One of the cool new features of Ballpark Village is the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
All the Cardinals players and managers in the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown are automatically inducted to the Cardinals HOF, and then, starting this year, 2 more Cardinals greats will be inducted via fan vote.
Voting is now open for the class of 2014 – VOTE HERE
Who’s up for election?
- Jim Edmonds
- Bob Forsch
- Keith Hernandez
- Willie McGee
- Matt Morris
- Joe Torre
- Mark McGwire
- Ted Simmons
All worthy candidates. But let’s try and predict who will get the nod.
NO:
We respected him (Oakland), we loved him (’97 – ’01), we became leery of him (’02 – ’09), we were embarrassed by him (’10), we welcomed him back (’11-’12), we felt abandoned by him (’13 – present). Bottom line? There is quite a bit to unpack with McGwire and too much to reconcile before he gets this honor. It’ll probably happen, but not while he’s active with another team.
He currently works for the Mets. He was immortalized in a classic Seinfeld episode as a Met. He played 6 years for the Mets. He’s got the stats in St. Louis, but most people associate him with the Mets.
He was a heck of a player for the Cardinals and was fired as their manager. But he’s known to pretty much everyone under 40 as a Yankee. Like on the Rushmore of Yankees with Jeter and Rivera. He’s definitely not getting in this year, and I’m not sure if he ever gets the support needed from the public. He’s like Keith Hernandez times two.
He played the majority of his career in STL. 6 of his 8 All-Star appearances were in a Cardinals uniform. He is more than worthy of this honor. But doesn’t it feel like he’s the forgotten Cardinal great? He’s kicked around baseball in the front offices and benches (Mariners and Padres respectively), but never has gotten the legend treatment from St. Louis. Don’t know why.
Matt Morris. Always seemed like he was on the edge of greatness, but could never quite get over the hump t0 actually be great. I don’t know why some guys get that label, because he won over 100 games for the Cardinals with his prime being in that fallow period of the late 90’s and early 00’s. Deserving of getting in, but more people are still wondering ‘what if…’ with Morris and aren’t ready to fete him properly.
PROBABLY NOT:
He’ll be in the class of 2015. But with this first group, he’s going against Willie McGee for the one spot for living Cardinals (see Forsch below).
YES:
One of the most beloved Cardinals of all time. Unless something breaks with the voting apparatus, McGee is a lock. He’s probably the only other Cardinal that’s up in Stan Musial territory when it comes to being loved by St. Louis.
Cardinals fans are many things, including wildly sentimental. If enough people over 50 discover this online voting link, Forsch gets in. If not, Edmonds will get voted in. But posthumously honoring Forsch will feel right to most people voting.
Photo: Topix STL
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