[misterrob]

RJ should be a first ballot hall of famer. He was THE dominant LHP of his time and he played on a few lame teams in Arizona, Seattle and Montreal. Ask the guys who played against him who they thought was more dominant pitcher from the left side.

Pedro and Schilling are a bit more suspect as HOF guys. I think that if Pedro can win another 30 games by the time he retires then as a 250 win guy he should go. Schilling is likely going to finish around 225 wins which might get him in some day but then again, maybe not. Still, he will go down in history as a big game pitcher in the postseason, he's won 20 games 3-4 times in his career and the sutured ankle will rank up there as a Willis Reed moment in sports.

Plus, correcting the reporter about A-Rod's purse snatch as "Kerry League" and his overt support for Bush and being a strong Christian man will not help his chances with the liberal reporters of which there are many.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Pedro and Schilling are a bit more suspect as HOF guys. I think that if Pedro can win another 30 games by the time he retires then as a 250 win guy he should go.

Efficiency rating is able to combine rate stats (like K/BB) and counting stats (IP) to get a value for how good that pitcher on average would be for one "must win" game. Petey, if he retired today, would have the highest ER of all time (1000 IP min)-- higher than Koufax. The other two active pitchers above Koufax are RJ and Schill.

Using similar calculations, the following active pitchers are basically into the HOF (based on their whole career numbers-- not a one game scenario): Maddux, RJ, Petey, Schilling, and Moose (the 1st 3 in Tier 1, and the second 2 in Tier 2-- though Schill gets major bonus points for the postseason). Clemens is here, should he become active, obviously. So, we have 3 1st ballot guys, and 2 second/third ballot guys, but all are legends.

[JohnnyZ]

Pedro and Schilling are a bit more suspect as HOF guys.

Pedro already has three of the best seasons by any pitcher in the entire history of baseball. He's in, no question, even if he didn't pitch another inning. He has a good case to be considered the best pitcher ever, period.

Schilling is in now too since hitting 200 wins gets him a few more votes from rejects who only understand one digit. He's been considered an ace and one of the best starters in the game for 10-15 years. But it's the 8-2, 2.06 postseason record, especially the 2001 and 2004 postseasons, that push him over the top in the tiny little minds of the HOF voters.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Pedro and Schilling are a bit more suspect as HOF guys. I think that if Pedro can win another 30 games by the time he retires then as a 250 win guy he should go.

Oh, and no pitcher EVER has had a better season than Petey '00. To further illustrate his dominance, Petey's 1999 season is second on the list of best seasons of all time. Pretty damn nifty.

I miss that Dominican Diva.

I hope the applause is so thunderous when he comes back to Fenway next month that the Mets fans in NYC can hear it.

[MikefromOhio]

sports reporters are a different breed...

Beyond that, they elected Nolan Ryan and he's the same personality type as Schilling....

He will get in, probably not first ballot, but before his initial 15 years are up, assuming nothing big happens, like a mass retirement.

[relee]

Pedro and Schilling are a bit more suspect as HOF guys.

Pedro won 3 Cy Youngs. Pedro is Guaranteed the Hall of Fame. Schilling is very, very good but not quite HOF.