Baseball Hall of Fame

I know you're wondering about my take on the recent additions to Baseball's Hall of Fame. But first this bulletin: The Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York. Did you know that Cooperstown was named for the family of James Fenimore Cooper and the Cooper grew up there? (I'm including this info primarily for those who attended my panel on Robert E. Howard at the World Fantasy Convention last fall.) Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging.

I'm happy to see that Cal Ripken, Jr., and Tony Gwynn were elected to the Hall of Fame. I don't really care too much that Mark McGwire wasn't chosen, but I do think there's a large cloud of smug over far too many sportswriters today. I wonder how many of them have been amped up on one thing or another when they wrote their columns, and I suspect the answer is: "More than a few." But I could be wrong, and I often am.

I'm not the guy to ask about the HoF, however. I still think Pete Rose should be in. Sure he's kind of a dick, and sure he bet on baseball, but he was still Charlie Hustle. It's not as if the Hall was filled with sterling characters, the kind you'd want your sister to marry. Some probably are that guy, and others just aren't.

Congrautlations to Ripken and Gwynn, though. They're truly deserving.