A NOT SO GREAT HISTORIC HALL OF FAME VOTE

I'm still in shock over Tuesday's news. I really can't believe that none of baseball's most recognizable names will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. It's something I look forward to every summer so this is going to be very weird. 

And it is really weird. This is the second time since 2013 that the BBWAA didn't vote anyone in. If you want to dig deeper this is the 9th time since 1936 that no one has been voted in. I thought that the next few Hall of Fame classes would be smaller, but I didn't think we would have a giant goose egg for 2021. Honestly, I thought at minimum we would see Curt Schilling inducted. He came pretty close in last year's vote so I really was expecting him to get in, but he was 16 votes short.

And now he doesn't even want to be considered for next year's vote which would be his last year eligible on the ballot. Have you seen Schilling's plea on his Facebook page? Read that HERE. You can also read the BBWA's response to his plea HERE. Whether you are in support of Schilling getting voted in or not....this is CRAZY!

I do think that Schilling has a flair for the dramatic. I think he likes to draw attention to himself, but even so I didn't expect him to ask to be REMOVED from the ballot. So where do we go from here? I really want to see what happens in the next few days and weeks. This is an awkward spot for the BBWAA and the sport.

There is a silver lining though, we will still have an induction ceremony to watch. Last year Derek Jeter and Larry Walker were voted into the Hall of Fame, but the ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic and now we will finally get a ceremony. There may not be a 2021 class, but Jeter will finally get his day. I think this is the best "silver lining" we could possibly ask for.

I have been waiting for Jeter to get his day and he finally will. Funny how things work out sometimes. So I have plans on Sunday July 25th, will you be watching?

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj