The Natural

In November, while on a NHL road trip in Nashville, doing stats for Sportsnet Pacific’s coverage of the Canucks, I sat and watched my favourite baseball movie, ‘The Natural.’ I always liked that movie. Probably because the name of the scout that signed and sent Roy Hobbs to the New York Knights name was Scotty Carson.
But there is a scene late in the movie that always stayed with me. Before the final game, newspaper man Max Mercy (Robert Duvall) approaches Hobbs (Robert Redford) as the injured slugger suits up for his final game.
"I’m-a tell ya something: I’m gonna be here a lot longer than you or anybody else around here. I’m here to protect this game."
I remembered that piece of dialogue when I received the news on Wednesday that Roberto Alomar, the best all-around player ever to suit up in the history of the Blue Jays, had fallen just short of a first-ballot election into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
I spend a lot of time on planes and in hotels. That means a lot of opportunities to watch movies, both new and favourites of old. It keeps me out of bars, always a good thing after suffering a stroke on Christmas night in 2008. Everything helps, especially because I sure do enjoy ice cold beer.
I say this because I always thought that Duvall’s character still rings true today when I think about the 142 writers who left Alomar off their ballots when they were cast. When you pour over Robbie’s career numbers, comparing them with previous second base inductees, his numbers are, for the most part, slightly better than those kings of the keystone.

So that leaves me to believe that the spitting incident involving umpire John Hirschbeck was the sole reason that it’s "wait ‘til next year" for Alomar.
I spend a lot of time on planes and in hotels. That means a lot of opportunities to watch movies, both new and favourites of old. It keeps me out of bars, always a good thing after suffering a stroke on Christmas night in 2008. Everything helps, especially because I sure do enjoy ice cold beer.
For that Cobb received just 10 games yet is still revered as one of the greatest to have ever played.
After Alomar and Hirschbeck mended that fence, it should have been done with. But that’s not the case in today’s ‘holier-than-thou’ wing of the Baseball Writers Association of America and certainly not during these politically correct times.
This is wrong, especially when Alomar and Hirschbeck have put this behind them and are now good friends. That should be the end of having this come back and be a factor in the balloting. Don’t get me wrong, what Alomar did that September night in 1996 at SkyDome was inexcusable. He should have been suspended a lot longer than the five games he received but, heck, MLB has always been light on their suspensions when it comes to on-field conduct. It goes back to 1912 when Ty Cobb, inducted in the inaugural Hall of Fame class 24 years later, pummelled a heckling fan, beating the man senseless despite the fact that he had no hands.
So Alomar will have to wait because some still live by Duvall’s speech to Redford.
I really don’t have a lot of contact with the Toronto members of the BBWAA, other than a passing "hello" in the bowels of the stadium or in the press dining area.
Some of those member’s always look down their noses at me because I’m not a "journalist" yet I have a forum thanks to new media to espouse my views. That’s fine because I don’t think I’m a journalist nor has sportsnet.ca ever asked me to act like one. I’ve opined on the things I observe and hope that most of you agree.

When you add in my love of industrial heavy metal and you won’t be surprised to learn me and the baseball scribes don’t share many other common interests.
Allowing passage into the hallowed hall should really be left to the players, who might not like an opponent for a variety of reasons, and some may be some petty, but who can still respect another player’s on-field heroics.
This is something that, sadly, some writers can’t wrap their heads around, probably because a lot, like the Max Mercy character, never played the game. That’s also probably why Bert Blyleven inches towards induction every year, garnering 260 votes in 2007 and topping out this year at 400, five short of the 75 per cent needed for induction. Apparently, over the last three years, Blyleven became a better pitcher.
It doesn’t make any sense to me. You?
As for Roberto Alomar, the call will come next year, as it finally will for Bert Blyleven. I have always believed that only the best of the best should make it and that will be the case next January.
This is wrong, especially when Alomar and Hirschbeck have put this behind them and are now good friends. That should be the end of having this come back and be a factor in the balloting. Don’t get me wrong, what Alomar did that September night in 1996 at SkyDome was inexcusable. He should have been suspended a lot longer than the five games he received but, heck, MLB has always been light on their suspensions when it comes to on-field conduct. It goes back to 1912 when Ty Cobb, inducted in the inaugural Hall of Fame class 24 years later, pummelled a heckling fan, beating the man senseless despite the fact that NHL jerseys he had no hands.