Red Sox writer explains why he refuses to vote Mariano Rivera into the Hall of Fame
12/23/2018 11:40 AM ET
By A.J. Herrmann
Tweet
Facebookfan commentsFan Comments PrintEmail

At least one writer won't be voting Mo into Cooperstown.(AP)
Mariano Rivera is as much of a sure-fire lock for the Hall of Fame as any baseball player who has ever lived, but one New England writer won't be casting a vote for The Sandman.
Bill Ballou, a Red Sox reporter for telegram.com, wrote an explanatory piece on Saturday to discuss the role of the closer in baseball today, and why Rivera, despite his all-time record of 652 saves and two decades of dominance, would not get his vote.

"The Save - the baseball kind - is the lowest-hanging fruit on the game's statistical tree," wrote Ballou.

"Just because something happens at the end of a game doesn't make it intrinsically more important that happens at the beginning."

Hedging his unique stance, however, Ballou also noted at various points, "nobody I've talked to about this agrees with me on Rivera," and, "Rivera is going to be elected to the Hall of Fame on this ballot," and, "I could be wrong about all of this," however his position remains the same. No vote for the greatest closer in baseball history.

Ballou's vacated vote will still allow Rivera a chance to receive unanimous induction from the remaining voters, but as is typically the case in Hall of Fame voting, there's always a controversial hold-out.

"I'm not voting this year," Ballou concluded. "A submitted blank ballot is "no" vote for every candidate, so I'm doing a Switzerland and not sending one at all."

Hall of Fame induction results will be revealed on January 22, and there's little doubt that Rivera will make it into Cooperstown by the summer of 2019, even without Ballou's support.

Check out the video below for a refresher on all of Rivera's incredible career achievements during his 19-year Yankees career.





[web.yesnetwork.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2018 12:45PM by Giambino.