What a joke this Hall of "Fame" has turned into. Well maybe not the Hall itself but the jokers that get to vote for the inductees. Want to get elected to the Hall? Don't bother hitting 400 bombs, or getting 300 hits. Just don't upset Joe Schmoe sportswriter who gets a vote! Basically this is a popularity contest now. It has nothing to do with the performance on the field. I'm a Red Sox fan through and through, which means I hate the Yankees. But how do you put Bruce Sutter in with out voting for Goose Gossage. Gossage was the most feared reliever of his time. But I guess he upset just a few too many sports writers (experts). Don't even mention Jim Rice not getting in. We all know how he wasn't on the best of terms with the Boston writers (experts). This whole process needs to be looked at and reworked! Enough said!

In the year that Jim Rice stood the best chance along with several others why did the BBWOA( most of which never played an inning of pro or semi pro ball) only vote in Sutter who was deserving. Next year they will elect on the first ballot a guy who went to ballpark and PLAYED a GAME for more than 2,131 games without missing a game and i know many men and women who go to WORK daily for years at a time without taking time out and never seek this type of recognition or receive it.
Sure Ripken has some numbers but against some of the others who will share the ballot he pales to them.
The BBWOA should be ashamed of their ways and selections and maybe its time that MLB consider letting the fans choose by ballot like the All star players and then maybe men like Rose and Joe
Jackson will stand a chance to get in. This political skulldugery of the induction started with the induction of Charlie Comisky who did noting but screw his players and Mountian Landis who fortified Comisky. I would hope that some attorney of prominence in the near future will take on the cause of Jackson who was found innocent and Rose who had the numbers like jackson
This vote today not just for the absence of Rice, who lived in the shadow of Yaz, who could care about the game today di nothing more than hurt the game of baseball. I understand the criteria for voting but I bet i can name all the inductees for next year and if Ripken is not # 1 on the ballot with 92% I will give a more substantial amount to the Retired ball players association.
I am only one voice but the voices of my brother ballplayers will be heard after this debacle by the BBWOA

THATS THE BIGGEST BUNCH OF BULL CRAP I EVER HEARD . MAKES ME REALLY THINK ABOUT SHOULD SPORTSWRITERS BE SUCH A DECIDING FACTOR, THIS IS A TRUE NON-STEROID HALL OF FAMER

Jim Rice personified hitting during a decade plus. By excluding him from the Hall of Fame, the are excluding that era of baseball covered by those dates. Because he played for pitching poor teams does not reflect upon his hitting ability for which he should be judged. The question should be asked for Rice, Bert Blyleven and others, what caused his fame, not how many games did his team win.

How can you not elect Rice ,when Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda are in. Look at the stats and compare them. Strikingly similar.

Alos go to the Hall Of Fame website and check out the ballotting for the last 12 years. Notice the players elected are in blue. Rice is always right in the middle. How can he finish above Sutter one year and below the next. No consistency at all.

The voting process for the Hall of Fame is ridiculous. Look at the results for the last 12 years. How can Sutter suddenly leap over Rice by a hug amount? The voting should be changed to the point where once you vote for a player one year, you must in all subsequent years until election of time expires. It would cause the writers to actually think about their vote

I was delighted to see Bruce Sutter get in. I thought he was one of 2 eligible players that should have been in a long time ago (Rice being the other). I'm not sure what exactly the voters are looking at when omitting Rice, other than that "he was a mean guy". Comparing Rice to Tony Perez is actually an unfair comparison to Rice. One could argue that Perez, while a very good player, wasn't even the 3rd best player on HIS OWN TEAM during the Red Machine years. Rice was a beast in the best sense of the word; the type of guy that you'd kill for to help lead your team. Rice should have went in on the same ballot as Mike Schmidt, since both were the most feared sluggers of their leagues during their careers. Correct me if I'm wrong, but why in the world haven't the Red Sox retired Rice's number?