Posted By:
PaulSeaver was the best. The writers have spoken. (OK, so I was a four year old kid in NY when the '69 Mets won the world series, so maybe I'm biased).
I always like to tell the story of the four guys who didn't vote for Seaver. Two writers didn't vote for him as a protest for Pete Rose not being on the ballot. One didn't vote for him because he was sedated in a hospital and filled out his ballot incorrectly. The final writer didn't vote for him to ensure that no one would be elected unanimously. As far as I'm concerned, that's "practical" unanimity.
By the way, to answer Barry's question, players have come back from very low vote totals to be elected -- even by the writers. I believe Luke Appling and Luis Aparacio both had vote totals below 20% and then were elected. If you include guys elected by the veterans committee, then the numbers go even lower. I think Earl Averill received one total vote from the writers ever, but was elected by the veterans committee. (I may be mixing some people up here, but all of the data is listed alphabetically by player on the HOF website). I don't think McGwire will make this kind of comeback, unless his low vote total this year was just a symbolic protest to keep him out of the Hall for one year.