Let’s talk about Ken Griffey Jr.
In what was just his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, he received 99.3% of the votes. Of 440 total ballots, he was on 437 of them. That is an amazing feat, by far. The Kid holds the record for highest percent of Hall of Fame votes. The record was previously held by Tom Seaver, who received 98.8% of votes, back in 1992. It’s truly an honor to be on so many ballots. It speaks to the career you had, and the person you were/are. Griffey was also the first ever first-overall draft pick to make it into the Hall.
But is 99.3% enough? Is 437 of 440 votes enough?
There was speculation that The Kid could be the first unanimous inductee in Major League Baseball history. He most certainly had the statistics and personality to achieve this goal. He was an icon of his era, and one of the greatest players of all-time to watch at the plate. Griffey had a heck of a swing. It was beautiful. It was poetic. What he did during his tenure, despite facing injuries, was marvelous. He was an inspiration to fellow players, and an entire generation of kids growing up.
What about Ken Griffey, Jr. was bad enough for three people not to vote for him?
I have no idea.
I would love to find these three people, and ask them about their thought process. I’m an open minded guy, and would love to hear reasons why The Kid isn’t Hall of Fame worthy. My opinions are often different from other people’s. I engage in debate, and sometimes those people are able to convince me that they are right. Sometimes, it goes the other way around. I would love to meet these three voters, and begin a debate on Griffey. If they know something about him that I, or millions of other baseball fans, have missed, then I would love to know.
Of course, we don’t know who these three people are. We may one day find out. We may never find out. All we can do is speculate their reasoning.
Some people have stated that it could be because no one deserves 100% of the votes. Not even Babe Ruth earned a unanimous induction. If one of the greatest ball players EVER didn’t get all the votes, why should The Kid? Is he better than Babe Ruth?
Well no, Griffey probably isn’t better than Babe Ruth. But honestly, that doesn’t matter. It’s crap thinking. I don’t care if Babe Ruth got 100% of the votes or not. We aren’t talking about him. We are talking about Ken Griffey, Jr. Does Griffey deserve to go to the Hall? Do his awards, achievements, accolades, stats and demeanor, while playing for Major League Baseball, earn him a spot in Cooperstown?
That was the question that was on the table for 440 people.
437 of them said “yes” to the question.
Three did not.
I find that a complete shame. It’s a disgrace to the game of baseball. To be completely honest, these three people should be removed from the voting process. These three people, these three little pigs, need to be banned from any affiliation with the game. What they did to The Kid, what they did to Major League Baseball, is unacceptable. It’s unforgivable, and a severe injustice to the integrity of the job they were supposed to do. These three little pigs are just that:
Pigs.
They should be rolling in the mud, far away from MLB association, spreading their filth somewhere else.
It doesn’t belong here.
On their behalf, as an avid fan and writer of the game of baseball, I apologize to Ken Griffey, Jr. I know he isn’t worried about just three little votes, as he’s honored to be inducted no matter what. But I worry about those three little votes for him. One day, three votes may keep someone truly deserving of making it to Cooperstown at all.
And that’s a crime against baseball.