Rivera and the HOF
by LenDuring this period of waiting for the payoffs to start I was thinking about the HOF and if Rivera will get a unanimous vote on the first ballot. He should, but you never know about prejudices, etc.
I am picking on Rivera because if anyone in this era should receive a 100% vote it is him. That got me thinking about who has the highest percentage on the first ballot. It is Tom Seaver with 98.84%. The Babe got only 95.13% and he is 11th on the list. He has almost the same percentage as Mays, which at 94.68% is much higher than Mantle at 88.2% and Joe D at 88.84%. Looks like a bias against the Yankees to me.
I know that Babe had his detractors, but how could anyone in their right mind not put him on the first ballot? I guess “right mind†says it all.
 So back to Rivera. What do you think? I say he has a chance at 100% first ballot vote. Imagine the writer who in this internet era doesn’t vote for him.
 By the way, to demonstrate further bias against the Yankees, Whitey Ford received a 77.81% vote. What a joke. In my estimation he was the best big game pitcher in the World Series (not just the playoffs like today), which is backed by the record book. And he a career 690 winning percentage and a lifetime 2.75 ERA (2.71 in the WS). He also had 156 complete games with 45 shut outs.
2 comments September 15 2009 3:50 pm | Len | Discussion |
Rivera won’t get 100%. Some dolt will say relievers only pitch 70 innings a year and will not vote just so he can say he didn’t vote for Rivera and get his 15 minutes of fame for doing so. Moreover, certain writers refuse to vote for anyone on the first ballot simply because no one has had 100%. Its dumb.
Derserving of 100% is one thing. I think it’s true that a dim bulb would vote no just to say “that 99.2% is mine, I did that.” But more than one dim thinker does the same and the % drops more.
Ford’s % is way too low, there may have been some back story at the time. But ultimately it’s a pregnant/not pregnant deal. Seaver’s high % speaks against a anti-NY predjudice – but a anti-NYY predjudice is plausible.