Robbie Alomar HOF Awesome Thread

[Hoopstarr]

He will officially become a HOFer tomorrow. The first Blue Jay in the Hall of Fame. This a big **** deal, as Joe Biden would put it. Share all your boners and giggles here.

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/12/30/h ... definites/
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof11/col ... id=5987228
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/artic ... leid=12667
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/colu ... mar_right/
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/12/28/ ... mar-carlos
http://razzball.com/alan-trammell-barry ... l-of-fame/
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... e-musings/

[MGD24]

awesome news! pretty cool

[Brinbe]

Freaking awesome, between he and Gillick, that 92/93 team will be well-represented. Would actually love to go and attend that ceremony.

[nnnwt]

I'm at work so I can't read any articles (properly) or reply as I would like, so I'll do that later, but for now - thats awesome news! congratulations to Robbie, he definitely deserves it

[YogiStewart]

want a laugh?
read over the vote distribution

http://itsabout.server304.com/wp-conten ... g-grid.jpg
someone has to ask Barry Stanton what planet he lives on and if his votes were joke or serious votes

[Hoopstarr]

Just want to clarify that it's not official yet. They still have to vote tomorrow, but it's pretty much a guarantee he will get in this time after missing it last year by less than 2% due to the voters (aka the final arbiters of character) needing to punish Alomar for the spitting incident.

[evilRyu]

omg this is amazing!!!!! awesome news, so happy for him.. i definitely grew up idolizing this guy.

[Hoopstarr]

Stephen Brunt - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/s ... le1857718/
Shi Davidi - http://www.therecord.com/sports/basebal ... r-in-tough

[Michael Bradley]

Alomar was my favorite player growing up, and I still feel he should have been to us what Derek Jeter is to the Yankees (minus the homegrown part). I can't believe the Jays let him go after 95.

Regardless, congrats to him when he does make it. One of the greatest second basemen of all-time.

[Shaazzam]

I like the one with McCain punch!

All jokes aside, probably the best pure ball player I've seen play.

[SharoneWright]

[kelso]

Totally deserves it- should have been a 1st ballot HOF`r. About bloody time we have a BlueJay player in the Hall.

[MGD24]

I like the one with McCain punch!

Catch the taste!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnu9DCLJtRE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRf7VhJyka4

[luvtheteam]

I echo a lot of the sentiments already expressed here. He was worth the price of admission and his homerun off of Eckersley was one of the greatest sports moments ever for me.

[Hoopstarr]

MLB.com and MLB Network will have the coverage

The results of the 2011 National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot will be announced on MLB Network and simulcast on MLB.com on Wednesday, January 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET as part of a 90-minute announcement show beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET. Featuring National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, coverage will feature interviews with the newest inductees and be anchored by Greg Amsinger and Matt Vasgersian, with analysis from MLB Network’s Bob Costas, Hall of Fame award-winning baseball writer Peter Gammons, Harold Reynolds and Hall of Fame voters Tom Verducci and Jon Heyman. Costas, Gammons, Reynolds, Vasgersian, Verducci and Heyman will then recap the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot results during the hour-long show Class of 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET and look ahead to the 2011 induction ceremony on July 24 on MLB Network.

[j127]

I always loved his double-play leaping throws to first. I always tried to copy him when I was a kid playing baseball at school, although I was too chubby to leap like he did.

[Avenger]

When the **** are they gonna take away the ballot from Marty York, this guy is a disgrace

http://www.thegoodpoint.com/baseball/ja ... -bias.html

"Each year, the Hall of Fame class is voted upon by members of the BBWAA with more than 10 years of experience. Voters examine stats gathered over the course of a career, the longevity and integrity of the player in question. It seems that since the new millennium arrived, the importance of the latter has become paramount.

Veteran Toronto Blue Jays beat reporter and former Globe and Mail sports editor Marty York opted not to vote for any of the eligible candidates on this year's ballot.

While York conceded that Alomar is the best second baseman he's ever seen, he described the former Blue Jays star as "an extremely self-centered, supremely arrogant athlete."

He recalled a scene he witnessed where Alomar shooed away an elderly man seeking an autograph in a profanity-laced tirade, just because the gentleman didn't realize Alomar had already signed the ball.

"We try to be objective, but I'd be lying if I said my feelings about him didn't play a part [in his Hall of Fame consideration]," York said."

[Hoopstarr]

Tom Verducci recalls when the Alomar to Jays trade happened and Faye Vincent told him "they just traded a HOFer"

[Avenger]

barry stanton's explanation for having B.J. Surhoff and Tino Martinez on his ballot while leaving out bylevin and Alomar

"In 1976, I was just out of college and working my first job at the Port Chester (NY) Daily Item, covering a Babe Ruth 13-year-old tournament. The starting pitcher for the team from Rye was supposed to be their star, a big kid named Rich Surhoff, whose father had played for the NY Knicks in the 1950s. Surhoff did, in fact, make it t the major leagues, spending nine games with the Philadelphia Phillies. But that day, the pitcher's younger brother was the one who caught my attention. He was only 12 years old and playing with the older kids, playing shortstop. On consecutive plays, I saw him range behind third base to the left field line and throw out a runner, then range the other way all the way behind first to catch a tricky pop that eluded a teammate.

After that game, I told BJ I thought that someday, I'd be watching him in the major leagues. For the next few years, I watched BJ become a local star at Rye HS, covering his games occasionally. And I remember telling him then that someday, I'd be voting for him for the Hall of Fame. Surhoff, went on to a career at UNC, became the No. 1 pick of the draft, played on our first Olympic baseball team. He had a very good (though not great) career for 18 years in MLB. And then there he was on my ballot (I've been a BBWAA member since 1985 and have had a Hall of Fame vote since '95). So I remembered that promise (though I honestly can't say if BJ does) and checked the box.

The reaction to that astounds me. I expected people who didn’t know the story to question that vote. But the sheer level of nastiness, the anger, amazes me. I really didn't think BJ would get elected. I'd be surprised if he got another vote besides mine. And I'm fine with that. BJ was a very good player and a good guy (check out the work he's done for autism, sparked by his autistic son). He earned the fulfillment of that 35-year-old promise. And who, exactly did that hurt? If voting for BJ cost someone who deserved entry, I wouldn't have done it. And if the rules said that everybody who got one vote got in, then I definitely wouldn't have done it. But it didn’t."

[Hoopstarr]

I always loved his double-play leaping throws to first. I always tried to copy him when I was a kid playing baseball at school, although I was too chubby to leap like he did.

We used to rush out at the lunch hour and fight over who would get to play 2B