Hall of Fame Voting is Already Getting Stupid: Part Two

I try to stay away from seeing who voted for whom when it comes to the Hall of Fame, but, sometimes…well, sometimes you just can’t.

Enter MLB.com writer Phil Rogers.

Filled out my HOF ballot — Bags, Bigg, RJ, Pedro, Moose, Piazza, Raines, Schill, Smoltz, Tram. Dropped Murphy, Walker for newcomers.

— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) December 22, 2014

Nothing wrong there, right? I mean, Rogers voted for ten guys…that’s commendable! No steroid guys either…that’ll earn him a few pats on the back from some as well.

So what’s the issue?

Dale Murphy is two years removed from the ballot. So, yeah, the choice to leave him (along with guys like Tommy John, Dave Parker and Steve Garvey) off your ballot is an easy one.  Coincidentally, two years ago (his final year on the ballot), Murphy was one of the nine players that got the nod from the former Chicago Tribune scribe.

The year before, when Rogers voted for just seven players, Murphy was not included. I guess something changed from year 14 to year 15.

Going back and forth from year to year is not all that uncommon I suppose. Personally, if I had a vote, I would have a tough time decided as to whether or not I would include guys like Larry Walker, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina and Jeff Kent as my tenth pick.

So I get it.

But to say you’re omitting someone in what would be their unprecedented 17^th time on the ballot to make way for newcomers…yikes. Add that to guys who are only voting for three players because they want shorter induction ceremonies, voters who leave players off their ballot because they wear an elbow pad at the plate or, heaven forbid, someone who didn’t see the value in a guy like Greg Maddux…and we’ve got issues.