AND YOU DIDN'T VOTE FOR ROBERTO ALOMAR BECAUSE?

I guess I didn't think much of it. I figured Alomar was a lock to be inducted into the Hall this year. 26.3% of Hall of Fame voters disagree.

You need 75% of votes to get into the Hall. Andrew Dawson got 77.9%. Alomar got 73.7%.

Why?

Dawson had 50 more hits than Alomar. 2,774 to 2,724. And that was in 4 more seasons. Dawson had a career .279 average, Alomar a .300 career mark. Dawson's OBP, the hot new stat for Hall of Famers, was .323. Alomar's was .371. Dawson was the better slugger, with 438 HRs, but his slugging percentage was only .039 higher than Alomar's. And weren't homeruns recently devalued?



Roberto Alomar has a higher OPS, by .006 points.

Oh, and Alomar was a second baseman. They're typically not supposed to be great hitters. Recent All-Stars like Utley and Pedroia have perhaps made us forget that.

Dawson hit .186 in minimal playoff experience. Alomar hit .313 with a .381 OBP in 58 postseason games. He scored 32 times and had 33 RBI. He has 2 World Series rings. He hit .480 with 6 RBI in the 1993 World Series.

Maybe Andrew Dawson's defense gave him the edge. He won 8 Gold Gloves. Alomar won 10.



There was a time when people asked if Roberto Alomar was the best 2nd baseman ever. And there are still very few people ahead of him on that list. He dominated the 90's and dominated his position.

In an era dominated by inflated biceps and homerun totals, Alomar actually played baseball. He worked counts, he hit for average, and hit doubles when pitchers made mistakes. He played defense, he stole bases. He was the Ultimate #2 hitter for those mighty Indians offenses of the mid 90's.

He scored 1,508 runs, had 2,724 hits, 504 doubles, 80 triples, 210 HRs, 1,134 RBI, 474 SBs, a .300 career average. 371 career OBP, .814 OPS, and 4,018 total bases. And he did all this as a 2nd baseman.

I know the Hall is so worried about inducting guys on their first ballot, and that's supposed to mean something. But I have two things to say to that.

#1: Alomar is a first-ballot HOFer
#2: A Hall of Famer is a Hall of Famer is a Hall of Famer, it doesn't matter which ballot they're on

Sources:
USA Today
Baseball-Reference.com