{"id":5703,"date":"2013-01-18T09:27:48","date_gmt":"2013-01-18T14:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=5703"},"modified":"2016-07-25T16:20:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-25T20:20:00","slug":"are-players-from-the-1980s-under-represented-in-the-hall-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=5703","title":{"rendered":"Are players from the 1980s under-represented in the Hall of Fame?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Can Jack Morris eventually be the first “1980s Starter” to make the Hall? Photo John Iacono via si.com<\/p><\/div>\n

First off: I’m not a “small hall” guy. \u00a0(How can you, when looking at the litany of obscure players the Veteran’s Committee has already enshrined while the current ballot has literally a dozen names that you can make an argument for?) \u00a0So naturally I want to see enshrinement for a larger number of the “marquee” names in baseball’s history. \u00a0I view the Hall of Fame as a museum dedicated to the game, and recognizing all the eras of the game for better or for worse. \u00a0I’m for expanding the current ballot and If I had a vote i’d be maxing out the 10 names with a desire to put a couple more guys on.<\/p>\n

I’m also distinctly of the opinion that maybe the era of baseball just prior to today’s is underrepresented in Cooperstown. \u00a0Specifically, my theory is that the massive boom in offense that the game has seen in the last 20 years coupled with a distinct shift in the way pitching staffs are managed has led to voters and fans to discount and dismiss the accomplishments of players specifically from the 1980s.<\/p>\n

MLB.com has a show called “Prime 9,” where they list the best 9 players\/teams related to certain topics. \u00a0Recently they showed the “Best 9 players of the 1980s” by position, and it led me to use that list as a starting point for a discussion of marquee players from the 1980s and to decide whether or not the decade is under represented in Cooperstown.<\/p>\n

Here’s Prime 9’s top player by position and their Hall of Fame status. \u00a0Throughout this entire article, Blue == Hall of Fame players<\/span> while Red == non-Hall of Fame Players<\/span>.<\/p>\n