Take it to be somewhat lighthearted, but I feel the call to the Hall should be moderated for both MLB pitchers and NFL running backs. For everyone who plays fantasy football, you know what I'm talking about. Some guys are just ridiculously talented and run wild for a few years, but the wear and tear always catches up with them, because it is, in fact, a very violent game. Think about the RB's you absolutely coveted in drafts just a couple of years ago. How many of those players were still even on your radar in this year's draft? (Do yourself a favor and look at pre-draft RB rankings at a fantasy site from a few years back. You'll constantly be saying, "Holy cow! I completely forgot about him!!"). It's almost as if the HOF should judge these guys based on something like a 5 year window, because there's always a fresh-legged new guy nipping at their heels every new season and they eventually get replaced.
Where RB's have leg and knee problems, pitchers suffer extreme wear and tear to their arms. Sure, some people can pitch forever (Nolan frickin' Ryan), but most others run out of steam at some point. It would be great if pitchers, dominating pitchers, could somehow be judged on a much smaller timeframe to see how great they truly were in their prime. Everyone loves Sandy Koufax, but he'd probably be looked at somewhat differently if he was able to continue playing and started a precipitous downward decline at some point, you know? All due, extreme, respect to Mr. Koufax.
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