Greg Maddux Not Getting Into Hall Of Fame Unanimously
Chipper Jones was right, Greg Maddux will not be getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame unanimously. Maddux, one of the greatest pitchers ever, was at 100 percent voting through Monday as the Hall of Fame ballots were being counted. But on 10:30 am on Tuesday morning, one brave soul ventured to feel the wrath of Baseball fans everywhere.
MLB.com‘s Ken Gurnick, who covers the LA Dodgers, decided that Maddux’s outstanding career was not worthy of making him the first unanimously voted in Hall of Famer. Gurnick, along with all the other MLB.com voters, presented his case for listing only Jack Morris on his ballot.
Morris
Morris has flaws — a 3.90 ERA, for example. But he gets my vote for more than a decade of ace performance that included three 20-win seasons, Cy Young Award votes in seven seasons and Most Valuable Player Award votes in five. As for those who played during the period of PED use, I won’t vote for any of them.
Obviously his implication is that any hitter or pitcher who played from 1995 to the late 2000’s is not worthy of a Hall of Fame vote. But Maddux’s numbers prior to 1995 are impeccable. They would be enough for a Hall of Fame consideration. Maddux had 131 wins, three Cy Youngs and 40.7 WAR before 1995.
His 23 year career with the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and LA Dodgers, featured a 335-227 record, a 3.16 ERA, and four Cy Young awards. He appeared in eight all-star games and won 18 gold glove awards. He also was a member of the 1995 Atlanta Braves World Series champions.
No one has ever been voted unanimously into the Hall of Fame, but many thought Greg Maddux had a good chance if anyone did. Tom Seaver came the closest to getting into the Hall of Fame unanimously with 98 percent of voters putting him in on his first try. In an interview with Dave O’Brien, former Atlanta Brave star and future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones shared his thoughts on why Maddux probably wouldn’t receive unanimous voting.
Chipper Jones on ex-#Brave Maddux: “Some dumb (bleep) will probably leave him off the ballot because no one else has been a unanimous pick.”
— David O’Brien (@ajcbraves) January 7, 2014
While Chipper didn’t get the motive exactly right, his prediction proved to be true. Greg Maddux will most likely still be making it into the Hall of Fame. He only needs 75 percent of the vote and one miscue is sure not to throw that off. In fact, he may still compete with Seaver for the best all time voting percentage. Do you think Greg Maddux deserves a unanimous vote into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
