MLB.com Drones Prove Their Uselessness (Again)

[Chadwick]

Polls like this on the major media websites inevitably invite some of the most casual of fans to participate. MLB.com ran a poll of its readers regarding this year's BBWAA ballot. The results of the poll were that Don Mattingly came out as the fan's choice for the Hall! Donnie Freakin' Mattingly!!!

And is anyone else sick of hearing from the media about what a "weak" ballot this is?!?

Here's the link to the poll results.

[dgarza]

I know I endorse Mattingly for the the Hall, not ahead of some of those other guys though. Orel Hershiser at #5 still kills me.

[digglahhh]

Does MLB.com endorse Mattingly for the Hall, or is it the readers who do?

Look, any mainstream, mass market source that you look to as a beacon of quality measurement is going to spew vapid and uninformed nonsense because the majority of the people who follow anything are vastly uneducated about its history and the true spectrum of its profundity. How informed are people about the issues in the political elections in which they vote? Ignorance shouldn't be a surprise, in fact it is cultivated and rewarded in our soiciety.

Does the top 40 represent the best music, the box office grosses represent the best music or the NYT bestseller's list the best literature. I work for MLB.com and a very very small segment of my coworkers support Mattingly for the HOF.

The joke's on you, if you take any of this fluff seriously.

[Biggtone23]

Well Im a little biased as you could probably guess by the name and avatar. But I have no problems with casual fans showing their support for certain players. Casual fans already have an effect with All-Star voting. Plus the Hall of Fame is for all fans not just those of us who can run off the useless stats like who lead the league in RBI in 1982 (Hal McRae)

[west coast orange and black]

digglahhh, are we to fear that mlb.com may become the washington post, the weekly standard or fox news?

[thenextsuperstar]

digglahhh, are we to fear that mlb.com may become the washington post, the weekly standard or fox news?

as long as ,lb.com doesn't become the new republic or the new york times and start making things up.

[amaral]

as long as ,lb.com (sic) doesn't become the new republic or the new york times and start making things up.

Or Fox News...

[digglahhh]

I don't have any control of or make any contribution to the editorial content of the site. I work in the statistics department for the Minor Leagues. I take no offense when you object to the site's content. I have my own issues, to be honest.

What I was getting at is that MLB.com is the most well known baseball site and therefore attracts the majority of casual fans who tend not to look toward in depth analysis of the game. You think the average fan is getting his info from tangotiger? Therefore any poll it posts will be replied to by a majority of common, and generally miseducated, fans.

[runningshoes]

All of us here know that Donnie Baseball played almost half his career with a bum back and he would have been a first ballot cake walk into the HOF had he played without the pain.

Anyone else would have retired.

Where are the "adjustments" for that?

[Captain Cold Nose]

HOF voting history has shown it is better to end well than poorly in a short career. Thus, Yrs 2-6 of superstardom only is not equal to years 7-12 in a twelve-year career.

[digglahhh]

Re: Mattingly

HOF talent is not the same as a HOF resume.

[PeteF3]

All of us here know that Donnie Baseball played almost half his career with a bum back and he would have been a first ballot cake walk into the HOF had he played without the pain.

Anyone else would have retired.

Where are the "adjustments" for that?

And Lyman Bostock might have made it to 3,000 hits if not for the whole "getting shot" thing. Should we adjust for that, too? How about JR Richard and his stroke, or Dickie Thon getting beaned in the eye?

Injured or not, Mattingly had 3 great years and was a subpar player from about 1990 until his retirement. It's not enough to get him into the HOF, period.

[538280]

Well Im a little biased as you could probably guess by the name and avatar. But I have no problems with casual fans showing their support for certain players. Casual fans already have an effect with All-Star voting. Plus the Hall of Fame is for all fans not just those of us who can run off the useless stats like who lead the league in RBI in 1982 (Hal McRae)

I don't have a problem with casual fans in general (let's face it-without them baseball wouldn't be popular), but my problem with them is when they actually pretend to be knowledgeable (which they do quite often).

I also think there are a large number of baseball fans who are A)Completely ignorant of history, and B)Don't really care to learn anything about history. That annoys me.

[Let Shoeless In]

Changing the game > being a yankee=HOF

[Baseball Guru]

Wow, that poll is horrible!