A lot’s happened in baseball in the past few days. The annual Hall of Fame vote was announced, with Andre Dawson being the sole inductee for 2010, and Matt Holliday, the biggest name on the free agent market resigned with the St. Louis Cardinals. The part of me that likes order and tranquility has been soothed.
I feared Holliday would wind up with the New York Yankees. I figured St. Louis was the best home for him, but New York seems to be where everyone winds up these days. Those that can’t become Yankees become Mets. I was 50-50 that Holliday would have a buttload of money presented before him and that he wouldn’t resist. I don’t blame professional athletes, necessarily. I think it’s human to feel guilty walking away from an extra $20 million. But is there really that much of a difference between $120 million and $140 million?
To his credit, Holliday made the right decision, I think. His reward? $120 million over seven years along with the opportunity to hit next to Albert Pujols. His future Hall of Fame bid just got a lot stronger.
Speaking of Cooperstown, I like the decision to induct Dawson. His numbers seem Hall-worthy (438 home runs, 314 stolen bases and 2774 hits) and more than that, Dawson seemed like a star of his era. ESPN is reporting that there is some debate whether Dawson will wear a Montreal Expos or Chicago Cubs hat on his plaque. The guess here is Cubs, but that’s just a guess.
Dawson should be joined next year by Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven, who were each within ten votes of making it. I’m surprised Barry Larkin only got 51% of the vote but that’s better than what a lot of eventual Hall of Famers got in their first year on the ballot. Joe DiMaggio, for instance, received 44% of the vote in 1953, the first year after his retirement that he was on the ballot.