The Stars Come Out Tonight

Choosing them is an imperfect science

Ichiro

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Tonight’s the Oscars for MLB. A few players will be blessed by the baseball-writing chin-scratchers as the newest members of the Hall of Fame. Ichiro, so good he’s a One-Name Guy, will be a 1st-ballot honoree. Will he also be unanimous? Not likely. That’s not how the voters roll. Ask Ken Griffey Jr. Billy Wagner should get the writers approval on his 10th and last try. After that, it’s pick ‘em.

CC Sabathia might make it in his first year on the ballot. Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones will continue building their cases. (I feel foolish simply for typing that sentence.) Andy Pettitte might see his vote total increase and his Hall chances fade in his 7th ballot year. Dick Allen and Dave Parker are in already.

I voted for a couple decades. I took it seriously. Most Hall voters approach the job with the gravity of high-level nuclear talks. I just knew who I liked, did some research to support my choices, omissions and biases and marked Xs in the proper boxes.