Jim Thome gets my Hall call, and so do 7 others - including one previous 'reject'

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Because of fairly recently changed rules that mostly affect lifetime Baseball Writers Association of America members - in other words, old guys like me - I'm not sure how many more years I'll be allowed to vote for the Hall of Fame. 

It's a shame that many former long-time journalists are being pushed aside, as most of us have remained active observers of the game. Thanks to technology, I follow the sport every bit as closely now as I used to, even though I haven't actively covered baseball for more than 7 years. I believe us oldsters provide nice balance to the voting process. I take my responsibility as a Hall voter very seriously.

But hey ... nobody asked me what I think. And one of these years, I'll be told, "Thanks, but no thanks. Now go try to find your car keys."

I had many of these same thoughts a year ago, and one thing that kept going through my mind was this:

At the very least, I hope I get to vote for the Class of 2018, because I really want to check the box next to the name of JIM THOME.

Jim Thome: Great guy, great hitter.
(Photo from nbcsports.com)

I covered Thome for a long time. I like "The Pride of Peoria" as a person and I admire what he accomplished as a ballplayer. He finished with 612 HR (8th most all-time), 1,699 RBI (26th), and a .956 OPS (18th). And he did all that without be stained by steroid allegations. 

Thome played the game hard, he played it right, and he should be a slam dunk for the Hall.

Another obvious choice in his first year on the ballot: CHIPPER JONES. 

His credentials are so good that I don't feel like wasting my time or yours reciting them here.

Chipper Jones delivers again for the Atlanta Braves.
(Photo from newyorkmetsreport.com)

Thome and Jones were 2 of 8 former stars to earn check marks on my ballot, and I'll talk about the others in a second. First, a few words about some of the ballot newcomers who did not get my vote ...

++ Omar Vizquel ... A slick-fielding, slap-hitting shortstop in the mold of Ozzie Smith ... except he wasn't quite as good as Smith. Advanced stats doom Vizquel's candidacy. As stated in a recent article by MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:

Separation comes into play when considering the context of the eras in which they played. Vizquel has an 82 OPS+, which means he was 18 percent below the MLB average over his career. Smith, even with very similar rate and counting statistics, posted an 87 OPS+. Vizquel rated as above average in two of his seasons, while Smith had four such campaigns.

Among the 135 Hall of Famers with at least 4,000 plate appearances, Vizquel's OPS+ would be tied for last with Luis Aparicio and Rabbit Maranville.

Using Baseball-Reference.com's calculation of WAR, there was not only a considerable gap offensively (47.8 oWAR for Smith, compared to 32.2 oWAR for Vizquel), but also defensively (43.4 dWAR for Smith and 28.4 dWAR for Vizquel). This is not to say Vizquel's defensive WAR is subpar. In fact, it would rank eighth among all Hall of Famers. Smith's dWAR was just otherworldly, ranking first among all Hall of Famers regardless of position.

++ Andruw Jones ... A precipitous falloff after a torrid start to his career. Frankly, I don't think his numbers are as good as Jim Edmonds' were - and Edmonds got such little love from BBWAA voters two years ago that he immediately fell off the ballot.

++ Scott Rolen ... During Rolen's prime, my friend Ron Santo often said Rolen was the best 3B in the game. He was a superior fielder and a good (but not great) hitter, but I'm afraid he'll probably meet the same lack-of-love fate that Edmonds did. I was tempted to vote for him just to try to keep him on the ballot past his first year, but that's really not the best reason to vote for somebody.

++ Chris Carpenter ... Not enough wins, too high an ERA.

++ Johnny Damon ... It's cool that he won World Series with both the Red Sox and Yankees, and he compiled a lot of stats over a long career. But he doesn't rank in the top 50 in just about any important hitting or fielding category. 

++ Jason Isringhausen ... Just another in a long line of good relievers who aren't Hall material.

++ Carlos Lee ... A good run-producer and terrible outfielder whose numbers fall short.

++ Hideki Matsui ... The second-best Japanese import in MLB history, he lacks Ichiro's Hall resume.

++ Jamie Moyer ... The guy pitched for 25 years and made one All-Star Game appearance. Nuff said.

++ Johan Santana ... Kind of the Andruw Jones of pitchers. Awesome start to his career, then fell off a cliff.

++ Kerry Wood, Carlos Zambrano ... The former Cubbie hurlers follow each other alphabetically on the ballot, and I assume they will follow each other off the ballot after one year. Both had tremendous promise, especially Wood, but injuries and other woes kept both from reaching their potential. Although Wood pitched one of the greatest games ever (20 strikeouts, 1 disputed hit) and Zambrano threw a no-hitter, they also will be known as participants in one of the most infamous choke jobs in baseball history. Wood even used the word "choke" to describe his performance in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS.

As for those who have been on the ballot for multiple years, I discussed my reasons for excluding them in last year's The Baldest Truth post. 

One player I have not voted for in the past who is getting my check mark this time:

EDGAR MARTINEZ.

Edgar Martinez gets ready to take another mighty cut.
(Photo from SI.com)

I have tried to be consistent during the decades I have voted for the Hall, but every once in awhile I have had to adjust on the fly - as was the case this time with Martinez.

So many baseball people I respect are making such strong arguments for the former Mariners star - mainly through advanced stats such as WAR, OPS+ and JAWS - that I felt compelled to make him one of my choices this time. SI.com's Jay Jaffe makes one such case that traditional stats don't tell the whole story about Edgar.

See, you can teach an old BBWAA voter new tricks!

My other five selections are holdovers from last year and were discussed in previous editions of The Baldest Truth.

Here are the 8 players who received my check marks for the Hall of Fame Class of 2018:

Barry Bonds

Roger Clemens

Vladimir Guerrero

Chipper Jones

Edgar Martinez

Mike Mussina

Curt Schilling

Jim Thome

Here's hoping that the BBWAA lets me cast a ballot next year for Mariano Rivera - not that the most dominant closer in baseball history will need my vote to crash the Hall.

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600 big flies for a really good guy

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Congrats on No. 600 to Jim Thome, one my favorite athletes I've ever covered.

Jim didn't need 600 to validate anything. He already had Hall of Fame enshrinement in the bag. Still, it sure is a nice exclamation point on a superb career for one of the true good guys ever to play professional sports.

Baseball -- and society, for that matter -- could use a lot more Jim Thomes.
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Umps blow it; Mariano Rivera doesn't

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As usual, the umpiring has been terrible this postseason, and it's evident that baseball needs to go to some kind of replay system. Still ...

The worst call of all so far was the catch that was ruled a non-catch in Game 1 of the Yankees-Twins series. Greg Golson's grab should have ended the game. It didn't because the umps blew the call. So what does the great Mariano Rivera do? He retires Jim Thome on a pop-up on the very next pitch, turning what should have been a four-out save into a five-out save. Classic Rivera, the best reliever ever.

See, there's no law that says just because an ump screws up, the players have to follow with a screw-up of their own.
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Some real bald baseball predictions

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The Bald Truth

For all those who somehow missed that Wednesday was Bald and Free Day - really; you can look it up! - I, as Grand Pooh-bald, have extended the event through the end of the week.

So now that you have several more days, feel free to hug your favorite bald dude ... or dudette, if Natalie Portman, Sinead O'Connor or Demi Moore happen to be around.

The Balder Truth

Wow, I remember the Rams' Rush Limbaugh Era as if it were just yesterday.

Wait ... it was just yesterday.

THE BALDEST TRUTH

For all the talk about a possible Freeway Series out in La-La-Land, why do I get the feeling we're going to see a Nothing-Free-About-It I-95 Series instead?

Well, because the Yankees and Phillies are better than the Angels and Dodgers, that's why.

Of course, that doesn't always matter. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see the fundamentally sound, motivated-by-tragedy Angels nibbling CC Sabathia until he weighs only 300 pounds and shutting down A-Roid & Co. Nor does it take much imagination to see Manny being vintage Manny and the good Dodgers pitching making life tough on the Phils.

But I'm not letting my imagination run wild here. I'm going with chalk.

This just feels like the Yankees' year. They have more great players than any other team, and those great players have been playing especially well lately. Yankees in 6.

And as much as I want to see Jim Thome do some DH-ing in the World Series, his Dodgers simply will not be able to keep up with the balanced Philly lineup. I'm going to put a little caveat out here: As long as Brad Lidge isn't terrible, Phillies in 6.

DH or not DH? The answer: Yes

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With all due respect to those seeking to "improve" baseball, there is no reason to take the bat out of NL pitchers' hands.

Latest case in point: Micah Owings, whose pinch homer Sunday tied it for the Reds in the ninth inning against the Cardinals.

(Unfortunately for Owings the Pitcher, he isn't as good as Owings the Hitter. But that's a whole 'nother issue.) 

Some baseball followers - including my friend, Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune - think the hamstring injury Carlos Zambrano suffered while beating out a bunt underscored the necessity to bring the DH to the NL.

I say it simply underscores that a good-hitting pitcher who has the power and timing to knock the ball out of the park should stick to trying to hit home runs, an activity less likely to result in injury. 

Cra-Z has no more business bunting than Adam Dunn does.

I don't want Owings trying to beat out a bunt, either. Or Yovani Gallardo, who last week helped the Brewers win 1-0 by pitching brilliantly and homering for the game's only run.

Let 'em hit. It's fun. 

And there is no disputing that the pitcher coming to bat creates all kinds of strategic challenges for NL managers - challenges their AL counterparts need worry about only in interleague games and the World Series.

I've yet to hear a convincing argument to bring the DH to the NL. Nor have I heard a compelling reason to step into the Way Back Machine and eliminate the DH from the AL. 

As it is, there are hardly any differences between the leagues. The DH is a big one - and, it says here, a good one.

I like watching Jim Thome hit ... almost as much as I like watching Carlos Zambrano hit.

A couple of years ago, Cra-Z suffered an injury because he spent too much time surfing the Web. I could be wrong, but methinks having the DH in the NL probably wouldn't have prevented that.

Can a big-money pitcher get hurt while hitting, thereby damaging his team's title hopes? Well, sure.

He also can get hurt trying to field his position. Should we set up a batting-practice screen in front of him during games?