Always a source of great amusement is the assclowns who decide to make their Hall of Fame ballots public. I’ve always loved the hypocrisy of it all. Moron is given a vote to the Hall of Fame, then makes moronic ballot, then gets on their soapbox and writes an article “defending” their moronic ballot, in a shameless cycle of self promotion all the while shitting on others usually with no ground to stand on. We usually get four or five of these a year, and I’ve long since stopped caring about the Hall of Fame for precisely this reason. It’s utterly predictable and rather embarrassing that any self respecting organization would allow these jack-wagons to profit off “statement” ballots consisting of their own ignorance. I mean shit, most of these jackasses not only don’t take their responsibility seriously, but they actually provide us with written evidence as to why they should have their voting privileges repealed.
Today we have my favorite of such ballots, this one by award winner Dan Shaughnessy. Asshat to lead all asshats.
Dumbass Dan votes for Griffey Jr., Tim Raines, Curt Schilling, and Alan Trammell. And that’s fucking it. In what’s probably the most stuffed ballot of all time Dan could only muster the vote for 4 of the total 10 votes he was allotted.
Mike Mussina? Not good enough. Jeff Bagwell? Nope. Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Trevor Hoffman, Mike Piazza, Garry Sheffeld, Larry Walker, pass.
Dan gives his “solid” reasoning below.
The next best new name of this year’s ballot is Trevor Hoffman. Sorry, no soup for him or his one million saves. Loved his brother Glenn, a Sox infielder, and his dad, a singing usher at the Big A, but I believe saves are overrated, especially in the era in which Hoffman pitched. Give me Fingers and Gossage, but not the estimable Hoffman.
Saves are overrated. But his brother who was a Red Sox, yea I’d vote for him. Fuck that guy who’s the second best closer of all time. I can’t wait for Schaughnessy to tell Mariano Rivera to go fuck himself because saves are for losers. Go get a cup of coffee because you won’t be getting Dan’s vote.
This is the Hall of Fame. Not the Hall of Very Good. It’s OK to hold out for the best of the best. I will never be one of those voters who wishes I could vote for 20 guys. The 10-vote limit is more than enough, even when you attempt to stand by guys you voted for in the past who have not made the cut.
This is why you should be fired. Even leaving steroid guys out, there are a shitload of best of the best on this ballot. Get the fuck out.
Schilling got only 39.2 percent of the vote last year, which is unfortunate. Sure, his win total (216) is low for a Hall of Fame starter and he was mediocre in his early years. He’s also a blowhard, but that matters not. Schilling’s postseason numbers (11-2) are off the charts and he was one of the great strike machines of the 20th century.
So you admit that Schilling is a borderline candidate, but you are from Boston and they would kill you if you didn’t vote for him because he got a little blood on his sock that one time.
My Trammell pick is a little sentimental. He got only 25.1 percent last year. He hit .300 seven times, won four Gold Gloves, and should have been MVP in 1987 (George Bell won). Consider it a PED backlash vote.
Look, I like Alan Trammell. But seriously? You are admitting you are voting for him only because you don’t like guys who maybe took drugs that maybe or maybe not helped them a little possibly? Go fuck yourself.
I’m still holding the line on guys who cheated and guys who look as if they were dirty. This disqualifies all the best names (other than Griffey) on the ballot. It takes out Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Gary Sheffield, Mike Piazza, and Jeff Bagwell. Some of them were obvious cheaters, some we merely suspect, which is, of course, wildly unfair. Every voter has his or her own system/conscience.
Some are merely suspect. If they float they were a witch am I right?
I think Piazza is a lock this year. He is, after all, the greatest hitting catcher in baseball history.
But I’m not going to vote for him, because reasons.
For the record, I’m not withholding on Edgar Martinez because he was a DH. I just never thought of Edgar as a dominant slugger in his era.
.312/.418/.515/.933 309 HR, 1261 RBI, 68.3 BWAR
Go fuck yourself.
Mike Mussina is another tough omission. Moose won 270 games, but he always pitched for good teams, and when it comes to the big games we’d all take Schilling or El Tiante every time.
Yea, it’s really unfair when a pitcher plays well for good teams.
Go. Fuck. Yourself.
While you’re at it, take a good look at Fred McGriff and try to figure why he doesn’t get more love from the voters.
Including Shaughnessy, because he had 6 unused votes and didn’t vote for him.
Remember, this assclown just won an award.
For interesting comparisons sake, let’s take a look at how the rest of the Boston Globe voted. (There’s an error in the image as Shaughnessy voted for Trammel, not Billy Wagner, but the Globe has yet to notice/correct this error.)
Fan Interference 
Um, why?
Tiant – 19 Years, 3486.1 IP, 229-172 (.571), 3.30 ERA, 114 ERA+, 6.2 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 2.19 K/BB (66.1 rWAR)
Moose – 18 Years, 3562.2 IP, 270-153 (.638), 3.68 ERA, 123 ERA+, 7.1 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 3.58 K/BB (82.7 rWAR)
One less year, almost 100 more IP, more wins, less losses, better ERA+ with more Ks and less walks…and most of those don’t even count the worse pitching environment that Moose pitched in.
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I loved Looie, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say the only reason Napoleon Diealready named him is because of the color of his hosiery as a player.
Moose obviously belongs and I would have already enshrined Tiant just for the 1975 World Series.
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Well, Tiant is no Moose. But, he IS a Catfish Hunter. You can look that comparison up.
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I don’t care how much you guys complain, you are not getting me to read any Shaughnessy.
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My fav part is where he admits to being “wildly unfair.”
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So, scout, if I’m reading this correctly, you’d like Shagnasty to go fuck himself?
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I’m with bad hair (call me no hair, or perhaps Friar Tuck hair).
I’m not sure how you really feel about this Mr. Shaughnessy. Give me a sign, please. A check mark or no check mark on the Sportswriter’s HOF ballot?
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I would rather have hair that tried to kill me in my sleep than that mop of dusty corkscrew macaroni framing Shaughnessy’s weak-chinned stucco-face.
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Two people voted for Jeff freakin Kent, but not Bonds or Clemens. What the shit
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It is consistent if you hold roids against Bonds/Clemens. It is not consistent if you then voted for Sheffield, who was also a known roider, caught in both the BALCO scandal and Mitchell report. Which was done on another ballot (not these) with his ‘clean play’ cited as a reason why.
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Sheffield bragged that he struck out and made errors intentionally to get traded away from Milwaukee. The guy was a giant asshole from day one.
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OK, so Edgar Martinez as a DH wasn’t good enough… but you can bet your bottom dollar that David Ortiz as a DH will be checked off, outlined and decorated with little hearts if this asshole still has a vote in 6 years.
Gar: .312/.418/.515/.933 309 HR, 1261 RBI, 68.3 BWAR
Papi: .284/.378/.547/.925 503 HR, 1641 RBI, 50.4 BWAR
Shaughnessy should be a first ballot lock for the Assclownery Hall of Fame.
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Shaughnessy is “wildly unfair.” He admits it. Let’s add “stupid” and “awesomely arrogant in his ignorance” and we will have a trifecta. We can add others, but that’s close enough.
I’m beginning to thing they can’t cut the numbers of BBWAA voters to a low enough number to eliminate the idiots.
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I understand your frustration but I doubt you are serious when you write “I’ve long since stopped caring about the Hall of Fame for precisely this reason.” Your vehemence betrays your feelings.
The thing is, I actually do agree this is a trash ballot and he’s an idiot, but that’s what I LIKE about the process. You see, the wide expanse and endless variety of stupidity across this great land of ours helps me to personally feel superior to so many of my fellow men. I come here, of course, because you all (posters and commenters alike) are my peers intellectually. (sarcasm intended, please don’t hate me.) Except Old Gator, of course, who must be one of those alien intelligences from Star Trek who have evolved beyond physical existence and are “pure energy”.
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Because I’m an awful writer, I often have to quote others and say, “that’s what I’ve been trying to say just not as eloquently”, such as:
I don’t think I’ve ever cared less about the Hall of Fame than I do right now, and that’s a shame. All of the focus these days is on guys with performance-enhancing drug ties, and we end up having the same inane arguments year after year. Remember when we used to spend time arguing about borderline candidates instead? That was so much more fun. I’d rather argue over whether Larry Walker is a Hall of Famer. Or Fred McGriff. Or Edgar Martinez. That used to be fun because fans are passionate and the internet allows you to seek out smart folks to debate with. Now everyone spends their time ballot shaming because someone didn’t vote for a player for PED reasons. This isn’t good for baseball.
-Mike Axisa cbs/riveraveblues.com
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It’s kind of startling when you have to talk to non-blog people then, right?
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I’d just like to say that I love Scott Pilgrim vs. The World….that movie is the shit.
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I have to admit I just got to watch it over the past year, and I agree. It’s pretty badass.
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So, any bets on how well Shaughnessy’s anti-PED stance, on the basis of the slightest rumor of a player using, will hold up when a) Manny Ramirez hits the ballot next year, and b) David Ortiz hits the ballot in 6 years?
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He’s already stated that “it will be interesting.” I can’t wait to see him try to find a way to rationalize voting for both players. Especially when he decided to vote for Ortiz and not Martinez, because “in a big game you want Ortiz.” Fucking moron.
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