re: Hall of Fame candidate: Dale Murphy

I will never understand the obsession with Mattingly. He was good, but he's clearly not a Hall of Famer. I at least get the Keith Hernandez partisans, even if I think they are wrong. Mattingly is the one Yankee who DIDN'T win. And it's not like his numbers are that great. He was a very good player, but he's no Fred McGriff or Will Clark.

Murphy has about 398 HR to hang his hat on. He was a great player for a decade, and maybe THE greatest of his time period. He was widely viewed as a HOF caliber player while active. And then the bottom fell out. He is being kept out because of his decline phase.

While I don't want borderline guys to be the standard for future bad selection, Murphy was on the ballot WITH these players. He was their contemporary. We're not comparing him to King Kelly here. How can the same voters induct Rice and NOT Murphy? That's what kills me. Murphy belongs not beause he compares well to the worst Hall of Famers, but because he compares well to the AVERAGE Hall of Famer. He fits right in the middle of those inducted. He was that caliber of player.