Thank you Nick Swisher, A.J. Burnett, and LaTroy Hawkins for making the Hall of Fame balloting fun.
I do not have a vote, so I watch this process like the rest of the fans. But I have grown tired of part of this process: the part where we all dump on a player’s career rather than celebrate it.
Finding reasons to separate Hall of Famers from the close-but-not-quite-crowd often ends up cutting down players for what they didn’t achieve rather than lifting them up for what they did.
Swisher, Burnett, and Hawkins will not be elected into Cooperstown, but that doesn’t mean including them on the ballot is joke. These three played a combined 50 years in the big leagues. 50!!! And just getting their name on the ballot brought out feelings of pride and joy.
Swisher nearly burst through his phone in a video posted to Twitter shortly after the ballot was announced Monday.
“Twenty seconds ago I just found out I’m on the Hall of Fame induction list,” Swisher gushed. “Are you kidding me?! What an amazing honor!”
Burnett told The Athletic that his mother was so happy when she heard the news that she called him in tears.
“Whether I go in or not, whether I deserve to be in there or not – everybody’s going to have their opinions and they’re entitled to them. I made my mom and dad proud and my wife and family proud, and that means a lot to me,” Burnett said.
Hawkins appeared humbled in a Facebook post following the release of the ballot.
“Honored to be a kid from Gary, Indiana who had a dream,” Hawkins wrote. “Being able to be on MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME ballot is truly an HONOR.”
It is a long shot that these three even receive a vote, to be honest. But this is about the journey, not the destination. It is a moment to reflect on careers that 99 percent of people that dream of playing baseball don’t ever get to realize. It makes you realize how good the good players were and how truly great the great players were.
There is plenty of room to debate the merits of those who are in serious consideration for induction, or some who deserve more recognition. Those are the ones who have some sense of disappointment built into the process when they don’t get elected.
But these three, though, are the ones who I feel good for. I covered all three players in their stops as Yankees, so I feel the personal connection to them as well. I have covered players who were elected to the Hall (Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, and Derek Jeter), and only the top one percent of the top one percent earn their plaques. But that next level is pretty special too, and it’s great to see them enjoy so much the simple act of seeing their name on a piece of paper.
Thank you Swish, thank you A.J., and thank you Hawk for reminding us that your careers were special, and that there is still honor in having your name next to a box with no checkmark.
Follow Sweeny Murti on Twitter: @YankeesWFAN
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