The Travesty.....that is The Baseball Hall of Fame

I just don't get it........Or maybe I do get it and those 65 year old white anglo-saxon sports writers don't get it.

Consider these statistics:

*Career batting average of .298

*Career home run total......382

*Career rbi total......1451

*Career hit total.......2452

*8 seasons with 100 rbi's or more

*8 time AL All-star

*1978 AL MVP

*2 time AL Silver Slugger Award winner

These are the stats of Jim Rice who played 15 seasons for the Boston Redsox. Jim Rice is not in the baseball Hall of Fame.

Conversely Gary Carter is in the Hall of Fame. Let us compare stats:

*Career batting average of .262

*Career home run total.....324

*Career rbi total...............1225

*Career hit total...............2092

*4 seasons with 100 rbi's or more

*11 time All-star

*0 MVP Awards

*5 time NL Silver Slugger Award winner

Based on just the obvious facts the stats show, it is mind boggling why Carter is in and Rice is not.

Here's our reasoning..........

Carter played for 19 seasons as opposed to Rice's 15? No, Sandy Koufax played only 11 seasons and he's in.

Carter is white.......and Rice is black? No, plenty of black and Latin players in the Hall.

Carter was very accessible to the press and was a likable person? Now......we're getting somewhere. Throughout his career, Rice was not exactly media friendly. He did not possess the out going personality exhibited by Carter. Thus he alienated members of that all powerful "Baseball Writers Association of America" (BBWAA).

Of the 543 ballots cast in this election, Rice was named on 392. That means there were 151 on which his name did not appear. Of those 151, three ballots were blank, cast by those guardians at the gate who deemed no player worthy. That leaves 148 ballots that included some names, but not Rice’s name.

Of course, the Hall of Fame balloting is an election, which means it comes with certain flaws and glitches. For starters, there are probably people voting who shouldn't. Then there are people who undoubtedly succumb to personal biases and grudges, whether they are capable of admitting it or not. That’s why an approval rate of 75 percent - and not 100 percent - is required for induction.

Having just missed getting in this year.......it is safe to assume Rice will be elected in 2009, his last year of eligibility. It's just a shame he has had to wait this long.