Congrats to Robbie Alomar and Bert Blyleven

Tomorrow Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven will be enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.  Their plaques will hang in the same building as immortals such as the Babe, Stan the Man, Joltin' Joe and all the rest, as they rightfully should .  This duo didn't have a major impact on the game as far as setting records, earning memorable nicknames or having statues built in their likeness, but instead got in by consistently producing at a high level for a long time.  They didn't have easily defined "career" years and their numbers never overwhelmed; Alomar didn't swat 25 longballs, record 200 base knocks, or swipe 60 bags in any of his 17 seasons just as Blyleven didn't win 25 games, post a 2.50 ERA or whiff 300 batters at any point in his 22 big league campaigns.  Critics might point that out, by my response is this; "so what? and who cares?"  Neither made a sizable dent on the record books, but that doesn't matter because they were still  very, very good for quite awhile.

And in baseball, that means something.

Alomar, with his dozen All-Star selections, ten Gold Gloves and .300 career batting average, was arguably the best all-around second baseman since Joe Morgan (honorable mention goes to Ryne Sandberg, Craig Biggio, Jeff Kent, and Chase Utley).  He combined speed (474 steals) with power (210  dingers) and production (1,508 runs scored and 1,134 batted in) while playing earning a reputation for sterling defense, even though newer defensive statistics believe he was overrated (I'm looking at you, Derek Jeter).  He also won back-to-back World Series titles with the Blue Jays before they became consumed by the AL Beast.  Even though he never won an MVP award and couldn't make a claim as the best player in baseball, he consistently forced his way into the discussion.  Robbie deserved to get in his first time on the ballot, but voters "made him pay" by delaying his selection for a year because he spit on an umpire, a decision I find completely ludicrous.  No one made Ty Cobb wait even though his sins, attacking a disabled fan and letting his overflowing racism spill onto the field through physical altercations with African American groundskeepers, were much worse.  And I doubt Alomar cares, either, because he has his Hall of Fame status, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.  Shame on the BBWAA for attempting to serve moral justice.

But I digress.  Blyleven was a tougher call because although he played 22 seasons and compiled some amazing career statistics--his 287 wins (pitched until he was 41 but just couldn't hang on for that 300th) and 3,701 strikeouts (fifth all-time) impress-he never really dominated.  He only made two All-Star squads (no wonder he was never a household name, but playing in small markets didn't help either), never won a Cy Young award, racked up 250 losses and enjoyed just one twenty win season.  Nonetheless, his sustained excellence over the course of two decades and pair of World Series rings eventually won over the voters in his final year on the ballot.  After perusing his stats, I don't really see why he was such a borderline case like Jim Rice and Andre Dawson were.  His numbers really are spectacular, and in my opinion he should have been elected much sooner, but that's the Hall of Fame for you (you know there are people who didn't vote for Willie Mays, right?  I would like to know what they smoking during the fifties and sixties).  I'm glad he didn't have to wait for a less meaningful selection by the Veterans Committee, though, as getting in twenty-plus years after retirement just seems to lack the same sense of special accomplishment.

Congratulations Bert and Robbie.  You guys earned your places in the Hall, something not everyone in Cooperstown can say.