Save Vote, New Candidates

After the fiasco that has been going on in Florida for the past three weeks, it is hard to get excited about democracy or voting. But today's news of another upcoming election was welcomed. During the dark months of winter, there is little for the baseball fan to get excited about unless it is the endless dollars being thrown at free agents by the big market teams. That is, until this week. Around the country, ballots are being sent out to baseball writers to vote for inductees to the baseball Hall of Fame. It always interesting to see how the writers vote. Of course there will be the yearly controversy over whether Pete Rose should be included in the Hall of Fame despite his lifetime ban. There will also be those players who have been perennially on the ballot that will be overlooked again despite their accomplishments. Personally, I will again be looking to see if Dale Murphy gets any closer to induction. Murphy holds a special place in my heart. He was a gentleman who played the game as a fierce competitor. His back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards were unheard of at the time and he lacked only 1 home run of finishing his career with an even 500. Still, Murphy and his boy-next-door looks will probably again be overlooked and passed over. With all of the press that is garnered for the bad boy attitude that is displayed by the players of today, it would be refreshing to see someone rewarded for being a positive role model not only to the fans but also to his peers. I have never heard anyone, press nor teammate, express an unkind word about Murphy and the way he conducted himself. Instead, we will most likely hear about Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly and Kerby Puckett in their first year of eligibility and their accomplishments. Well, they may be deserving of praise but I for one will be rooting for Dale Murphy and all those like him who were a positive influence to me while I was growing up and in need of someone to look up to.