Who would you vote in?

For the Oval Office, none of them. Well, maybe Trammell.

For the Hall... Blyleven, Raines, McGwire, and in that order. Murphy if I'm in a really good mood.

1. Lee Smith for sure.

2. Bert Blyleven deserves serious consideration in spite of his many detractors. A fine pitcher.

3. The rest, no.

4. Several have had many chances, including Blyleven, but Blyleven stands out in this group.

5. Only Blyleven seems to improve by comparison to the others on your list.

6. Lee Smith is not in? He should have been in his first year of eligibility!

Well, these are all fantastic baseball players. Some deserve the honor, some don't. Here is my opinion:

Mark McGwire- definitely has the numbers and play for it, but steroids screwed him. NO

Harold Baines- Had nearly 400 HR's with a .289 career average. But that just doesn't push into the HOF now days. NO

Bert Blyleven- 287 Wins, 3.31 ERA. Pitched a great career and even though he didn't make it to 300, he still deserves it. YES

Andre Dawson- 438 HR's, 1591 RBI's, .279 career average. These are numbers that I believe put you on the edge of making it in or not. However, with his solid fielding, consistent hitting, and type of player he was, i give it to him. YES

Tommy John- 288 wins, 3.34 ERA. Almost identical to Bert's numbers. And this guy just had the endurance as well. YES

Lee Smith- 478 saves, 3.03 ERA. With that many saves, absolutely. YES

The rest of the guys are unfortunate NO's for me. Again, all of these guys played the game with much talent, but only these few deserve the accomplishment of the HOF in my opinion.

Yes: Blyleven (low win totals but played on some crappy teams, one of the best of his generation).

Tim Raines--maybe the second best lead-off man ever.

Trammell--an under-rated player who was probably the best at his position for years.

NO:

Tommy John--since he didn't perform the operation on himself, I'm not giving him credit for it.

Rice--HE WAS NOT THE MOST FEARED HITTER OF THE 70S!

Yikes--ever hear of Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Joe Morgan, or even Fred Lynn? All were better hitters than Rice...and they could all play defense.

Andre Dawson--close, but no cigar.

Everyone else fits the same category--not good enough for long enough.

Kidding, right?

Harold Baines

Bert Blyleven

Jack Morris

Lee Smith

I assume you mean the HOF right.

Harold Baines - No

Bert Blyleven - Yes

Andre Dawson - No

Tommy John -No

Don Mattingly -No

Mark McGwire -No

Jack Morris -Yes

Dale Murphy -No

Dave Parker -No

Tim Raines -No

Jim Rice -No

Lee Smith -Yes

Alan Trammell -No

These are all excellent candidates. I am partial to Mattingly, because he was my favorite player and was the dominant hitter in the AL for a run of several years. However, the writers don't seem to agree with me. I think Blyleven should get in because of his 287 wins; but Jim Kaat (with 283) never made it, so I think Blyleven's chances are slim. Tommy John should get in (288 wins), especially if they open a new wing for guys who have operations named after themselves. Their careers were largely unspectacular, but longevity and quality still should count for something. Don Sutton hung on too long, so did Gaylord Perry and Phil Niekro, but they all managed to sneak in 300 wins, so they're in the Hall. What difference should a dozen or so wins make? Jim Rice's credentials are as good as, if not better than, Mattingly's; I think he should get in. I'd also go with Lee Smith, given his status among career saves leaders, and Alan Trammell, whose career is on a par with Ozzie Smith's. Baines doesn't get in because he spent too much of his career solely as a DH; but if he gets in, so should Edgar Martinez. Dawson, Parker and Murphy don't quite get there because their hitting stats don't measure up to the all-time greats and, for some reason, I don't think of them in the same terms as Mattingly and Rice. Raines was too one-dimensional. Morris doesn't have the career stats for the Hall. That leaves McGwire: he would get in but for the steroids taint. Until he comes "clean," literally, I wouldn't vote for him and it's apparent that the writers won't either. This will keep out Palmeiro as well.

Andre Dawson

Don Mattingly

Jim Rice

Bert Blyeven

Blyleven,Dawson,Rice,Smith

Blyleven, Smith and Trammell