It was a very sad day for baseball with the news that former pitcher Roy Halladay perished in a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico.
Halladay was one of the best pitchers of his generation and is a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Which brings me to the point of this column.
The Hall of Fame should waive it’s five-year waiting rule and either induct Halladay immediately or allow his name to appear on the 2018 ballot. Halladay retired after the 2013 season and was scheduled to first appear on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2019.
In March 1973, a special vote was taken to waive the five-year rule and induct Roberto Clemente into Hall of Fame. Clemente, the ultimate humanitarian, was taking relief supplies from Puerto Rico to help the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. Clemente’s plane went down on New Year’s Eve, 1972 and his body was never recovered.
The great Latin star had compiled enough statistics over his fabulous career to be considered a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Clemente received 393 of the 424 ballots cast in this special election. 29 voted no (which is astounding even with the lame excuse that those voters didn’t want to waive the rule) and two abstained.
Roy Halladay has accumulated enough statistics over his fabulous career to be considered a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
203 wins, Cy Young Awards in both leagues and only one of two pitchers to throw a no-hitter in a post season game. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of his credentials for induction.
The ballots have been mailed (if not, they will shortly) to the eligible members of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) who have a vote.
The 5-year waiting period should be waived. Roy Halladay should go right into the Baseball Hall of Fame.