The calm before the storm

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The Hall of Fame vote is supposed to be all about the past, but it?s perfect for right now. It?s another thing to fill the 24/7 news cycle. All the crossfire arguments are there for Twitter and talk radio. You have to have a ?take.?

Barry Larkin will share the stage with Ron Santo?s family. Each player was identified by, and loyal to, one team. They?ll have a place in Cooperstown, N.Y., forever. Consider that non-controversy the calm before the storm.

Monday?s election results showed overwhelming support for Larkin, who received 86.4 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers? Association of America. The longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop will be inducted on July 22, the same day the Cubs will be celebrating Santo?s life.

The volume will be turned up for the class of 2013, which includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling and Craig Biggio. By 2014, Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine will be eligible for the first time.

This will be an endless debate, and it will be interesting to see what information comes out between now and then. Look for more voting explanations based on rumors and innuendo, plus more people begging for clarification on the character clause.

Bonds has a legal team appealing his obstruction of justice conviction. Voters won?t forget how Clemens starred in the Mitchell Report, or Sosa?s performance in front of Congress. Schilling and Thomas were two of the most outspoken critics from the steroid era.

Everyone on the ballot is under suspicion on some level because of the period in which they played. This round was another clear rejection of Mark McGwire (19.5 percent) and Rafael Palmeiro (12.6 percent).

Combined those two players linked to performance-enhancing drugs have been on the ballot eight times and have never received more than 24 percent of the vote, nowhere near the 75 percent needed for induction.

Momentum seems to be building for big-game pitcher Jack Morris, who got 66.7 percent of the 573 votes cast (nine were left blank) and still has his 14th and 15th chances left to get into the Hall. The same goes for Jeff Bagwell, who rose from 41.7 percent to 56 percent during his second year on the ballot.

If you have an opinion, it?s so much easier now to find a platform and shout it out. The explosion of information on the Internet ? and the growing awareness and understanding of sabermetrics ? has shifted the way people look at the game.

Perceptions changed about Larkin. In his third year of eligibility, he finished with a vote total that represented a 24.3-percent gain from the 2011 ballot, the largest jump in one year to gain election in more than 60 years.

Larkin, 47, grew up in Cincinnati and was drafted twice by the Reds. In between he played at the University of Michigan ? where legendary coach Bo Schembechler wanted him on the football team ? and in the 1984 Olympics.

Larkin lasted 19 seasons with the Reds, helping Lou Piniella and ?The Nasty Boys? win a World Series title in 1990. His resume includes 12 All-Star selections, nine Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves and the 1995 National League MVP award.

This summer?s Hall of Fame ceremony will also honor two media award winners ? television analyst Tim McCarver and Toronto Sun writer Bob Elliott ? along with Santo.

Santo was voted in by a veterans committee last month and his legacy will be front and center at this weekend?s Cubs Convention. WGN Radio?s Pat Hughes will host a panel expected to include Santo?s widow Vicki, son Ron Jr. and former teammates Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley and Billy Williams.

The family didn?t want to use the word ?bittersweet,? even though Santo?s Hall of Fame call came one year after his death. That?s because future generations will be able to go and see the plaque and remember the man.

Larkin was asked the other day what it would mean, but couldn?t quite answer the question. They?re about to find out.

?Baseball immortality,? Larkin said on the MLB Network. ?To be recognized as one of the best of all-time (made me think about my) young kids. They?re out there doing their thing. But 20, 30, 40, 100 years from now, when they?re old and gone, their grandkids (and kids will) always be able to say, ?Yeah, that guy right there (was) one of the best in the game.?? ? ??

Source: http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago-cubs/news/Larkin-Santo-and-the-calm-before-the-Coo?blockID=627964&feedID=619&awid=7350120300544958341-914

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