Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and many other older ball players through the years were far from being angels. Among many Hall of Famers, you will find drunkards, gamblers, fighters, and worse. Still, they are absently accepted out of hand, and celebrated as exactly what they were. The heroes of that day on the baseball diamond. Mark Mcgwire, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose and others that are treated unfairly were the heroes of my day. They too, were not perfect and made their mistakes. They did not do everything perfectly to be sure, but neither did their predecessors. Is it not a double standard to play that card now?

I have always been a baseball fan, and for as long as I can remember, there have been scandals and players that were known as being less than perfect. Somehow, they always seemed to find their way through the problems and continue to play ball at a high level. To this end, I always admired their ability to sit in that spotlight and continue to perform. I wonder how many of our lives would hold up under the same standard with a similar light shining down on it? I would bet that many would be short of the standard that we give our ball players.

Do not get me wrong. If a ball player breaks the law, or even breaks a law of baseball, then they should be punished. But they should not essentially have their career accomplishments erased simply because they made mistakes. If that is the standard, then they need to trim the Hall of Fame down to a very select few players. The history of baseball is rife with all types of standards being broken, and yet, they celebrate it in film and print. MLB needs to rethink this whole standard of the Hall of Fame. If they do not, then the very people that pay to watch their game may not want to join in the hypocrisy any longer.

During the period of the eighties and early nineties, Henderson was an absolute beast on the baseball diamond. He could absolutely control a baseball game with his feet as he would often swipe second and third in a single inning. Nobody in the history of Major League Baseball has stolen more bases or scored more runs than Rickey Henderson. Henderson was no slouch at the plate, either. He was about as likely to pop a home run as to hit a slicing triple, and that gave his game an extra dimension during his best years.

It was these qualities that led to Henderson being voted in on the first ballot at a cool 94.8 percent. Henderson is the 44th player to be elected into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26th along with Boston slugger Jim Rice. Rice is entering the Hall of Fame on the final ballot, and made it by the skin of his teeth. Others that came up just short included Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven, Lee Smith, and Jack Morris.

Henderson was easily one of the best leadoff hitters of all time. He would start a game off with a home run 81 times throughout his career, and nobody knows how many times Henderson would reach and steal second to start a game. He generated runs for a team at a record pace throughout his career, and made virtually every team he played for a much better one. In his long and illustrious career, Henderson stole more bases and scored more runs than any player in history. His stolen base record is nearly double the second place Lou Brock. Many feel that his records might not be broken. This includes the single season stolen base record of 130 that he accomplished during the 1982 season with Oakland.

Henderson’s Hall of Fame Resume:

Rice, who won an American League MVP award during the 1978 season, hit 382 home runs over a 16 year career. He batted .298 for his career, and also had 1451 RBIs during his career. Rice also made eight all star teams over his baseball career in the big leagues. Playing in the middle of a Red Sox order that featured Carl Yaztremski, Fred Lynn, and other greats of the day, Rice was still a star among stars. His respect and admiration around the big leagues over the years was palpable, and in particular in the Boston area.

When you played the Boston Red Sox, Jim Rice was the primary bat that you had to worry about. Rice had a way of commanding the plate against a pitcher, and he always seemed to get the hit that the Sox needed at key moments. Year after year, Rice lined up and strapped on the spikes. He was an incredibly durable player over the years as well. Of all the players from that day, Rice was as feared a hitter as their was. Nobody exceeded his ability to strike fear in the pitcher back then. Jim Rice was the Boston Red Sox, and still is to this day among many Red Sox fans.

Rice will be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside another great star from that era, Rickey Henderson. Other players that ended up falling just short of the vote were Andre Dawson with 67 percent, Bert Blyleven with 62.7, and Lee Smith and Jack Morris with 44. Slugger Mark Mcgwire garnered only 21.9 percent, which is actually a drop from the last vote.

Congratulations to Jim Rice for his Hall of Fame induction. It is long overdue.