In the baseball Hall Of Fame, two people have been inducted, that never played Baseball professionaly, never coached or for that matter had anything to do with the actual game of Baseball.  Who were these two legendary icons!?
213397
There is nobody in the Baseball Hall of Fame that had nothing to do with baseball.  The most common incorrect answer is Abbott and Costello.  They themselves are not in the Hall of Fame.  Their skit "Who's on first?" is.
261311
Never heard of either of them!!!
671938
what the heck does this have to do with baseball?
465979
absolutely!!! they got to be famous by cheating, and that is not fair to the athletes that used hard work and determination in order to get to the majors!! Babe Ruth is the #2 all-time HR hitter in my mind
348132
I'm a diehard Red Sox fan, and I'd have to go along with Jeter.\n\nThere are better Shortstops out there and there are better hitters out there, but I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better leader, and the man's always thinking out there.  Look at that amazing playing against the A's in the 2001 ALDS, when from his SS position he grabs an errant relay throw DOWN THE FIRST BASE LINE and makes a backhanded relay to the plate.  I've never seen anything like it.  \n\nAnd afterwards, what does he have to say about it?\n\n"I was supposed to be there," Jeter said. "I'm supposed to read the throw. I just got there."\n\nClass act, pure and simple.
55802
Good fan appeal, and not much more.  And that was back in the day.  He is not good enough for the Hall Of Fame.  And he is a cheat (corked bats and the roids).
347397
Gwynn and Ripkin are shoe-ins for the hall.  McGwire will not make it for at least for a few years if ever.  When he faced congress a couple of years ago he really hurt himself when confronted about his possible use of steroid.  Of course he admitted to the use of a certain steroid in 1998 when he "broke" Maris record.\n\nOne of my biggest concerns is that there are players that should be in the hall and for whatever reason have yet to be voted in.  Among my own personal list are players like, Jice Rice, Dave Parker, Don Mattingly, Dwight Evans, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Jack Morris, and of course the "Goose" Rich Gossage.\n\nSomebody please tell me why these guys are not hall of famers????
53155
There were no African-Americans in the Major Leagues in 1920, so some could argue that the league was watered down with out the inclusion of some of those fine athletes.  Also, there were far less teams in Major League Baseball in 1920 than there are today, this could, in fact, be an arguement that it was more difficult to become a Major Leaguer in 1920 than today.  It is also important to bring up the salaries that the players receive for playing Major League Baseball.  For better or for worse, salaries in today's game are vastly larger than they ever were in 1920.  In 1920, many players had to have other jobs during the off season in order to make a living.  The off season training of today's athletes is also leaps and bounds ahead of where it was in 1920.  In 1920, the players simply played the game and didn't lift weight or watch what they ate.  Look at Babe Ruth for an example of this, he routinely crammed down hot dogs in between doubleheaders and was a notorious drinker.  Babe Ruth also probably never touched a weight in his life.  Could you imagine how he would have been if he had been on the sort of off season training regimine that today's athletes are on???  But that's another topic altogether.  Another thing to look at would be the pitchers statistics.  In 1920, pitchers were EXPECTED to finsh games that they started.  In today's games starting pitchers are credited with a "quality start" if they complete 6 innings.  The role of the bullpen and closers has also grown greatly since 1920 as a result of this.  An example of this would be how Bruce Sutter is the first solely relief pitcher to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  I hope that you got a few ideas from this, good luck with your paper. I would think you could whip it out no problem on this topic!
483973
Good to see Paul O'Neil's name come up. He and Mattingly were my favorites and remain among my favorites to this day. O'Neil was one of those players that brought an intangible to the games he played - a determined grit... a never surrender quality to every at bat. He carried this with him for every game he played.\n\nHe wouldn't give up and wouldn't let anyone else around him give up - a true warrior of the diamond.\n\nThis quality is seldom reflected in stats - a shame... On numbers alone, he wouldn't make the hall. In the minds and hearts of those who saw him play and witnessed his daily contributions - it matters not.
493620
not everything is about money. these are players who have more than likely accumulated a lot of money over their playing careers. unless they squandered it all on gambling, i'm sure there is no need for more money. sure, the value of their baseball cards go up, but that's a different story. and being inducted into the hall of fame isn't necissarily completely for the player either. a lot of fans are very happy to see their favorite players being inducted into one of sport's most prestigious resting places so to speak. while i don't know if there are any financial benefits to the players, i can say that is the last thing on their minds the day they are inducted.
121061
That would be Frank "Homerun" Baker who led the American League four seasons for most homeruns none more than 12 homeruns a season until in 1919 a player by the name of George Herman "Babe" Ruth hit 29 homerums and the rest as they say is history :>) Babe Ruth was a lefthanded pitcher at that time for the Boston Red Sox. What makes people say Babe Ruth the greatest player to ever play the game regardless of era is that he hit 29 homeruns at a time when 8 ,9 or 10 homeruns was considered great the Babe hit 29. That would be the equivalent for some hitter today to hit around 100 homers !!! And Babe was also a great left handed pitcher !! So yes I consider Babe Ruth the greatest player ever .
49805
Jackson was found guilty by the commissioner of baseball for participating in gambling activities associated with baseball.  However, he was never PROVEN guilty of this - it was an autocratic decision by the commissioner to ban him from the major league teams and their affiliates.\n\nThat said, the Hall of Fame is for ALL of baseball, not just the MLB and SHOULD be independant of MLB (it's not really, but it should be).  So, the decision of the commissioner should have not weight in whether or not someone is inducted into the hall of fame.  This would then make both Joe Jackson and Pete Rose eligible for the Hall and both are VERY deserving to be there.\n\nRemeber Gambling is legal in a number of places and sports gambling is actually supported by the Canadian Government via the Sport Select program (a lotto game where you select winners, losers and tie games, etc.), icluding baseball.  This by definition should exclude the Toronto Blue Jays from participating in the MLB.\n\nJoe should be in the Hall.
199562
C - Mike Piazza - Me may not be a defensive star, but his bat can't be ignored\n\n1B - Lou Gehrig - Albert Pujols may hold down this spot one day, but he's going to have to keep it up for another 5-10 years before he does. Gehrig is a career .340 hitter with nearly 500 homers. Only Jimmy Foxx comes close. \n\n2B - Rogers Hornsby - His 1922 season when he had 250 hits and  42 homers while batting .401 is the best season ever by a second baseman. He batted .358 for his career\n\n3B - Alex Rodriguez - Mike Schmidt actually deserves the nod here, but the edge is slight. It's only a matter of time (a year or two) before A-Rod cements his place as the game's best ever third baseman. \n\nSS - Cal Ripken - The answer here probably should be Honus Wagner...but because of his ability to play every day, power, and the fact that I've actually seen him, Cal Ripken is my pick. \n\nOF - Babe Ruth - No contest. He's the best player to ever play the game, nevermind the best outfielder. \n\nOF - Ted Williams - "There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived"\n\nOF - Willie Mays - The guy could do it all...run, hit, hit for power, field...The games most well rounded player\n\nDH - Barry Bonds - Love him, hate him, steroirds or not....whatever. Quit bitching about what he may or migiht have done and watch the damn game. Then you'll see that this guy is one of the greatest of all time. He's not a DH, but I figured with his knees he could use a rest. \n\nRHP - Roger Clemens - You could say Walter Johnson...you could say Cy Young. You could even be a complete fool and go with Nolan Ryan. But in an age dominated by hitters, Clemens has dominated everyone. \n\nLHP - Randy Johnson - He was a good pitcher up until he turned 30. Then he became a great pitcher. Everything clicked for him and he dominated the game.\n\ncloser - Mariano Rivera - The closer has become the most overrated player in the game today. Gone are the days where they actually did their team good by going 2 or 3 innings, holding a lead, and dominated a team. But in this age of closers who don't do all that much, Rivera has actually managed to make a difference. He's not the typical closer who pitches an inning a game and manages to rack up 35 saves with 50 innings for the entire year. The guy shortens games. If the Yankees are leading after 8, they win the game.
621572
Babe Ruth played for both the Red Sox and the Yankees, as did Roger Clemens and now Johnny Damon plays for the Yankees.  They don't care.  It's just business.
530834
Dieon. When teams game planned for him, they had no intention of throwing to his side of the field. Both are great players and first ballot Hall of Famers.
569166
The difference is that MLB is a real sport;\n\nrounders is just a throw away game.
591724
he shouldn't be declared as a record breaker.\nthe guy was on steroids, that's cheating.\n\nDEREK JETER ROCKS!