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Commentary: Pitcher Jack Morris deserves Hall of Fame

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By Sean McClelland, Staff Writer 10:54 PM Friday, December 30, 2011

When filling out my Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, I keep several goals in mind.

The first is not to be the guy who accidentally forgets to vote for someone obvious.

So this year, for starters, I checked the names of shortstop Barry Larkin and pitcher Jack Morris.

My second goal is not to be the voter who thinks he has some sort of moral mission to set the bar unreachably high or who insists that not even the greatest players of their generation deserve first-ballot admission.

Here are some of the immortals for whom the bar was too high on their first try: Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Yogi Berra, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews, Roy Campanella and Harmon Killebrew. Ridiculous.

This liberal attitude perhaps explains why this year I also voted for Lee Smith, Tim Raines, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Alan Trammell and, yes, even the tainted trio of Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jeff Bagwell.

Gaylord Perry threw Vaseline balls and Ty Cobb spiked opponents maliciously. Their plaques hang in Cooperstown, so don’t talk to me about character and ethics in that building.

And if you dispute Morris, shame on you. During the 1980s he led all major-league pitchers with 162 wins and 133 complete games. Even though he never won a Cy Young award, that’s dominating. As his former manager Sparky Anderson put it, “He was the last of a breed — somebody who actually comes to the park with anger to beat you.”

There ought to be a spot, I’m thinking, for someone answering to that description.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland @DaytonDailyNews.com.

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