Mayor of Cooperstown Reveals Hall of Fame Picks

Pretty soon, every website (this one included, naturally) will be inundated with picks for who should and shouldn’t be elected into the Hall of Fame in early January.

There are going to be writers who will try and defend the inclusion (or not) of suspected steroid users. There are going to be writers who think no one should get in. Conversely, there’s going to be the guy who thinks everyone should get in. Prediction…there’s even going to be the guy who thinks Brian Giles should get a vote.

All that aside, I guarantee you this…Jeff Katz’s picks are some of the more unique.  Why?  Not because of who he would vote for (or not), because he’s the Mayor of Cooperstown.

No…literally. Katz is Cooperstown’s mayor.

“As Mayor of Cooperstown, I have no vote and even less influence on who gets into the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Katz recently wrote over on his blog. “Still, I’ve been a baseball fan way longer than I’ve been Mayor of Cooperstown. As mayor, I’m almost always asked by press and public what I think about Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and the Hall of Fame ballot. The Hall of Fame, by its very nature, is impartial and should be. I doubt very much anyone wants them actively and publicly taking sides. But me, well, I’m under no compunction to keep my thoughts to myself…though maybe I should!”

So who would Katz, author of the upcoming book Split Season 1981: Fernandomania, The Bronx Zoo and The Strike That Saved Baseball, nominate for enshrinement into Baseball’s Hall of Fame if he had a vote and how does he think the fans would respond?

Funny you should ask.

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BARRY BONDS

Number one, hands down.

But what would Barry Bonds’ election mean to the village? There’s a lot of fear that a critical mass of older Hall of Famers won’t show up and they, as much as the newly elected, is what drives Induction weekend.  The parade of all-time greats, waving from open cars to the fans lining up on Main St, is heavenly. Where else can you get within 50 feet of Hank Aaron. Much as the baseball fan in me wants to see a Barry Bonds plaque, the mayor in me is fine seeing him passed by.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: CRICKETS

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MIKE PIAZZA

Big Mike’s absence from the Hall is the biggest injustice of the past two years.

Mayorally speaking, I know that Piazza’s election would bring a huge crowd to Cooperstown. Soon after he retired in 2007, downstate cousins of mine began asking if they could stay at my house for his inevitable Induction. There’s a lot of Mets love out there for him and why not.  What else can a Met fan to feel happy about?

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: STANDING ROOM ONLY

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RANDY JOHNSON

Is Randy Johnson popular, I mean tens of thousands of people popular? I’m not sure; I think not. Plus, when he had to make it in New York, it didn’t go too well. He had a solid first year on the mound, but his tenure was rocky from the day he pushed away a television camera. Turned out New York wasn’t Seattle or Phoenix and the surly start wasn’t forgiven.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: GOOD OPENING ACT, NEEDS A HEADLINER TO DRAW

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JEFF BAGWELL and CRAIG BIGGIO

I can’t imagine that central New York would swarm with Texans if two of the Killer B’s were voted in, but it’s somewhat hard to predict. This past year I was positive that the biggest crowds would be Chicagoans for Maddux, Thomas and maybe a little La Russa. Yet it was the Atlanta fans who marched into Cooperstown. I was a little surprised, but very pleased. They were very polite.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE:  AS UNPREDICTABLE AS A ROYALS PENNANT. IF BOTH GET IN TOGETHER, COULD BE A RESPECTABLE TURNOUT.

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ROGER CLEMENS

When I moved to Cooperstown from Chicago, I assumed this area was Mets and Yankees territory, but it isn’t. It’s Yankees and Red Sox territory, with the Mets a distant third. What does a Hall of Famer whose best years were spent in New York, Boston and, yes, Toronto (only an hour further drive from the Hall of Fame than Boston), do for turnout? I suspect Clemens could still bring the fans.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE:  WIDE RANGE, AS WIDE AS CLEMENS REPUTATION OVER THE YEARS

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PEDRO MARTINEZ

Pedro is going to pack ‘em in next summer. He’s loved in Boston and he’s got a foothold in New York, as a vaunted Yankee nemesis and well-liked by Mets fans who got a small taste of his greatness in 2005.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: 50,000 OR MORE. PEDRO IS THE FIRST PERSON MY WIFE HAS BEEN INTERESTED IN SEEING INDUCTED AND THAT SAYS A LOT.

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MIKE MUSSINA

He’s got a magic combo for an Inductee – New York and Baltimore. In addition to the monster Ripken year, Orioles fans are reliable visitors. It’s a 5 ½ car or bus ride and one that rabid O’s fans have made since Brooks Robinson in 1983. Mussina ended on a high note for the Yankees, so that helps. Still, his near-invisibility as a personality makes me think there’s not enough passion to bring out the fans.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: MODERATE, CONSISTENT WITH DEPENDABLE INDUCTIONS OF 15,000, LIKE MOOSE’S CAREER

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TIM RAINES

I’m not sure that Rock’s big city credentials put fans on the road to Cooperstown, but if you believe Jonah Keri and other Montreal boosters, there’s a huge body of Expos fans out there and that’s where Raines has to draw from. It’s not far from here; I’m just not sure there’s enough people interested.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: SOLID, IF YOU GO BY EXPOS ATTENDANCE FROM 1979 – 1983, DREADFUL IF YOU GO BY EXPOS ATTENDANCE FROM 1998 – 2004.

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JOHN SMOLTZ

Smoltz would have bathed in the love of the huge Atlanta contingent had he been eligible for election this past year. As a standalone candidate, I can’t see Smoltz drawing many.

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE: WEAK, UNLESS PART OF A LARGE CLASS

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“Once upon a time, the Mayor of Cooperstown made a speech greeting fans to Cooperstown for induction,” Katz concluded. “That was a nice touch and something that bridged the gap between a village of less than 2,000 residents welcoming tens of thousands of fans. I’m sorry that tradition ended. Never did the Mayor of Cooperstown have a vote for the Hall of Fame. I’d like to see a grass roots movement to make that happen.”

I’d vote for that.