Will LeBatard’s stunt halt reform in Hall of Fame voting?

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One last word on the Hall of Fame voting situation…Or at least until the next last word:

I keep thinking about Martha Burk in regards to Dan LeBatard’s stunt and its impact. Burk, if you recall, made a name for herself when she pushed Augusta National and its chairman Hootie Johnson to admit women to the club in 2003.

I think Augusta actually was heading in that direction. While Burk definitely was right for getting on the soapbox, clearly the club wasn’t going to give her satisfaction by immediately welcoming a woman member. In fact, it took 10 years before it happened.

I’m not saying the same thing will take place with reforms in the Hall of Fame voting. The Baseball Writers Association of America decided in December to re-examine the process.

However, I wonder if the BBWAA will do anything now in light of what LeBatard did. If it does, then he and Deadspin will be credited with sparking any changes. That’s the last thing the BBWAA wants.

I’m sure there’s going to be somebody who says at a meeting, “Screw LeBatard. Let’s keep the status quo.”

Changes definitely are needed, but they could be pushed back now.

Will the BBWAA give LeBatard and Deadspin a victory lap? Stay tuned.

 

Transparency needed for Hall of Fame voting; Who didn’t vote for Maddux? Who voted for Jacque Jones?

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Sportswriters spend their entire careers pushing for access and transparency. Yet when it comes to voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, a veil of secrecy exists.

Yes, a fair amount of voters reveal their ballots However, the vast majority don’t.

And for that matter, fans also deserve to know exactly who is voting and their credentials.

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) currently doesn’t disclose that information. However, that could change.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is among those pushing for transparency in the vote. He writes:

Transparency is essential. The BBWAA should list the names of every voter, just as it does for its annual awards. Likewise, every voter should be required to publish his or her ballot. Many of us are choosing to do just that, and our ballots will be accessible on BBWAA.com starting Friday morning.

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com received heavy criticism for voting only for Jack Morris. Well, at least Gurnick revealed his vote and provided an explanation, however illogical it might have sounded. Fifteen other voters failed to vote for Maddux. And we don’t know who the heck they are.

If baseball writers are going to continue to vote for the Hall of Fame, which I am against, then the BBWAA needs to address this matter immediately. In fact, their editors should insist on transparency. At the very least, we would find out who is Jacque Jones’ friend.

It’s pretty simple: How can writers ask MLB and teams to open their windows, if they don’t do the same for Hall of Fame voting?

Also, regarding the issue of who is voting, Rosenthal writes:

Let’s clean up the voting body and remove those who are not actively covering the game. Let’s reduce the 10-year membership requirement to five to allow newer writers to vote sooner.

Indeed, Rosenthal is right here. Transparency also would show the voters who have no business participating in this process.

 

Philadelphia Daily News’ obit for Bill Conlin: ‘Career ended in disgrace’

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I was particularly interested in how the Philadelphia Daily News would write about Bill Conlin, who died yesterday.

Conlin was one of their rocks for a generation of their readers. Yet it all got wiped away with horrible allegations of child molestation in 2011.

Today’s headline read: “Bill Conlin, Daily News sports columnist, whose career ended in disgrace, dies at 79.”

From John F. Morrison’s story:

After Conlin’s death, Daily News managing editor Pat McLoone commented: “Bill’s career ended in disgrace. Speaking to his work, though, his writing was often brilliant. At a time before the Internet and sports-only TV channels, Bill Conlin’s coverage in the Daily News was the primary source of information and analysis for a generation of Phillies fans.”

Daily News executive sports editor Chuck Bausman said: “Bill was one of the reasons I got into this business. His writing was brilliant. He made stories come alive with his prose and insight. However, what was revealed about his personal life was a tragedy for Bill and his family and a painful reminder for the victims.”

 

Albert, Reilly named to NSSA Hall of Fame; Mike Emrick, Peter King also bag big awards

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Kudos to Marv Albert and Rick Reilly. And good to see “Doc” get a well-deserved honor.

The official release from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association:

*******

Marv Albert and Rick Reilly have been elected to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, executive director Dave Goren announced today. Albert, a longtime network play-by-play announcer, and Reilly, who spent the bulk of his career at Sports Illustrated before moving to ESPN, will be honored during the 55th Annual NSSA Awards Weekend, June 7-9 in Salisbury, NC.

NBC’s Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick has been elected 2013 National Sportscaster of the Year and Sports Illustrated NFL writer Peter King has won his third National Sportswriter of the Year Award in the last four years.

In addition, state sportscasters and sportswriters of the year have been elected by their peers in 48 states, plus the District of Columbia (list below).

Finalists for the award were nominated by NSSA members from mid-October to mid-November.  Final balloting took place during the month of December.

Albert began his career as a play-by-play announcer for the New York Knicks, filling in for his mentor Marty Glickman for a game in January 1963. He then served as the full-time “voice of the Knicks” from 1967-2004. Albert has also called play-by-play for the New York Rangers, New York Giants and New Jersey Nets, in addition to his network play-by-jobs for NBC, CBS, Turner Sports, YES and Westwood One. Among his honors, Albert has won three Emmy Awards, six Cable ACE Awards and the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is a 19-time winner of NSSA’s New York Sportscaster of the Year Award. Currently, Albert serves as a play-by-play announcer for NFL games on CBS and for NBA games on Turner Sports.

Reilly’s journalism path started at the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera, where he worked for two years, before moving to the Denver Post for two years and the Los Angeles Times for two more. In 1985, he moved to Sports Illustrated, where he spent almost 23 years, including the last 10 as the back-page columnist. Since 2007, Reilly has performed a number of roles for ESPN, including writing a front-page column for ESPN.com, hosting Homecoming with Rick Reilly and contributing human-interest stories for Monday Night Countdown. He is an 11-time NSSA National Sportscaster of the Year and has won numerous other awards, including the 2009 Damon Runyon Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. Author of ten books, Reilly also co-wrote the movie Leatherheads, parts of which were filmed in NSSA’s hometown of Salisbury, NC. And the charity that Reilly founded, Nothing But Nets, has raised more than $40 million to provide mosquito nets to hang over children in Africa, where malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses kill more than 3,000 children each day.

A veteran of 39 years of broadcasting professional hockey, Emrick wins his first National Sportscaster of the Year Award. He moved to NBC and NBC Sports Network full time in 2011, after spending the previous 18 seasons as the TV voice of the New Jersey Devils. A two-time Emmy Award winner for his play-by-play, Emrick was the first broadcaster inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame, and won the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Known as ‘Doc’, Emrick earned his PhD from Bowling Green State University. He will work his seventh Winter Olympics for NBC in the upcoming Sochi Games in Russia. But hockey is not Emrick’s only sport. He has also called water polo for NBC in the Summer Olympics. His play-by-play career began in 1973, calling games of International Hockey League’s Port Huron Flags.

King becomes the eighth sportswriter to win the National Award in back-to-back years (also won in 2010 and 2012), joining Red Smith, Jim Murray, Will Grimsley, Frank Deford, Peter Gammons, Reilly and Bob Ryan. The longtime pro football writer for Sports Illustrated used the success of his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column on SI.com to start TheMMQB.com in 2012, a website devoted to the coverage of the National Football League. King’s SI career began in 1989 after stints at Newsday and the Cincinnati Enquirer. He also serves as a reporter for the Football Night in America studio show on NBC.

While there are 46 first-time winners among the state sportscasters and sportswriters of the year, there are seven who have won more than ten state awards, including Indiana University football and basketball play-by-play announcer Don Fischer, who has now won 24 Indiana Sportscaster of the Year Awards.

The three-day NSSA Awards Weekend will feature a welcome reception and dinner, issues forum, seminars, a golf tournament and tennis tournament, as well as the Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Information on the Weekend will be posted at nssafame.com as details are finalized.

State winners:

 

ALABAMA SPORTSCASTER

Rod Bramblett, Auburn/IMG Sports Network, Auburn (3)

 

ARKANSAS SPORTSCASTER

Bo Mattingly, Sports Talk With Bo, Fayetteville (2)

 

ARIZONA SPORTSCASTER

Matt McConnell, Phoenix Coyotes TV/Fox Sports Arizona, Phoenix (1)

 

CALIFORNIA SPORTSCASTER

Ken Korach, Oakland A’s Radio/95.7 The Game, Oakland

 (1) *

COLORADO SPORTSCASTER

Drew Goodman, 104.3 The Fan, Colorado Rockies TV/ROOT Sports, Denver (10)

 

CONNECTICUT SPORTSCASTER

Kevin Nathan, WVIT-TV, West Hartford (7)

 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTSCASTER

Tim Brant, WJLA-TV, Washington (1)

DELAWARE SPORTSCASTER

Sean Greene, WDEL, Wilmington (1)

 

FLORIDA SPORTSCASTER

Dewayne Staats, Tampa Bay Rays TV/Fox Sports Florida/Sun Sports, St. Petersburg (1)

 

GEORGIA SPORTSCASTER

Wes Durham, Atlanta Falcons Radio/790 The Zone, Fox Sports Net, Atlanta (9)

IOWA SPORTSCASTER

Gary Rima, UNI Radio Network/Learfield, Cedar Falls (2)

IDAHO SPORTSCASTER

Bob Behler, Bronco Sports Properties/Learfield, Boise (4)

 

ILLINOIS SPORTSCASTER

John Wiedeman, Chicago Blackhawks Radio/WGN, Chicago (1)

 

INDIANA SPORTSCASTER (Tie)

Don Fischer, Indiana Hoosier Sports Network/Learfield, Bloomington (24)

Mike Knezevich, Regional Radio Sports Network, Mishawaka (4)

KANSAS SPORTSCASTER

Wyatt Thompson, Kansas State Wildcat Sports Network/Learfield, Manhattan (2)

 

KENTUCKY SPORTSCASTER

Kent Taylor, WAVE-TV, Louisville (1)

 

LOUISIANA SPORTSCASTER

Doug Mouton, WWL-TV, New Orleans (1)

MASSACHUSETTS SPORTSCASTER

Dave Goucher, 98.5 The Sports Hub/Boston Bruins, Boston (1)

MARYLAND SPORTSCASTER

Mark Viviano, WJZ-TV, Baltimore (4)

 

 

MAINE SPORTSCASTER

Bob Lucy, Black Bear Sports Network/Learfield, Orono (1)

 

MICHIGAN SPORTSCASTER

Dan Miller, Detroit Lions Radio Network/WXYT, WJBK-TV, Detroit (1)

MINNESOTA SPORTSCASTER

Mike Grimm, Gopher Sports Network/Learfield, Minneapolis (3)

 

MISSOURI SPORTSCASTER

Mike Kelly, Missouri Tiger Sports Network/Learfield, Columbia (2)

MISSISSIPPI SPORTSCASTER

Jim Ellis, Mississippi State Radio Network, Starkville (3)

 

MONTANA SPORTSCASTER

Jason Walker, ESPN Radio, Helena (1)

 

NORTH CAROLINA SPORTSCASTER (Tie)

David Glenn, The David Glenn Show, Raleigh (1)

Jeff Charles, Pirate/IMG Sports Network, Greenville (2)

 

NORTH DAKOTA SPORTSCASTER

Craig Keating, KMAV/KMSR Radio, Mayville (1)

 

NEBRASKA SPORTSCASTER

Kevin Sjuts, KOLN/KGIN, Lincoln (1)

NEW HAMPSHIRE SPORTSCASTER

Bob Lipman, WTPL Radio/UNH Radio Network, Concord/Durham (4)

 

NEW JERSEY SPORTSCASTER (Tie)

Matt Harmon, Shore Sports Network, Bayville (4)

Tom Williams, Prime Events, Ocean City (5)

NEW MEXICO SPORTSCASTER

Bob Brown, 101.7 The Team, Albuquerque (1)

NEVADA SPORTSCASTER

Russ Langer, UNLV/IMG Sports Network/LV 51s Baseball, Las Vegas (9)

 

NEW YORK SPORTSCASTER

Ian Eagle, YES Network, New York City (1)

 

OHIO SPORTSCASTER

Tom Hamilton, Indians Radio Network/WTAM, Cleveland (6)

 

OKLAHOMA SPORTSCASTER

Dave Hunziker, OSU Cowboys Sports Network/Learfield, Stillwater (1)

 

OREGON SPORTSCASTER (Tie)

Craig Birnbach, KATU-TV, Portland (1)

Dwight Jaynes, Comcast Sports Northwest, Portland (1)****

PENNSYLVANIA SPORTSCASTER

Tom McCarthy, Comcast Sports Net Philadelphia, Philadelphia (1)

 

RHODE ISLAND SPORTSCASTER

Frank Carpano, WJAR-TV, Providence (13)

 

SOUTH CAROLINA SPORTSCASTER

Jeff McCarragher, College of Charleston Sports Network, Charleston (1)

 

SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTSCASTER

Rod Fisher, KGFX Radio, Pierre (2)

TENNESSEE SPORTSCASTER (Tie)

Mike Keith, Tennessee Titans Radio Network, Nashville (11)

Joe Fisher, Vanderbilt/IMG Sports Network, Nashville (1)

TEXAS SPORTSCASTER

Bill Brown, Astros TV Network, Houston (1)

UTAH SPORTSCASTER

Dana Greene, ABC 4, Salt Lake City (2)

VIRGINIA SPORTSCASTER

Bill Roth, Virginia Tech/IMG Sports Network, Blacksburg (11)

VERMONT SPORTSCASTER

Mike McCune, WCAX-TV, Burlington (1)

WASHINGTON SPORTSCASTER

Brock Huard, ESPN 710, Seattle (1)

WISCONSIN SPORTSCASTER

Brian Anderson, Brewers TV Network, Milwaukee (1)

WEST VIRGINIA SPORTSCASTER

Keith Morehouse, WSAZ-TV, Huntington (4)

WYOMING SPORTSCASTER

Reece Monaco, KFBC Radio, Cheyenne (4)

 

NATIONAL SPORTSCASTER

Mike Emrick, NBC (1)

 

HALL OF FAME SPORTSCASTER

Marv Albert, NY Knicks/Rangers, NBC, TNT, YES Network, CBS

 

ALABAMA SPORTSWRITER

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times/AL.com, Huntsville (4)

ARKANSAS SPORTSWRITER

Robbie Neiswanger, Arkansas News Bureau, Fayetteville (1)

ARIZONA SPORTSWRITER

Kent Somers, Arizona Republic, Phoenix (2)

 

 

CALIFORNIA SPORTSWRITER

Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles (1)

 

COLORADO SPORTSWRITER

Mike Klis, Denver Post, Denver (2)

 

 

CONNECTICUT SPORTSWRITER

Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, Hartford (3)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTSWRITER

Mike Harris, Washington Times, Washington (1)

DELAWARE SPORTSWRITER

Andy Walter, Delaware State News, Dover (3)

 

FLORIDA SPORTSWRITER

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg (1)

 

 

GEORGIA SPORTSWRITER

Steve Hummer, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta (5)

 

IOWA SPORTSWRITER

Steve Batterson, Quad City Times, Davenport (3)

IDAHO SPORTSWRITER

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman, Boise (5)

ILLINOIS SPORTSWRITER

Bruce Miles, Daily Herald, Arlington Heights (1)

 

INDIANA SPORTSWRITER

Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis (2)

 

 

 

 

KANSAS SPORTSWRITER

Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World, Lawrence (2)

 

KENTUCKY SPORTSWRITER

Jennie Rees, Courier-Journal, Louisville (2)

 

LOUISIANA SPORTSWRITER

Les East, Advocate, Baton Rouge (1)

 

MASSACHUSETTS SPORTSWRITER

Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe, Boston (2)

MARYLAND SPORTSWRITER (Tie)

Dan Connolly, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore (1)

David Ginsburg, Associated Press, Baltimore (2)

MAINE SPORTSCASTER

Pete Warner, Bangor Daily News, Bangor (8)

MICHIGAN SPORTSWRITER

Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, Detroit (1)

 

MINNESOTA SPORTSWRITER

Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune, Minneapolis (1)

 

 

MISSOURI SPORTSWRITER

Dave Matter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis (1)

 

MISSISSIPPI SPORTSWRITER

Scott Walters, Columbus Commercial Dispatch, Columbus (1)

MONTANA SPORTSWRITER

Mike Scherting, Billings Gazette, Billings (1)**

NORTH CAROLINA SPORTSWRITER

Sammy Batten, Fayetteville Observer, Fayetteville (3)

 

 

NORTH DAKOTA SPORTSWRITER

Tom Mix The Forum, Fargo (1)

NEBRASKA SPORTSWRITER

Dirk Chatelain, Omaha World Herald, Omaha (2)

NEW HAMPSHIRE SPORTSWRITER

Allen Lessels, Union Leader, Manchester (11)

NEW JERSEY SPORTSWRITER (Tie)

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer, Cherry Hill (1)

Scott Stump, Shore Sports Network, Toms River (1)

NEW MEXICO SPORTSWRITER

Mark Smith, Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque (1)***

NEVADA SPORTSWRITER

Todd Dewey, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas (1)

 

NEW YORK SPORTSWRITER

Mike Vaccaro, New York Post, New York (2)

 

OHIO SPORTSWRITER

Hal McCoy, Dayton Daily News & Fox Sports Ohio, Dayton (14)

OKLAHOMA SPORTSWRITER

Jimmie Tramel, Tulsa World, Tulsa (1)

 

 

OREGON SPORTSWRITER

John Canzano, The Oregonian, Portland (4)

 

PENNSYLVANIA SPORTSWRITER

Jim Salisbury, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Philadelphia (1)

RHODE ISLAND SPORTSWRITER

Paul Kenyon, Providence Journal, Providence (1)

SOUTH CAROLINA SPORTSWRITER

Josh Kendall, The State, Columbia (1)

 

SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTSWRITER

James Cimburek, Yankton Press and Dakotan, Yankton (1)

 

TENNESSEE SPORTSWRITER

Jim Wyatt, The Tennessean, Nashville (6)

 

TEXAS SPORTSWRITER

Randy Galloway, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Ft. Worth (5)

UTAH SPORTSWRITER

Dirk Facer, Deseret News, Salt Lake City (4)

 

VIRGINIA SPORTSWRITER

David Teel, Newport News Daily Press, Newport News (7)

VERMONT SPORTSWRITER

Anna Grearson, Times-Argus, Barre/Montpelier (2)

WASHINGTON SPORTSWRITER

Larry Stone, Seattle Times, Seattle (2)

WISCONSIN SPORTSWRITER

Tom Silverstein, Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee (2)

WEST VIRGINIA SPORTSWRITER

Chuck McGill, Daily Mail, Charleston (2)

WYOMING SPORTSWRITER

Jack Nowlin, Casper Star-Tribune, Casper (2)

 

 

NATIONAL SPORTSWRITER

Peter King, Sports Illustrated (3)

 

HALL OF FAME SPORTSWRITER

Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, ESPN

* – also won in NV (2001)

** – also won in ND (1997)

*** – also won once as sportscaster (1984)

**** – also won 5 times as sportswriter (1975, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: LeBatard second-guesses decision; Miami Herald sports editor, Wilbon, Kornheiser scold him for Deadspin stunt

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Update at 11:30 ET:  Dan Patrick’s producer just posted the following tweet.

******

Dan LeBatard has enjoyed a terrific career, winning many national awards as a columnist for the Miami Herald. It enabled him to go to another level with TV and radio shows on ESPN.

Yesterday, though, wasn’t one of his better days.

LeBatard faced considerable fallout for his decision to give his Hall of Fame vote to Deadspin. It was his way of protesting the voting process. Deadspin turned around and using fan voting to determine LeBatard’s ballot.

He wrote: “I always like a little anarchy inside the cathedral we’ve made of sports.”

LeBatard was feeling a bit cocky in the video. However, a couple hours later, he seemed to be second-guessing his decision on his ESPN radio show by 6 p.m. ET. During the previous hour, Tim Kurkjian and then Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, men he greatly respects, scolded him for participating in such a stunt. Wilbon called it “garbage.”

“This is egotism run amok,” Korheiser told LeBatard.

Here is a link to the Kornheiser and Wilbon interview.

As I wrote yesterday, all three of them thought LeBatard should have used his own vast platforms to make his point about the process. Kurkjian felt by going to Deadspin, LeBatard made himself the focus of the story, taking away from the intent of his mission.

After an hour of that, and with considerable other criticism coming in from the journalism community, LeBatard seemed overwhelmed at the top of the 6 p.m. hour. You got the feeling he felt, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

The reaction got worse for LeBatard, and it came from his own employers.

In a Clark Spencer story in the Miami Herald, sport editor Jorge Rojas said it best. (Note: LeBatard now is technically a freelancer for the Herald):

“Whatever issues might be raised about the Hall of Fame voting process, we do not condone misrepresentation of any kind,” Herald executive sports editor Jorge Rojas said in a statement. “Dan had a point to make. We think there are other ways he could have made it.”

Exactly. A journalist should never misrepresent himself. He accepted the vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America. There is an implied trust that he would use it in good faith. He didn’t.

There’s more. From Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote.

“I love that my buddy Dan must now act as if he’d have preferred none of this get out when in fact this is publicity gold … for somebody with a daily radio show who fancies himself a cutting edge establishment-tweaker.”

Mike Oz of Yahoo! Sports had the reaction from LaVelle E. Neal III, the BBWA president.

“When you accept a baseball writers’ card, there’s a certain way you need to go about your business, a certain conduct you need to have at all times,” Neal said. “It’s disappointing that someone would decide to manipulate his vote in that way.”

More reaction from baseball writers:

“It’s sad that one of our members would do this,” said Bill Madden, long-time baseball writer for the New York Daily News and a member for 41 years of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose most tenured members vote for the Hall of Fame.

Said Mark Feinsand, who covers the New York Yankees for the Daily News: “The writers who cover the sport earn the right to vote and don’t earn the right to allow others to cast their votes. If you don’t think your vote means anything, then don’t vote.”

Meanwhile, a story on ESPN.com had the network attempting to distance himself from the stunt.

“We respect and appreciate Dan’s opinions and passion about Hall of Fame voting,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said in a statement. “He received his vote while at the Miami Herald. We wouldn’t have advocated his voting approach, which we were just made aware of today.”

I’m sure LeBatard will get a phone call or two today from top ESPN executives, if he hasn’t already.

Again, serious journalists don’t do something like this, which is disappointing because I consider LeBatard a serious journalist.

 

Why? Disappointed that it was Dan Le Batard who gave Hall of Fame vote to Deadspin

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I have known Dan Le Batard for a long time, and I hardly think he is a “scumbug,” which was my initial label for the voter who turned over his ballot to Deadspin.

However, I am disappointed that it is Le Batard who gave his vote to Deadspin. I would be disappointed in any voter who participated in this stunt.

Le Batard writes on Deadspin’s site:

I feel like my vote has gotten pretty worthless in the avalanche of sanctimony that has swallowed it.

I have no earthly idea if Jeff Bagwell or Frank Thomas did or didn’t use steroids.

I think I understand why the steroid guys were the steroid guys in this competition-aholic culture.

I hate all the moralizing we do in sports in general, but I especially hate the hypocrisy in this: Many of the gatekeeper voters denying Barry Bonds Hall Of Fame entry would have they themselves taken a magical, healing, not-tested-for-in-their-workplace elixir if it made them better at their jobs, especially if lesser talents were getting the glory and money. Lord knows I’d take the elixir for our ESPN2 TV show if I could.

I don’t think I’m any more qualified to determine who is Hall of Fame-worthy than a fan who cares about and really knows baseball. In fact, many people analyzing baseball with advanced metrics outside of mainstream media are doing a better job than mainstream media, and have taught us some things in recent years when we were behind. In other words, just because we went to journalism school and covered a few games, just because accepted outlets gave us their platform and power, I don’t think we should have the pulpit to ourselves in 2014 that way we did in 1936.

Baseball is always reticent to change, but our flawed voting process needs remodeling in a new media world. Besides, every year the power is abused the way I’m going to be alleged to abuse it here. There’s never been a unanimous first-ballot guy? Seriously? If Ruth and Mays and Schmidt aren’t that, then what is? This year, someone is going to leave one of the five best pitchers ever off the ballot. Suck it, Greg Maddux.

I’ve become a more and more lenient voter over the years, often allowing the max 10 guys in a year, and I wanted to put in more this year. I happen to agree with most of the reader selections. I was afraid you guys were going to have me voting for Jacque Jones and no one else. I was kind of surprised this particular snark-land respected the process. I found it impossible to limit it this year to 10, but 10 was all that was allowed, so thanks for the help. But why limit it to 10 in a year that has more than 10 worthy candidates, by the way? How dumb is that?

And my final reason: I always like a little anarchy inside the cathedral we’ve made of sports.

I’m not sure what kind of trouble this is going to bring me. I imagine I’ll probably have my vote stripped. But I don’t want to be a part of the present climate without reform anyway. Given that climate, doing THIS has more impact than my next 20 years of votes as sanctimony bars the HOF door on the steroid guys. Because, in a climate without reform, my next 20 years of votes will be counted but not actually heard. At least this gets it heard, for better or for worse.

For starters, at least Le Batard wasn’t paid for his vote. The first Deadspin story said, the person “sold us his/her vote.”

That notion sent me through the roof. Hence, in part, my harsh reaction. Journalists shouldn’t be bought.

Apparently, that first person backed out for whatever reason, and Le Batard stepped in.

Why? Well, it will gain Le Batard a ton of publicity today, drawing attention to his various ESPN shows. Sorry, Dan, but that had to factor into your decision.

Also, Dan, if you are so disturbed about the process, why did you use Deadspin as a vehicle? Surely, you have plenty of your own platforms to get out your message.

All in all, it just seems to me by undermining the process, Dan, you sold out your fellow members of the sportswriting fraternity. Yes, the process is flawed, but your stunt also reflects poorly on people you’ve shared the press box with for years. There are better methods if you truly wanted reform.

Bottom line: The whole thing just doesn’t strike me as something a serious journalist would do. And I’ve always thought of you as a serious journalist.

Anyway, those are a few quick thoughts. Hope you enjoy the fallout.

 

 

 

 

More love (not!) from Deadspin editor Tommy Craggs: Calls me ‘Dumbest F-ing guy in sports media’ in podcast with Leitch

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Well, I got quite a New Year’s greeting from a couple of old pals.

Thanks to some readers, I’m just catching up with a Will Leitch Experience podcast with Deadspin editor Tommy Craggs via Sports on Earth. No surprise (Hi, Tommy), they weren’t effusive with praise about yours truly.

However, it was a surprise that at around the 28-minute mark, the podcast suddenly veered towards me. Talk about ruining a podcast, right?

Leitch interrupted Craggs to say he wanted to tell an “Ed Sherman story.”

Leitch talked about me contacting him in July, 2012 when I noticed the Illinois alumni magazine put the Deadspin founder on their cover. I thought it was an unusual choice, given Deadspin’s edgy content and that the magazine is generally very conservative.

I wrote in the post:

Every quarter, I receive the Illinois Alumni magazine. The issue focuses on notable graduates, such as scientists, business leaders, economists, etc. Prominent alums, to be sure.

So imagine my surprise when I received the summer issue of Illinois Alumni and saw Will Leitch on the cover. Yes, Will Leitch, the founder of Deadspin.

I reached out to Leitch because I knew he would have a funny response. He did, replying in part:

Ha. I had no idea I was going to be on the cover and had honestly forgotten about the interview until someone told me about the story on Twitter. I suppose it’s an honor, but I can’t help but think that the honor, as a concept, is lessened by the fact that it was bestowed upon me (no club that would have me as a member, all that). I really do hope it doesn’t cause anyone to cancel their subscription.

It was an amusing post. Nothing more.

However, in the podcast with Craggs, Leitch made it seem like I was badgering him for a comment.

“He said, ‘I just wanted to see if you had a comment about the University of Illinois putting you on the cover of their alumni magazine?'” Leitch said. “I said, ‘I think I’m OK with it. If you ask me to make a big thing of it, I will say I’m not against it.'”

Leitch said he never dealt with me before that contact. Evidently, he forgot I had talked to him about his 2010 book, Are We Winning? I actually read the book, which focused on being a Cardinals fan and his relationship with his father. It was an entertaining read, and I did a Q/A with Leitch while I was with Crain’s Chicago Business.

Anyway, in the podcast, Leitch theorizes that my exchange with him was the start of my feud with Deadspin.

“Something about that set him off, and I think you guys (Deadspin) are getting the brunt of it,” Leitch said.

Totally not true. But let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Leitch then went on to say, “He’s an amusing little figure that keeps popping up.”

One of those amusing little things was my critique of a Leitch column on Darren Rovell last February. The column was a vicious attack that went over the line. I wasn’t alone in that view.

However, as a result, Leitch now has reason not to like his fellow U of I alum.

Craggs, meanwhile, took the opportunity to call me some not-so-nice things.

“He might be the dumbest fucking guy in sports media,” Craggs said. “That’s saying something. I’m willing to go out on that limb.”

Well, at least I’m No. 1 in something.

You see, I also have been critical of Deadspin from time to time.

“He seems to have figured out that there’s a percentage for him to be the guy on the Internet who’s always ripping Deadspin,” Craggs said.

Yes, much like Deadspin’s strategy in aggressively covering ESPN.

“He seems to labor under the delusion that the reason we don’t like him is that he has criticized us in the past,” Craggs went on. “If that were our criteria for not liking somebody, we wouldn’t like anybody.

“He’s such a hack through and through. He only can see the world through a hack’s eyes. He thinks we’re responding to him the way he responds, i.e. hackily. He can’t fathom the idea that we hate him because he really sucks at what really should be a cool job.”

Hackily? So, Tommy, if I praised Deadspin’s work, they’d still hate me? Somehow, I don’t think that would be the case.

Later, Craggs wrote about how he and John Koblin noticed how I tend to use the phrase, “No surprise,” or in the “the no surprise department.”

“He’s this incredibly savvy guy who can’t be surprised by anything,” Craggs said. “The unflappable Ed Sherman.”

All I can say is that I’m truly surprised Craggs and Leitch spent so much time talking about me. I think they would agree with me that they might want a mulligan there. Surely, there were better things to talk about it.

But hey, I appreciate it. Thanks for the pub, guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to put an end to sportswriters voting for Hall of Fames, other awards

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My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University also is an annual ritual for me: Sportswriters need to get out of the business of participating in Hall of Fame votes and for other awards.

Today, the big story in sports will be who gets voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The same people who will write that story will have determined the outcome: The sportswriters. As a result, they cross the line and become a big part of the story today.

Here’s why I feel it isn’t right.

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You may not have noticed, but the recent weeks have revealed an annual winter ritual for baseball writers. Throughout the country, writers have disclosed their ballots for the upcoming Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2014.

Dan Shaugnessy of the Boston Globe wrote about his choices. He still isn’t voting for Barry Bonds. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post went the other way, giving yes votes to Bonds and fellow steroid cheat Roger Clemens.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports wrote about his selections, while the Chicago Tribune, where I work as a contributor, dedicated an entire page of the Sunday paper to allow its five voters to explain their ballots. ESPN.com did the same with its 17 voters.

It all leads up to Wednesday’s official announcement of who will be going to Cooperstown. Unlike last year, when the New York Times sports front used a blank page as a commentary to illustrate how no candidates got in thanks to the residue of the steroid era, two, maybe three or four players figure to be enshrined this year.

As has been the custom, voters eligible from the Baseball Writers Association of America, will again be the gatekeepers in determining who gets through the Hall of Fame’s front door.

Thus, my annual column on how sports journalists shouldn’t be voting for Hall of Fames, and awards such as the Heisman Trophy. Once again, my argument falls under a basic rule of the business: Journalists don’t make news; they report the news.

The writers will be making the news Wednesday. It will be their votes that will be dissected and critiqued. They will be writing stories in which they had a direct impact on the outcome. In many cases, they will be quoted in other stories asking to explain their votes.

An editor wouldn’t allow a court reporter to be on a jury and then write about the case, right? Isn’t this the same scenario? I respect the political reporters who decide not to vote in elections so they can maintain an appearance of objectivity.

 

Ultimately, the writers’ votes not only will be granting baseball immortality to the players selected, they also will be increasing the financial bottom line for the new Hall of Famers. The inductees will be in far more demand to make appearances where they can place “HOF, 2014” after their signatures.

That in itself is a huge conflict of interest. However, the issue now goes deeper.

Thanks to the cheaters, the Hall of Fame voters now are the ultimate judges over the legacy of the steroid era. They will determine whether players like Bonds, Clemens, Sammy Sosa ever get an invitation to Cooperstown. Judging by the initial returns, the answer appears to be an emphatic no.

I’m not comfortable with the writers having so much power here, which puts an even greater spotlight on their selections. The stakes in this exercise have gone much higher.

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com made news yesterday when he disclosed he only voted for Jack Morris. He said he won’t vote for any players who played in the PED era, including Greg Maddux, who never was accused of taking anything.

Sorry, but I have a problem with Gurnick suddenly becoming the story here. It’s not right.

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Here’s the link to read the entire column.