Last year most Mets fans felt Mike Piazza was flat-out robbed by the BBWAA when he failed to receive enough votes to make him a first-ballot hall of famer. This same bunch spoke of Mike as a no-doubt Hall Of Fame candidate during his playing days, but five years later he was lumped with Clemens and Bonds as suspected cheaters, despite any evidence. Piazza only received 57.8% of the vote.
Now, a year later, writers seem to have come around. Ken Davidoff admits he made a mistake last year, and apparently many other writers have reconsidered as well. If you follow Darren Viola (@RRepoz) on twitter, you’ll see Mike Piazza currently is named on about 74 percent of the known ballots. He’s right around the needed 75 percent mark. Great, right?
Except for one thing. Greg Maddux is on 100 percent of ballots, in line to be the first unanimous inductee, and Tom Glavine is on almost every ballot as well. Mike Piazza, if inducted, would be sharing the dais with two of the most reviled Braves this side of Chipper Jones, one of whom is also one of the most reviled Mets this side of Bobby Bonilla.
So, how do we feel, Mets fans? Do we want Mike to get his just due in 2014, or wait another year, and share the stage with Pedro Martinez?
Mike, I’ll disagree with you on calling Maddux reviled. When you look at all the players who donned the Atlanta uniform there are probably at least half a dozen who were truly despised – including of course Larry, and who could forget John Rocker. All Maddux did was win, and in a way that was impressive no matter who he played for.
As for Glavine, I suspect what makes him despised almost as much as Larry was probably his time in a Mets uniform rather than his tenure as a Brave
dtwohig Fair enough. But I hated losing to him and I loved beating him. My point really was that It would be really annoying for Mets fans to travel up to Cooperstown to celebrate Mike Piazza and have Glavine and Maddux and all things Braves dominate the event.
I’d like to see Mike Piazza elected as soon as possible… the longer it takes, the worse his chances get on crowded ballots with the 10-candidate voting limit.
I want to see Piazza elected ASAP. Personally, it doesn’t bother me one iota who’s sharing the stage with him. What bothers me more is Maddux getting 100 percent of the vote. The man’s great (and I agree with dtwohig, kinda impossible to do anything but respect), but I like that Seaver has the distinction of being the closest anyone’s ever come to a unanimous vote (98.84 percent).
And I realize the following sentiment may get me thrown out of Mets fandom forever, but here goes: I like Tom Glavine, and I liked his time as a Met, and I find it a little silly that so many people hate him based on one game and his frankly, well, honest reaction to said game.
I would like to see Piazza get in ASAP. In the world we live in all it would take is for one false story about him using steroids to be dug up by some bogger and boom go his chances to get in.
@MikeI agree that Glavine’s tenure as a Met is probably unfairly remembered, but I disagree that it’s based upon just one game. Remember, he started out in New York just as badly as he ended, whining quite publicly and loudly about no longer getting those foot-off-the-plate strike calls he did in Atlanta after MLB started utilizing the Questec in Shea Stadium to evaluate umpires.