Is it me, or does anyone else think it’s a bit ironic that Tom Glavine was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame the same year his comrade Greg Maddux and his Braves manager Bobby Cox were either eligible or elected the selves?
Yes, Glavine received over 91% of the vote. Yes, Glavine was part of the storied Atlanta Braves NL (B)East teams of the 1990s. Sure, I might have some *thinly veiled disgust* for his ineffectiveness as a Met (and I don’t even reserve the hate that most Mets fans have over his blowing the last game of 2007 before getting out of the inning…FIRST inning…most of my PTMD with him is due to his first game in 2003).
But who here thinks the crock of shit known as the Hall of Fame voting process (you know, the self serving sanctimonious assholes who didn’t vote anyone in for 2013, because someone *might* have done steroids AND the same shit-for-brains who think making a guy a “unanimous” vote takes away integrity or some shit…or some idiot who actually thought Armando Benitez was worthy of *A* vote) just simply wanted to get the band back together?
I’m sure the two Braves fans out there are excited about this prospect. But color me unimpressed. This isn’t a rant that Mike Piazza got snubbed…AGAIN. Just because Glavine had an impressive “resume,” sure he played for lots of good teams, but he’s massively overrated. I’m sure he would get in the Hall, eventually. A pitcher with 300 wins, it’s almost a foregone conclusion. Yet with his stats, he’s the very definition of a guy who should not get in on the first ballot, in my opinion.
This is MLB’s tweet on Glavine:
Here is why @Tom_Glavine will be enshrined in #HOF: pic.twitter.com/EKqRzi3M6k
— MLB (@MLB) January 9, 2014
But take a look at these bullet points to show what those numbers could not possibly tell you:
*Glavine is the owner of the most postseason losses in baseball history (16 losses) – think of those years the Braves never made it past the divisional series, Glavine clearly never made it count when his team needed him most. This is also something that Mets fans can certainly identify.
*Glavine retired with 305 wins. His team scored 6 or more runs 226 times in his starts, where he earned 149 wins in those games. So nearly half of his total wins, his team scored lots of runs, and he won those games. My grandmother could win when her team scores six or more runs.
*But that’s not all. There were 77 total games where he either lost or got a no decision when his team gave him six or more runs. Shouldn’t more than 50% of a pitcher’s wins come when you have a 6 run spot?
*When Glavine got 2 runs or less than support he won 26 games.
*He boasted a less than average WHIP of 1.317.
*When a pitcher gives up 200 hits in a season, that’s considered a lot, right? Tom Glavine gave up over 200 hits FIFTEEN TIMES in his career. Of the seasons he did not hit that milestone (seven total), two of those seasons were not full seasons.
*During the span of Glavine’s career (beginning in 1987), NO ONE allowed more base runners than Glavine, to the tune of 6,069 of ‘em. Only five pitchers in National League history have allowed more base runners than Glavine.
Here’s the thing about Glavine. Throw away his Tom Horrific performance as a Met. He was second fiddle to Maddux, and rightfully so. Maddux is a Hall of Fame pitcher, plus he had dominating numbers when he played for crappy teams, like the Cubs. Yet, that certainly didn’t make Glavine the second best pitcher on those great Braves teams. John Smoltz certainly was the stronger pitcher (and he’ll get in first ballot, no problem) – he made 200 fewer starts and got 500 MORE strikeouts than Glavine!!!
Shit, on the Art Howe Mets “error,” Glavine wasn’t even the best goddamn pitcher on that team, though by reputation he should have been. When STEVE TRACHSEL is the more consistent pitcher, you ain’t all that, honey.
Spare me the whole “well he was older on the downside of his career” excuse. Enough. All Glavine did was bitch about Questec and wasn’t given benefit of the doubt calls that made him a legend in Atlanta. A dominant pitcher adjusts. Glavine never did.
I’m outraged about this.
Maybe last year wasn’t Piazza’s year. But it should have been this year if people wanted to truly make a statement. But Glavine? The year his teammates and manager started to become eligible, he all of a sudden gets benefit of the doubt votes?
Call it the Hall of Pity Votes.
