Sun Staff can't vote for HOF or other major sports awards?

[Sports Guy]

A little off topic but I heard Buster Olney on Mike and Mike this morning and he said he didn't think writers should decide the HOF....and he is a voter.

[DrungoHazewood]

A little off topic but I heard Buster Olney on Mike and Mike this morning and he said he didn't think writers should decide the HOF....and he is a voter.

Mackus mentioned that in the 2nd post of the thread, and I completely agree. I'm sure he's focusing on the conflict of interest, which is important. But my main reason is that most beat writers know baseball history like I know quantum mechanics - just enough to be wrong a lot.

[RShack]

Mackus mentioned that in the 2nd post of the thread, and I completely agree. I'm sure he's focusing on the conflict of interest, which is important. But my main reason is that most beat writers know baseball history like I know quantum mechanics - just enough to be wrong a lot.

It always surprises me how many folks do not know important things related to their dang job.

Now, I should know better, and I'm a dope for letting it surprise me, but I'm always surprised nonetheless...

[Arthur_Bryant]

It always surprises me how many folks do not know important things related to their dang job.

Yes, and if you're talking about journalism, especially sportswriting, there are no bars to pass, little or no peer review. In fact there is no standard set of qualifications.

I have to confess that years ago, I was a beat reporter covering MLB teams for a major metropolitan daily paper. In retrospect, I realize how little I knew about the sport. But that wasn't apparent to me at the time, in part because few others in the press box knew any more than I did.

[carolinaoriole]

Agreed, use it or lose it! Making a statement by sending blank ballots in is BS.

What if no one on the ballot is deserving?

[BaltimoreTerp]

What if no one on the ballot is deserving?

How often does that happen?

[scOtt]

Actually, my preferred plan in a perfect world would be a test on baseball rules, history, economics, metrics, etc. For $100 anybody could take it. It's annual. If you finish in the top X% you're a HOF voter for 2010.

That would be interesting. Like Tin Cup and the U.S. Open. Anybody can enter, it's open.

[scOtt]

It will be interesting to see Cooperstown the HOF weekend with no inductees. It'll be nice to walk around town once without all the crowds though.

The one time I was there was in late March. The place was a graveyard. It was beautiful!

And not really a graveyard either. The whole town was really busy, all up and down the street. Just nothing like induction weekend.

[DrungoHazewood]

How often does that happen?

Depends on your definition of a HOFer. The consensus seems to be something like "as good as most of the BBWAA guys". If you use that, then there's almost never a year with no worthy candidates.

If you're a tiny Hall guy, and you don't care who's already there, you could come up with a lot of years where no one meets your standard.

That would be interesting. Like Tin Cup and the U.S. Open. Anybody can enter, it's open.

I think a test would be a way to ensure the voters take the thing seriously. There would be ZERO of these ignorant ESPN talking heads turning in blank ballots, or voting for Jack Morris but not Blyleven. You wouldn't have anybody grandfathered in because they used to be a beat writer for the Dodgers 20 years ago but haven't thought much about baseball in years.

But the general public wouldn't know any of the names, or almost none. So you'd risk having the process look like some elite council handing down Hall of Famers from on high and losing the trust of the average fan. And I'm sure there would be plenty of holier-than-thou writers who'd pen 10,000-word screeds about having their God-given vote taken away.

[Sports Guy]

Mackus mentioned that in the 2nd post of the thread, and I completely agree. I'm sure he's focusing on the conflict of interest, which is important. But my main reason is that most beat writers know baseball history like I know quantum mechanics - just enough to be wrong a lot.

Yea..he said they should report news, not make it.

[Trinidad]

Yea..he said they should report news, not make it.

Is that how you get 80,000 posts? You just take other people's posts and restate them.............TWICE?