Does anyone else believe that Cal Ripken Jr. should have been a unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame?

Question

Does anyone know the names and newspapers of the 8 morons who did not vote Ripken in? Do you think they did this simply because they knew he was a unanimous choice? I am sure they are all Yankee and Red Sox fans...lol

Answer 1

Big debate because of the first five people elected to hall of fame were such great players. The writers, some writers, will hand in a blank ballot to honor the original five and make sure no one is elected unanimously.

Answer 2

I agree with several of the responses already given, and also believe that it's kind of a silly tradition among some sportswriters not to put otherwise deserving players on the ballot simply because some of the greats of the game had to wait a year or two.

To most, Ripken and Gwynn are Hall of Famers, as players and as men. Taking nothing away from them, I would say that there have been a few shortstops in the history of the game that I would pick over over Ripken if starting a mythical team, and quite a few rightfielders that I would pick over Gwynn.

Having said that, once you're in, you're in and congrats to both. The % of the first-time vote should not be used as a criterion to say who was better than who(m).

Answer 3

First I need to clear up something previously stated......Cal was an exceptional defensive player, & when moved to 3rd base did a pretty decent job as well. He was the model for modern day shortstops who are now much bigger & stronger than the wirey smaller guys fielding that spot for decades. He also holds the alltime record for home runs by a SS.

That being said, if Nolan Ryan & Tom Seaver weren't unanimous selections........writers have their grudges, bias, favorites just like the rest of us.

The key thing is that Ripken & Gwynn will share the day together in Cooperstown as is fitting two guys who gave their all every time they took the field , & remained loyal to the same ballclub & fans throughout their outstanding careers when either could have gotten bigger bucks someplace else.

Answer 4

I don't. Don't get me wrong, Ripken was a great player. But he is not an immortal. If Ruth, Mantle, Mays, Aaron, and Gehrig were not unanimous, why should Ripken be. Yeah he had 3000 hits, but he only got 3000 hits because he played so many games. His batting average was not very good (.276) and he was never a superb defener. He was a definite first ballot hall of famer, but didn't deserve 100%. IMHO, Gwynn deserved a higher percentage. He was a career .338 hitter, hit over .350 7 times, and is tied with rogers hornsby for most NL batting titles. He was the guy who should have broken Seaver's record.

Answer 5

Of course Ripken should have been unanimous, just like Nolan Ryan, Babe Ruth etc... However, there are writers out there who think that no one deserves to make it in the HOF on their first ballot, and therefore will not vote for anyone on their first try. And just in case you were wondering, this is a really stupid thought. If someone is worthy of the HOF, they are worthy on the first ballot.

I think MLB should rethink the way it votes people into the HOF, the current way just isnt working.

Answer 6

If anyone deserved that honor in the past 20 years or so it was Cal Ripken Jr. He set a record that seems impossible to break, showing a passion for the game and an endurance that are unparalleled in the history of sports.

Answer 7

Yeah those guys shouldn't get to vote if they allow some weird personal bias keep them from voting for inarguable shoe ins. If they have a problem with the system, then they shouldn't be involved. Ripken and Gwynn are the class guys that define Hall of Fame, it would have been cool to see a unanimous vote for one or both of them.

Answer 8

Nobody has ever received 100% of votes possible on their first ballot. For some reason, some idiot sportswriters, who probably never had the talent and coordination to play sports, seem like it's their responsibility to protect the integrity of the game by make sure this never happens.

If Cal Ripken Jr. isn't worthy of this recognition, I doubt that anyone ever will be.

Answer 9

i do believe that cal ripken jr should be in the hall of fame but not by an unanimous vote though. i am happy that he did make it in thought

Answer 10

Ripken made the All celeb crew NINETEEN circumstances. the different gamers (to boot Pete Rose) make 19 all celeb communities and not in any respect make the HOF? He received 2 MVP awards (similar as Willie Mays, and one better than Hank Aaron). back, this guy turned right into a shortstop. Ripken's taking section in at the same time as damage or ill purely "damage" his crew if the Orioles had a much better shortstop to change him with. they did not. He set an AL list for assists with information from a shortstop, with 583 in 1984. (earlier you declare that it truly is because the Orioles had a "floor ball" team, understand that the Orioles 2d basemen were contained in the midst of the league in assists that 12 months... and earlier you declare that Ripken led the league because he changed into the purely participant who performs each and every inning, he also had better SS assists than any AL crew that 12 months). Ripken's 583 assists that 12 months continues to be an AL list (Ozzie, obviously, holds the NL and MLB list, with 621). Batting time-honored would not propose something, once you're going to highlight a statistic, do not concentration on that, concentration on RUNS....concentration on what wins the game. Ripken wasn't purely "over a million,500 RBI"... He scored a million,647 runs ANDchronic in almost a million,seven hundred (a million,695 RBI)... it really is not solid adequate for the HOF? what number SS's hit 431 HR's? he's between the top 3 shortstops in baseball historic past. Honus Wagner is the purely SS who changed into truthfully better than Ripken... a pair of others may be questionable, yet there are not 5 better SS's contained in the historic past of baseball. in case you want a catalogue of SS's who should not be contained in the hall of attractiveness yet are, you could start with: Dave Bancroft Travis Jackson Hughie Jennings Rabbit Maranville Phil Rizzuto Joe Sewell Bobby Wallace John Mongomery Ward between "genuine" HOF Shortstops, Ripken is larger than Aparicio, Appling, Banks, Boudreau, Cronin, George Davis, Pee Wee Reese, Ozzie Smith, Joe Tinker, and Robin Yount. Arky Vaughn, contained in the context of the time in which he performed, may be better than Ripken (bill James ranked Vaughn 2d between all time shortstops, with Wagner first and Ripken third...and he had solid causes to succeed in this).