More Keith Law...

Wow, has Keith Law of ESPN given me a world of content to critique on in this slow period of the baseball universe. I was going to give myself a break for the afternoon, but I felt the need to once again write.

Once again, he criticizes the O’s, this time with Cal Ripken, Jr. and his Hall of Fame credentials. While he’s not voting at all, as he’s not a part of the BBWA, he gives his take on who should be in the Hall of Fame class of 2007.

Here’s what he says:

“I do agree with the criticism of Ripken's streak -- he probably hurt his team at a few points by his refusal to take a day off -- but he's also one of the five best shortstops in history and changed the way people in baseball think about who can stay at shortstop. (Let's hope that Ripken prominently thanks Earl Weaver in his acceptance speech, as it was Weaver who put Ripken at short, contradicting the conventional thinking that shortstops needed to be small and slight.)”

Again, I agree with Law’s logic, but disagree with his implication that Ripken hurt the team. We all know Ripken is renowned for the Streak, but for me what made it amazing is that whether he was struggling or on a tear, he played and tried to contribute, whether he got the big hit or struck out. Yes, he had some MVP worthy seasons, and some he struggled to hit .250, but what made him great in my eyes was that he went to work everyday and never seemed to dog it out. He was the consummate professional and played the game with pride.

The parable of working at any job and lessons from Ripken’s career should be spread to kids, whether they are a superstar or riding the pine.

Whatever you think, going to work everyday for 16 years plus without taking a day off is hard, and that’s what makes Ripken great.

Let’s forget Ripken, this is where Keith Law is dead wrong.

He’s dead wrong when it comes to Tony Gwynn.

This is what he says:

“Also a player who's a bit overrated by conventional thinking, but clearly worthy of enshrinement. Younger fans may not realize what a quick, athletic player Gwynn was when he came up, before he started to pack on the pounds."

Mr. Law, I don’t care if Tony Gwynn has a body of a greek god or had a gut. Yes, he looked more like an everyman than a perfect human specimen, but you don’t have a lifetime batting average of .338 without having skill or being an expert at the game. Sorry, if you have a lifetime average of .338, and are in the top of 10 of that category, you are surely not overrated.

It sort of sounds like Gwynn got slighted by law because of his appearance, and that’s stupid on his part. An athlete is one who has a discernable skill and from what I remember Gwynn was a hell of a player, and not because of his physique.

He also mentions that he’d include McGwire, Bert Byleven, Alan Trammell and Ron Santo on his list for those to be inducted.

Before I go, I’ll list what he has about McGwire.

"One great reason to vote for him: If he gets in, then all of the insufferable sanctimony on the part of voters who want to tell you they didn't vote for him on moral grounds (sorry, doesn't make you a good person, and probably just makes you pompous) will stop, since the next likely target (probably Sammy Sosa) won't be eligible for a few years. Until someone shows me that McGwire broke a rule that existed at the time and had any kind of defined punishment, I see no reason to apply the ex post facto logic more commonly seen from third-world dictators."

Plain and simple, he’s right. Baseball became rich and rebounded off him, so unless the St. Louis Cardinals & baseball want to refund the fans for a tainted product, whether proven or not, I’d say vote him in; however, the court of public opinion has spoken about McGwire and the issue and no one can beat that sentiment, whether he’s in the Hall of Fame or not.