"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"
Though he made it by a mere four votes, Mauer did become just the third catcher to be elected by the writers on the first ballot, after Johnny Bench (1989) and Ivan Rodriguez (2017, by just four votes as well). You know what they call guys who do that?
Hall of Famers.
I get that Mauer’s credentials, for as strong as they were, were hardly perfect given that he caught just 921 games and spent the last five years of his career as a more-or-less league average first baseman. I get that Mauer’s Twins went 0-and-10 in the postseason while he slashed a meager .275/.341/.300. He still had a long enough stretch where he absolutely kicked ass as a catcher like few in the game’s history — he’s the only backstop to win a slash-stat Triple Crown, the only one to win three batting titles, and one of two to lead the league in on-base percentage twice. He’s seventh in JAWS and fifth in seven-year peak (all from his years as a catcher). That’s worthy of Cooperstown, and I’m glad he won’t clog the ballot with a few years of drawing 60-some percent before getting in.
4. "MLB HOF is becoming a joke" In response to Reply # 0
How can Sheffield not get in? I heard someone say it's because of his ties to Bonds and his name was in the Mitchell report. FOH, Bagwell and Biggio got in and there was smoke around him and the Astros all those years.
If you don't want to put a dude like Sam Sosa in, I get it. But Bonds was a HOFer prior to the PED error, Clemens too
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