Friday, September 04, 2009

Do This If You Like to See My Head Explode


The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a favorite place of mine, and a favorite debate topic. There are some that get me fired up, and few do it better than one name: Keith Hernandez.

No surprise, Jeff Pearlman says it's a no-brainer.

Uh-huh.

So let me say the following in a peaceful way, devoid of name-calling and spouting useless statistics.

Donald Arthur Mattingly. If one is inducted into the Hall, then the other must follow. Review the numbers if you wish, and tell me how great "Mex" was with the glove and I'll tell you "Donnie Baseball" was every bit the equal.

Phew. I did it. I didn't scream.

Oh and spare me the "Mattingly never won a ring bull(crap)." It shouldn't factor. So Hernandez gets into the Hall because he won two rings - one of which he had to put his uniform back on for because he assumed the Mets had lost and was too busy in the clubhouse smoking a cigarette (Game 6, 1986 World Series)?

Still, as much as I admired Don Mattingly, I have said that he is not worthy of induction to the Hall. As such, neither is Keith Hernandez.

NOW it's a no-brainer.

2 comments:

Tim Parry said...

Unless you're a Yankee fan, you realize Don Mattingly was a very good baseball player who was a dominant player for five seasons. But neither Mattingly or Hernandez is Hall of Fame worthy, IMO.

Maybe with Mattingly you can take the Gayle Sayers approach and talk about what could have been had his body not broken down in the prime of his career.

Rob Adams said...

Most Yankees fans (present writer included) know that Mattingly shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. However, if Keith the Snorter makes it, then we will be charging Cooperstown.

The bottom line is simple: neither should be in.