Pinto says the Hall results are out early.
UPDATE: Here's the voting results.
(2006 ballot here, 2005 here, 2004 here, 2003 here).
Looks like the Goose almost has it locked up, as I expected due to Sutter's election; Rice is also still in the hunt, Blyleven and Dawson still in limbo, with Blyleven increasingly likely to have to wait for the Veterans. Notice that reading the chart diagonally down from left to right produces some pretty vivid trends. Albert Belle, unjustly, falls off the ballot. McGwire gets just 23.5% of the vote, a very loud protest against a guy whose ballplaying credentials are undeniable.
THIRD UPDATE: I'm guessing neither of the two people who voted for Bobby Bonilla was Bob Klapisch. And a reader points out that Ken Caminiti got two votes; I will go out on a limb and say those two writers did not withhold their votes from McGwire.
I'd like to know the reasoning of voters who think Dave Parker is a Hall of Famer, but Albert Belle is not.
Better yet, if you can vote for Garvey, John and Smith, how can you not vote for McGuire even if you believe he juiced and it matters?
How can you....? That's why it's a vote. Election hinges upon the whims of sportswriters. They can, they will, screw it up anyway possible. Have you ever watched these dolts converse on espn? There's only one Gammons. That said, my only complaint with this year's election is the Goose coming up short.
All I can say is "Bobby Bonilla?"
Abe - Goose, Rice, Smith and Blyleven should have already been elected. They are all WAY past due.
Goose was held in awe when he played, Blyleven got no press or exposure, Rice was very one dimensional, a good thing in Fenway, but I was never a big fan. To me, Lee Smith is a 1930s kind of player. Gaudy stats with little to back it up. I remember him, good fastball, Strawberry used to thump him. To me, he is another Armando Benitez--maybe some flash of stats, but no meat to back it up. Just my memory of him now.
Mad, I think Smith is a reach, could make similar type arguements for Franco, clearly not HOF material in my opinion. Rice and Blyeven are coin tosses in my eyes, on the cusp. Daryl makes the same point I would re Rice. The only guy who got screwed this year was Goose. He's a no brainer.