve to go in, either.
Barry Larkin has one ring, but he doesn't need any to be worthy.
We must not become self-loathing Yankee fans. We have a right to root for our player during the game and after the career ends. You're right about Larkin. This is not about him. And you're right about rings not being the sole criteria - though you're shaming me for not demanding that Luis Sojo be in the Hall (SOJO FOR THE HALL, 2013!)But Bernie was more than a good hitter; he and Jeter were the heart and soul of the Yankee dynasty - yes, dynasty. I'm not complaining about Tino. I'm not complaining about Paul. I'm fighting for Bernie, and you should, too.
But again, well thought out comments. Not complaining about your opinion.
Personally, I think Sojo's a lock when he becomes eligible.
And don't forget to remind Superfrankenstein when Miguel Cairo becomes eligible ... he'll want time to start organizing the petitions and print up the posters.
Torre gets in. Obviously, he was way smarter than Casey Stengel.
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