I have been advocating Bruce Sutter for the HOF for a long time. It’s a good thing too because he only had two more years of eligibility for the Baseball Writers’ ballott, otherwise he would have to wait for the Veterans Committee to elect him which could have taken decades, if at all.

I am not an advocate of having closers in the HOF – only in special cases. Sutter is one of the exceptions. While he did not invent the split finger fastball (many credit Roger Craig with that distinction), Sutter was its first master. He influenced the game far beyond his playing career which is why he is a special case. He was a darn good reliever too and there’s no doubt in my mind if he were around today with the emphasis on having closers only pitch in the ninth, he would routinely save 45 games a season. It is also of no small coincidence that the Cardinals have not won the World Series since his departure.

The Baseball Writers of America are a strange group. There was obviously a group of writers that re-evaluated Sutter this year because there was no other clear cut candidate which always makes me wonder why the Baseball Writers seemingly have a difficult time selecting Sutter (occurring in a year with no obvious choice and gaining only a little over 76%) and have no problem making Kirby Puckett a “first ballott” Hall of Famer.

Congratulations to Sutter – I am also happy that they only selected one player this time around.