 One of the things that I thought about is the unanimity and I thought that that would be something that should be celebrated I always thought it was something that was ridiculous and should not have been And I think that sometimes and you all know that I'm a writer at heart The writers are a little bit too self-important and they're the gatekeepers to this museum In a way, that's good. They just they take their job very seriously some take themselves a little bit too seriously and people that were certainly Worthy were kept out of the Hall of Unanimity and The only one who's ever done it now is Mariano Rivera If you don't think it matters There's a video that's out that was shot when Jack O'Connell president of the Baseball Writers Association of America He's one of the greatest jobs in the world. He gets to call the people that make the Hall of Fame Yeah, he doesn't call the people that don't make it. He gets to call the people and tell them I mean so you're always Bringing good news and when you know first he said you've made the Hall of Fame and the family is all happy and they hug Mo and then he said I also want to tell you that you're the first and they knew exactly what's coming next and the place exploded So it meant something especially there are a lot of Hall of Famers There's only one first-time guy who got in without anybody not saying no and it's Mariano Rivera And I think it should happen a long time ago. It should happen with Siever should happen with Ruth Should happen with DiMaggio should happen with Williams should happen with Maze should have happened with Aaron But it's Mariano Rivera, and I'm glad that he gets to enjoy just to look at his face He has to showing it right now just beaming from ear to ear how happy was his son's high-fiving him and each other Well, it meant a lot the unanimity aspect meant a lot now. There are circumstances why That the Ted Williams or Ken Griffey juniors or Tom Sievers Didn't get a hundred percent as you mentioned in the soft open there are guys that want someone that may not get enough votes And they only get ten votes and they got there nine and they say well Ted Williams They're getting it is going to get in any way, so I won't use my vote on him I'll use it on somebody else. So it's the system that's convoluted plus used to have guys back in the day I guess they don't exist anymore all because Joe DiMaggio didn't go on in the first ballot I will never vote for anyone on the first ballot looks like most of those guys are now gone or I'm not going to vote for a closer because it's not a real position I'm not going to vote for a DH because it's not a real position I think the riders have kind of grown up and It's the system that has stopped these guys so to suggest that Mo Rivera is The greatest player in the history of baseball and that's why he's a hundred percent that he's somehow better than Ken Griffey Junior Ted Williams Tom Siever you shouldn't look at it that way It's just circumstances because I don't think Tom Siever was the greatest pitcher of all time And I don't think that Ken Griffey junior was the best everyday player of all time for them to have the highest percentage of votes I do believe that Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time But does he deserve the hundred percent when there are a lot of other players that you probably would that you would take over him as being Better it for the game. I mean Ted Williams is one of the greatest hitters of all time Well, he may as one of the greatest all-around players of all time. How do they not have a hundred percent? But I don't think it's a reflection on the quality of players a reflection on the system It is a reflection on the system and the system is broken in a sense First of all, I don't believe that you should be voting the best ever at this position It's the Hall of Fame whether you're not you're worthy of the Hall of Fame I never understood why some people could vote for somebody one year or not another and then I got deeper into the thought process of the rule of 10 So you can only vote for 10 people on the ballot. I was listening to Buster only today Talking with Humpty Canty and Rafi and he said I stopped voting because of the rule of 10 He said I voted for 10 people there were seven more that I felt were Hall of Fame worthy And I left them off like Mike Messina and Tim Reigns He goes and I thought afterward that's just wrong just because there's a lot of guys on the ballot doesn't mean I should leave people off You're either a Hall of Famer or you're not there shouldn't be degrees of it And until there's a degree level in the Hall of Fame where okay, this hall is for the really good This is haulers for the all-time great this to haul us for the people I got in you Unanimously there's not you're either a Hall of Famer or you're not and Tom Siever is one of the greatest pitchers of all time and Ken Griffey juniors one of the greatest players of all time and Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time So I don't think that that's why he got the unanimous vote. I really believe Just his gentle nature and soul combined with the fact that he was one of the I mean He was just unbelievable on the mound. He didn't rub anybody the wrong way He never blew anybody off He never felt like he was better than you because he was Mariano Rivera And I think that sometimes although they try not to riders do let their personal feelings creep in because I'm sorry Whatever you might think of Kurt Schilling He's a Hall of Fame pitcher right and only 61% of the voting block gave him their vote. Why? You can't look at his numbers and say he's not a Hall of Famer You're looking at other things as well And I think that's why he didn't get in and I think the fact that Mariano Rivera Is such a like a top-of-the-line guy, there's no one that wanted that stain on their reputation a lot of time being upset last night for Schilling Did you yeah, I laid up at night. I thought about it. I went a good man not getting what he deserves This is wrong. This is wrong, and then I fell asleep But in all seriousness if there's full disclosure on the voting and there should be and it's not the three people That didn't vote for Ken Griffey, Jr. I want to know your reason All right, and if it's because I didn't like the fact that he wore his cap backwards Or I don't like the fact that he blew me off for an interview back in the day when he was traded to the Reds Or I didn't like his dad or I don't vote for guys on the first ballot. You know what? We're taking your vote away That's not a good enough reason if you can convince me baseball wise why he's not a first ballot Hall of Famer If you have that ability then good luck, then you can keep your vote But if you didn't vote for Kurt Schilling because you don't like the his politics I don't think that's a good enough reason. Why about the people that vote for people because they're buddies and they're or not I don't listen to that. We had it and we'll have Joe Tori on again today. I Honestly now he we don't know if he voted for for Harold Baines or not We know he voted for Lee Smith because Lee Smith got in on all 16 votes right for the Veterans Committee But I didn't like I don't like the reason well, you know, he's a darn good player Darn good player does not mean that you're a Hall of Famer darn good, you know But and you can't do these things in a vacuum either when you put Lee Smith in Michael that opens the door for a lot of other closers And I think the same thing happens with with Messina, you know, is he Hall of Famer? Yeah, he's Hall of Famer Is he borderline Hall of Famer? Yes, I believe he is a borderline Hall of Famer But if Mike Messina's in house Kurt Schilling not in How's Andy Petty on he get 9% of the vote now? You can you put the PED angle there David Cohn was off the ballot in one year because he got under 5% Which I think is a joke Here's the thing I asked Steven A. Smith on his show your life depended on it Who you want starting the game? Schilling Cone Pet it or Messina. I'd say Messina's fourth. Yeah, probably right I mean Kurt Schilling is one of the great postseason pitchers of all time politics aside. How do you ignore that?