Why I Don’t Trust the BBWAA
September 18, 2007 by Geoff Young
Filed under Awards
The other day, in discussing the Cy Young Award candidates, I mentioned a lack of faith in the writers to vote for the right person. Folks have been asking me about this, and although it’s old hat to me, I suppose it bears repeating:
I will trust the writers to vote for the right person in any given award only after they have done so.
Update, 12 Nov 2007: It has been pointed out to me that the example I chose to use — Gold Glove Award — does not, in fact, fall under the jurisdiction of the BBWAA. Although the ensuing rant about Gold Glove voting incompetence still holds, it should be directed at coaches and managers, and not the BBWAA. What should be directed at the latter institution are the ‘79, ‘87, and ‘91 NL MVP; ‘95 AL MVP; ‘87 NL Cy Young; ‘83 and ‘90 AL Cy Young; etc., ad nauseam.
Three Derek Jeter Gold Gloves should be evidence enough, but beyond those, a particularly egregious miscarriage of justice occurred in 1999. That year, the BBWAA awarded Rafael Palmeiro the AL Gold Glove at first base on the basis of his fine work in 28 games at the position.
Look, I’m willing to cut a guy slack for making an honest mistake. Jeter’s a poor defensive shortstop, but he’s in New York and he gets a lot of hype. Despite the evidence against him, at least he plays the position.
Palmeiro was a DH in ‘99. Think about that. The best-case scenario in this case is that everyone who voted for Palmeiro was just lazy, not paying attention, not doing their job well.
Other possibilities? Honestly, I’d just as soon not go there. As has been said of many a politician, “Well, I hope he’s only incompetent.”
I commend you for your restraint, Geoff. Baseball writers have been so wretched they shouldn’t have a say in ANY post-season awards OR the HOF.
Go to the HOF site and see what the writers have done since 1936. The first ballot was tough, with Cobb, Ruth, Honus Wagner, Hornsby and Walter Johnson on the ballot.
400-game winner Johnson got in, but 500-game winner Cy Young didn’t. He got in the next year, in 1937 – with 76%. Imagine, 24% of writers didn’t think Cy Young belonged in the Hall.
Honus Wagner and his 8 batting titles and .327 lifetime average got in, but Hornsby’s 7 NL titles and .358 average got less than half the vote. I guess they forgot about his three .400 seasons or his two triple crowns.
Hornsby not only didn’t get in, he was dropped from the ballot in ‘37. He got back on in ‘38 and got 19% of the vote. He was finally voted into the Hall in 1942, with 78% of the vote.
The writers have been stiffs since day one. You were much too kind, Geoff.
Thanks, Larry, for the additional insights. Didn’t realize some of those HOF votes were so bad.
As for myself, I think it’s probably more resignation than restraint, but I appreciate the commendation nonetheless.
BBWAA doesn’t vote for Gold Gloves — managers and coaches do. Try doing some research before you rip.
I guess you dont have to have any brains to be a baseball writer. How can anyone choose Braun over Tulowitzki who lead rookies in almost every hitting category. Tulowitzki also got screwed out of a gold glove.
Bob: Thanks for the correction; I’ve addressed this in the article, although the main point still holds.
Mike: Braun and Tulo were pretty close in my book, and I think the voting reflected that. Braun had an epic offensive season but couldn’t play third base to save his life. Tulo’s numbers were good, if inflated by his home park, and of course, he is a terrific defender. This one could have gone either way.