Yesterday the NFL Hall of Fame announced the 2016 inductees. Leading the class was Brett Favre who in 2010 I wrote a blog about him that deserves a read here. Other inductees are Tony Dungy, Kevin Green and the most confusing of them all Kenny "the Snake" Stabler. I say confusing because I'm not sure why he wasn't inducted 25 years ago when he retired instead of waiting until 6 months after his passing. This is part of a much bigger problem that I addressed on my podcast with Shane after the MLB Hall of Fame class for 2016 which you can listen to here.
Every year they announce the hall of fame for all sports where someone is added that you could have swore already was in, Also every year there are names that have been left off the inductee list that seriously make you scratch your head. Kenny Stabler is an example of the former and Barry Bonds is an example of the later. This kind of thing really makes me think it is time for a change in the selection process,
Now before I get lost in a rant of the faults of the current process, let me take a breath, drink of coffee, and scream into a pillow. Seriously the current process is so outdated that it makes me want to pull out every last hair I have on my head. The selection process includes a panel of sports writers from across the country who place names on a ballet and he who gets the required number of ballets is the in. This system was great in the 50's and 60's because a lot of the writers never saw some of the players. If you lived in California the likelihood of you seeing Joe Namath play was very slim. So the system worked because the local writers were there to represent their hometown teams.
The reason I feel like this is an outdated system now is because of national TV contracts, sports packages and the internet. These new forms allow the average fan and writer to follow teams in any sport from anywhere, That kind of access means there is no longer the need for the local guy to represent his hometown player. I think maybe now is the time for a change to this archaic system because it seems like more often then not a player isn't getting due to a grudge a few writers hold.
The Hall of Fame is supposed to be the best of the best in the entire sport, not the best of the best for a team. Jim Edmonds was an absolute stud in baseball. He was the heart and soul of the Angels and the Cardinals while he played with them, and some would argue he was the best player on either of those teams while he was there. Now I agree as a Cubs fan watching him on the opposite side of the field he was a thing of joy to behold but is he MLB Hall of Fame worthy? His accolades and numbers say no. However he absolutely deserves to be honored and that's what a team Hall of Fame is for, That's why teams retire numbers and place players in ring of honors to acknowledge the greats from that teams past. For a guy like Jim Edmonds I think that is a perfect way to honor him.
I think a new way to elect people should be based on a specific criteria. After all the hall of fame is supposed to represent the best of the best, so the best should never be left out due to politics, grudges and hurt feelings. There should be a level you must achieve and if you achieve it you are in no questions asked. If you don't achieve it? well that's what team hall of fames are for. I think if at anytime in your career you win a league MVP that should be an automatic in. A league MVP may be the ultimate in greatness because it is saying that you were the best in your game at anytime, When I say MVP I am also referring to Cy Young awards, defensive MVP awards, and Vezina Trophy's also. This however should not include ROY awards, or Gold Glove, Silver Slugger or any other award that are handed out to acknowledge one part of your game and not your season as a whole . To many times to you get a guy who is just better than the other 5 new guys and that just doesn't translate to greatness later on. Perfect example of this would include, Rick Mirer and Mark Mcgwire.
Yes you read that right, I said Mark McGwire. Now before you go and fill up the comments section with hate threads, Please continue to read on, then feel free to hate away.
In addition to the awards being an automatic in I think there should also be career goals that you need to reach to get in as well. Like in the MLB if you hit 600 career home runs, that's an automatic in, Also automatic ins would be 3,000 hits 2,000 strike outs 300 wins 500 career saves 300 Stolen bases and averaging 8 or less errors per season in baseball. In hockey 500 career goals, 1500 career points, In the NBA a 25 point per game average, Football should be 50,000 passing yards or 15,000 receiving, 100 career touchdowns, 10,000 rushing yards and so on. Setting a platform for an automatic in like this is a way to honor people that were great in there time but played when Peyton Manning and Tom Brady were taking home league MVP's ever year.
When you look at those criteria it brings to mind players that have been excluded who were clearly the best at what they did. Kenny Stabler won the 1974 MVP. That means in 1974 Kenny Stabler was the best offensive player in the game of football, so could someone explain to me why it took 25 years for him to get in?
Some other deserving players that should be in based on numbers and achievement but currently are not because of politicking and grudges would be.
Pete Rose 4,256 career hits and the 1973 NL MVP
Sammy Sosa 609 Home runs and the 1998 NL MVP
Barry Bonds 7 time NL MVP 762 home runs and 514 Stolen Bases
Joe Theismann 1973 NFL MVP
Fred Taylor 11,695 yards
And for all of you who were taken aback by my exclusion of Mark McGwire, Lets take a look at his career. 583 homeruns,1,626 hits 12 SBs Not quite hall of fame numbers, add to that he never won an MVP and I think you know why I don't feel he is worthy.
In my opinion the Hall of Fame regardless of what sport is for the great not the good, if you can be Great for one year or a career you should be in. Adapting to these criteria would never allow a tragedy like Kenny Stabler to happen again.
What are your thought's let me know in the comment section below. Also follow me on Twitter and follow me while checking out my back log of weekly podcasts with Shane on either Youtube or Blogtalkradio
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