Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today. There was no question Henderson was getting in as the all-time stolen bases and runs leader (2nd all-time in walks). Also, it is sometimes forgotten that he hit a pretty good amount of lead-off home runs...and he has two World Series rings. Rickey Henderson was a no-brainer.
Much less of a no-brainer was Jim Rice. It took 15 years for Jim Rice to get elected. He was a career .298 hitter who hit 382 home runs, which are solid numbers but not necessarily great. But, Jim Rice put together some really nice seasons. And, in an era where a fair amount of people in their first few years of eligibility are marked with a scarlet S, Jim Rice looks a lot better.
As a Minnesota resident, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Bert Blyleven. He is one of the best strikeout artists of all time, and has 287 career wins. Shouldn't he be in?
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I wrote about the HOF too, Mikey. I come to essentially the same conclusions, but I'm somewhat less convinced about Bert than you apparently are, for reasons I explain over at my place.
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