Not Thrilled with Mike Piazza making the Hall of Fame either

In addition to Ken Griffey Jr, who set a record for the highest percentage of votes received, (this also is ridiculous as the so called “Kid” was a great player but his accomplishments and for that matter are dwarfed by the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays). Mike Piazza also made the Hall of Fame.

Even more than in the case with Griffey forgive me for not doing cartwheels, in fact forgive me for not being moved one bit.

Piazza, a catcher with great statistics, so the voters put him in. Could you write a history of Piazza’ s time in baseball without including him. I think one can.

Most discouraging was writer/ESPNer Ian O’Connor writing that Piazza became a Hall of Famer a September night in 2001 because he hit a home run that keyed a New York Mets’ win vs the Atlanta Braves. The Mets failed to make the expanded post-season that year.

Events took place on September 11th of that year that among other things caused baseball games to be postponed. In the first game played by his team, Piazza hit a home run for a team that failed to make the playoffs. That does not make him a Hall of Fame player.

Joe DiMaggio, note the space on the Life cover but that is not how his name was spelled or configured, played in 10 World Series, his Yankees’ teams winning 9, yet did not even make the Hall on his first try.

In contrast not only does Griffey Jr., who never even played in a World Series, make the Hall in his first try but does so with the highest percentage of votes ever.

On a lighter note to ease my perhaps misplaced and clearly exaggerated frustration with all things baseball today some recollections of one of the great playwright Neil Simon’s autobiographical works.

Simon wanted to be a New York Yankee. However, in addition to likely limited baseball ability, he observed Yankees were named Tony or Joe. Neil lamented that he ate spaghetti made with tomato sauce from a can and decided he would be a writer.

First thank goodness he did become a writer and as one with limited baseball ability and whose mother made baked spaghetti (actually pretty good, greatly appreciated now when what I eat is much less) I surely can relate.