Larry Stone / Baseball reporter
Cuts difficult, but these 10 deserve to be in Hall

	Dennis Eckersley
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It's only a matter of time before negative campaigning, that staple of American elections, hits baseball's Hall of Fame vote. How long can perennially frustrated nominees such as Rich Gossage, Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris keep taking the high road before they start slinging mud?

For example, Gossage could have taken out ads this year to undermine the campaign of Dennis Eckersley, one of two first-timers on this year's ballot who figures to be announced today (along with Mariners hitting coach Paul Molitor) as a member of the 2004 Hall of Fame class:

"Hi, this is Goose Gossage, and as much as I liked hanging with my esteemed former Oakland teammate, Dennis Eckersley, you've got to be joking if you vote for him instead of me. I mean, I actually had to sweat for my saves. It wasn't uncommon for me to pitch two, even three innings a night. I didn't have my saves placed on a silver platter by Tony La Russa, who thought it was sacrilege to bring Eck in for more than three outs — or, God forbid, with a runner on base."

Who would have blamed, say, Dawson if he viewed the seemingly unstoppable momentum of Molitor, and started whacking away at him like Joe Lieberman taking on Howard Dean:

"This is The Hawk speaking. I was an old man before I took a crack at designated hitting with Boston. Paul was DH'ing in his prime — about the same time I picked up the first of my eight Gold Gloves. I think Molly won a few Golden X-ray awards, with all those injuries."

But the only Hall of Fame electioneering one usually sees as a voter is the occasional e-mail or letter from an impassioned fan of a particular player, such as one sent out this year by Gary Zwillinger of Phoenix that makes a compelling case for Morris, thrice passed over by voters.

Not to worry, Gary. Morris got my vote, again, as did Gossage, as did Dawson, as did Molitor, as did Eckersley. In fact, for the second year in a row, I maxed out with the allowable 10 votes, carrying over eight non-electees from last year, along with the two newcomers.

I'm stubborn: I'll keep voting for Bruce Sutter as long as he's eligible, which, regrettably, is only four more years, at which time the Veterans Committee gets a crack at him.

As any voter will tell you, this is one of the most nerve-racking decisions any citizen will ever get to make (and only 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America are accorded that privilege).

It sounds easy, until you start studying the list of names each year and realize, after dismissing the usual no-prayers (this year, Jim Eisenreich, Danny Darwin, Doug Drabek, Kevin Mitchell, Randy Myers, Terry Pendleton, Dave Stieb and Bob Tewksbury) that 20 players, at least, force you to go, "Hmmm. Maybe."

The trims are always agonizing, but those who didn't quite pass my sniff test, yet again, included Steve Garvey, Keith Hernandez, Tommy John (who indisputably belongs in the Orthopedic Surgeons Hall of Fame), Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker and Alan Trammell.

	Paul Molitor

Here's the Terrific Ten who passed my muster:

• Molitor. Forget about the DH argument — this guy was one of the great hitters of his time, and a tremendous postseason player to boot. Three thousand hits is a sacred number in baseball, and Molitor got 3,319. If he doesn't get in, Edgar Martinez doesn't stand a chance.

• Eckersley. Never mind his brilliant success as a 390-save closer — how about his other life as a top-notch starter, including a 20-win season and a no-hitter? Yeah, some of his saves were cheap, but for a long stretch, Eck on the mound in the ninth inning meant the game was over (except in the '88 World Series, of course).

• Dawson. This guy could do it all. He was a fearsome hitter, a tremendous fielder with a rocket arm, and a classy professional. As I wrote last year, Andre Dawson's resume screams "Hall of Famer."

• Gossage. There's room in my Hall for Eck and Goose (and a couple of other closers, Cooperstown's most under-represented position; Rollie Fingers and Hoyt Wilhelm remain the only pitchers enshrined who were primarily short relievers). Gossage, in his prime, was as intimidating and overpowering as any pitcher in any era.

• Morris. As Mr. Zwillinger points out, Morris won more games than any pitcher in the1980s, pitched one of the great Game 7s in World Series history, and won more games (254) than Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Jim Bunning, Hal Newhouser and Bob Lemon.

• Ryne Sandberg. Last year's lack of support for Sandberg in his first ballot appearance was stunning. He received just 49.2 percent of the votes, well below the necessary 75 percent. The electorate apparently has forgotten quickly that Sandberg set the standard for second basemen for more than a decade, and holds the record for most homers at the position (277).

• Blyleven. His perpetual lack of support is baffling. I suspect the problem is that he won 287 games, not the magical 300 (and the 250 losses don't help, either). But Blyleven ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts, in the top 10 in shutouts (60) and the top 15 in innings pitched (4,970).

• Sutter. He was tremendously influential not only in establishing the importance of the modern closer, but in popularizing the split-fingered fastball. It's easy to forget just how good this guy was.

• Jim Rice. As a rule, I tend to discard the notion that writers hold grudges against non-cooperative players, but Rice could well be a victim of his own surliness. His rapid nosedive at the end of his career hurt him as well. But in his prime, Rice was as feared as any hitter in the game.

• Lee Smith. Of all my votes, this is the one I feel the least strongly about. But if Smith was a Hall of Famer in my mind last year, he hasn't blown any saves since then.

The ballot I'm really looking forward to is next year's. That could finally be the one with Pete Rose on it — and if anyone would resort to a mud-slinging campaign, it's Charlie Hustle.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com

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