Baseball's newest members to the hallowed halls will be announced today. After all of these years, no player has ever made it on 100% of the ballots. Tom Seaver got over 98% when he made it, but even a few writers failed to vote for him.
It could be different this year. 145 voters were dropped because they no longer cover the sport. Baseball is trying to weed out the curmudgeons that only vote for one or two players even when many more deserve it. And then they use those votes for the underdogs figuring the favorites will make it without their votes.
It's a nice strategy BUT it goes against the basic idea of the hall. You want people to recognize the very BEST. Ken Griffey Junior and his 630 home runs is eligible this year. Many think he could become the first 100% ballot player ever. He deserves it of course, but there's going to be some writer somewhere who doesn't vote for him.
My suggestion would be to grade the sportswriters themselves based on their vote. If they don't vote for Griffey, remove them from the panel of eligible voters next year. You want the best writers voting for the best players. It's only fair.
The integrity of the game is at stake.
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