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Tom HuffordI didn't see Keith Olberman's show and didn't hear his comments, but the transcripts at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/ do not make any mention of SABR. The message by Bob that started this thread certainly mentions SABR, though, such as the "idiots at SABR," and "the callousness of the SABR voters."
Keith is a SABR member, Bob is not. It doesn't take "guts" to make any of those statements - just a lack of knowledge or unwillingness to do a bit of research.
This thread started out as a completely unjustified slam at SABR, but has quickly turned into somewhat of a discussion about the merits, or lack of merits, of those recently selected for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Let's get back to the SABR part.
I was one of the 16 Founding Members of SABR at Cooperstown in 1971, and I currently serve on the SABR Board of Directors. Let me make it clear that these comments are strictly my own, and in no way officially represent the SABR membership or the SABR Board of Directors.
SABR had absolutely nothing to do with the recently announced Hall of Fame vote.
About 5 of 6 years ago, Major League Baseball made a grant of $250,000 to the Baseball Hall of Fame to help conduct a complete study of Negro League (and pre-League) baseball. The HOF contracted with more than 50 persons in conducting this study, let by Dr. Larry Hogan - who is not a SABR member, by the way. At the completion of this study last fall, the HOF decided to conduct a "final" vote on Negro League players, pioneers, executives, etc. for election to the Hall of Fame. The HOF (not SABR) named a 5-person committee to determine a list of persons to appear on the ballot. That 5-person committee consisted of Dr. Larry Hogan, Adrian Burgos, Dick Clark, Larry Lester, and Jim Overmyer. The last four are SABR members. They compiled the list of 39 names that was submitted for voting consideration. The HOF (not SABR)then named a 12-person committee to vote "yes" or "no" on each of these candidates, with a 75% "yes" vote needed for election. The 12 members included those on the original 5-person panel, plus 7 more that the HOF selected. Nine of the 12 were SABR members. This is a quick summary of the study and selection process, which is explained in much more detail on the HOF website. Unless I totally missed something, SABR isn't mentioned anywhere on that site.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a completely private organization, that makes its own rules for its operations and elections. The HOF is completely separate from Major League Baseball. The HOF is completely separate from SABR.
For anyone, whether it be a national television commentator or a member of this discussion board, to think that SABR (or the Commissioner's Office for that matter) has either the power or responsibility for overturning a decision or election of a separate, private organization doesn't take "guts," it takes - well, I'll leave it up to you. It is somewhat flattering though, as a SABR founder, to know that some folks think we have that power. I wonder if SABR will start taking heat for the selections of the HOF Veterans Committee, since one of our longtime SABR members, Stan Musial, has a vote on that Committee. And hopefully nobody will suggest that SABR tells Stan who to vote for.
Yes, 9 of the 12 voting members of the selection committee were members of SABR, but so what? That's like not agreeing with the opinion of a group of doctors and blaming the American Medical Association, or not liking a Supreme Court decision and blaming the American Bar Association. It just stands to reason that someone identified by the Hall of Fame as being one of the leading authorities on Negro League baseball might also be a member of the largest baseball research organization extant - SABR.
As far as the recent election itself, anyone complaining about the selections just hasn't done their homework on the selection process itself. The Hall of Fame first set up a Committee on Negro League Veterans in 1971. That committee included Roy Campanella, Monte Irvin, Judy Johnson, Sam Lacy, Alex Pompez, Eddie Gottlieb, and others. They elected Satchell Paige, Buck Leonard, Josh Gibson, and 6 others in the 7 years of their existance. They then disbanded the committee THEMSELVES, saying they had elected all the worthy candidates. They could have elected ANY of those on this current ballot, except Minoso, I guess, who was still on the BBWAA ballot. Later, the election of Negro Leaguers was added to the responsibility of the Veterans Committee, who again could have elected ANY of those on the recent ballot.
As a final aside, we as fans and historians should be wary of giving extra weight to a player's HOF qualifications, simply because that person is still living and available to make a speech. I haven't seen a single complaint voiced about the failure to elect Dick Redding, John Beckwith, or any of the other deceased names on the ballot - just that neither of the living choices were elected. How many times over the last 30 years have we heard the lament that the only reason Rube Marquard, Harry Hooper, Chick Hafey, et al were elected is because they were old and still around to give a speech. Let's not complain about not electing living players if we don't also complain about not electing just-as-qualified deceased players.
Again, the HOF election process is far from perfect, but if anyone should be blamed it should be those officially and directly involved. And that IS NOT the Society for American Baseball Research.
Keith, I hope you realize that any disagreement you have with the HOF vote is not SABR's fault or responsibility, and I hope that you continue as a valued member. And Bob, I hope that you will join us soon - check out www.sabr.org.
Thanks,
Tom Hufford