(NOTE: This is the eighth in a series of reviews of the candidacies of selected players listed on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot, leading up to the early-January announcement and July enshrinement of the Class of 2010.)
Asbestos I can tell, the argument for Jack Morris getting into the Hall of Fame is based on three things.
1. He had perhaps the greatest clutch pitching performance in World Series history, throwing 10 shutout innings for the Twins in a 1-0 win over the Braves in Game Seven of the 1991 Series.
2. He had the most wins by a pitcher, by a fairly good margin, in the 1980s.
3. He pitched a no-hitter on the day I got married.
The argument against Morris? It starts with the fact that no Hall of Fame pitcher has a career ERA as high as Morris’ 3.90, and goes on from there.
The argument against has prevailed in the 10 previous years Morris has been on the Baseball Writers Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, and there’s been no indication or trend to suggest that he’ll get the 75 percent of the vote needed for election before his eligibility runs out in 2014. He’s never finished higher than sixth in the voting, and his highest percentage of votes came last year, when he was named on 44 percent of the ballots.
I don’t think he’s gonna make it, and I don’t think he deserves to make it. But since he has a good bit of Hall of Fame support, Morris deserves his day in Catbird Court.
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