Alomar to be first HoF Blue Jay in 2010??

[J-Roc]

Not new news by any means, but it makes me giddy to think about it! Do you guys think he's a lock for the Hall of Fame? Or is he not a "first ballot" guy?

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/article/677536

It's widely agreed that the sum of 12 all-star appearances, 10 Gold Glove awards, and two World Series rings should equal a place in Cooperstown, and the thought is not far from Alomar's mind.

"I'm going to wear the Blue Jay uniform," said Alomar, who is eligible for the hall of fame in 2010. "It would be an honour for me, for my family, and for the fans here. They were so loyal to me – if there's anything I can give them, it's being in the hall of fame with that uniform and hat."

[tsherkin]

Well, Alomar was a pretty dirty player, period.

12 consecutive All-Star selections, 6 straight Gold Gloves (10 overall, and a second run with 4 in a row), 4 Silver Sluggers, career .300 hitter with 210 career homers from second base, almost 500 stolen bases, hit .313 in the playoffs and that's because him hitting in Baltimore and Cleveland brought his average DOWN... The homer against Eckersley, those crazy catches...

I mean, the numbers capture a HoF-worthy career and they don't even tell the whole story, right? He had speed, he had speed, he was good from both sides of the plate, he averaged about 14 homers a season on his career and he had the most incredible range I've seen from a second baseman.

I think he could be first ballot.

[Modern_epic]

From a talent perspective, he is probably one of the top 2B ever. Not near a unanimous guy, but a likely first-ballot guy.

I was going to say that unfortunately, he's also a jerk and that enough guys dislike him enough to try to make him wait a year. But I just looked at who is eligible next year, and the class is so weak that Bert Blyleven may even finally get what is due.

[YogiStewart]

i don't really understand the MLB hall of fame.
guess NHL's hall of fame waters down my expectations.
but, for example, should Tom Henke be a HOFer?

[Modern_epic]

Apparently not. At another position, his career length and reign of terror length would be a likely HoFer, but relievers seem to get in more for longevity of being good, and less for a long enough career with 4-5 year spell of excellence.

That is, of course, in so much as you can make generalizations about the 3 relievers they have let in.

[SDM]

Alomar is a first-ballot guy.

He's made amends over the spitting incident, and his accomplishments defensively are still fresh in everyone's memory. He was one of the best all-around baseball players I've ever seen. His post-season success is the stuff of legend, just super clutch.

Unfortunately, if you read the major sports writers who have votes, a lot of them get stats-happy right around election time and do some pieces. This is why guys like Jack Morris get votes (most wins in the 80s, yes, but c'mon now) and guys who don't have amazing accomplishments, like Tim Raines, don't stand a chance. Alomar didn't hit 300 home runs and he didn't drive in 1500 runs and he didn't steal 500 bases and he didn't get 3000 hits. Personally, it doesn't matter to me that he didn't do these things. He played with intensity, passion, and had the talent to back it up. That's what should be important.

Like Raines, Alomar was one of the top ten players in the league for a handful of years, but he never dominated the league in any single category (aside from steals with Raines and GG with Alomar). A prime Alomar was a legendary Hall of Famer, but he bounced around to a couple of teams in the latter years of his prime, and then bounced around when he was pretty much done as an everyday player.

Tom Henke came a few years too early. If he pitched well from, say, 1985 to 2000 instead of from 1982 to 1995, he'd be in there. For six years, his ERA+ was 135 one year and between 181 and 190 the other years. That's remarkable. At that time, no one understood the importance of a legit bullpen ace, and the only stat that mattered was saves. Tom Henke was freaking unhittable for most of his career.

[Test of Wills]

This would be an awesome accomplishment for Roberto Alomar and the Blue Jays franchise. Robby deserves it he's a first ballot IMO.

[evilRyu]

it would be pure awesomeness to see Robbie into the HoF! Awesome to hear how he's so honored to enter as a Blue Jay definitely my favorite Jay of all-time.. go Robbie.....

[Schad]

Apparently not. At another position, his career length and reign of terror length would be a likely HoFer, but relievers seem to get in more for longevity of being good, and less for a long enough career with 4-5 year spell of excellence.

That is, of course, in so much as you can make generalizations about the 3 relievers they have let in.

If Henke was placed on the ballot now, he'd get far more votes than the last time owing to the changing perception of relief pitchers, but would ultimately fall short...Henke made the All-Star team only twice (which is criminal...and one of those was in his final, otherworldly year) and didn't finish above 22nd in MVP voting. He's a stathead darling (insofar as the numbers guys can like closers) but the BBWAA ain't comprised of statheads.

Alomar is a mortal lock to make it eventually, but even on a weak ballot I would be surprised if he made it in his first year of eligibility. If Ozzie Smith, Kirby Puckett and Robin Yount deserved to go in on the first ballot, so does Robbie, but he doesn't have the same legend as those guys. My bet is that he pulls 70% of the vote and is a shoo-in the following year.