Keith Olberman shows some guts and is right on the money

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Posted By: tbob

First of all, thanks to Tom Hufford for taking the time to post and explain in more depth what went on with the voting. I think you are correct that SABR itself should not be slammed for what happened. That said, I renew my criticism of those members of SABR who DID cast votes denying Buck O'Neill his place in the Hall. I also think that there is some jealousy on some peoples' part (not yours Tom) with regard to Keith Olberman. I don't know if it is because of his tremendous collection of cards, his high salary which allows him to purchase cards others of us can only dream of, or the fact he is a member of the media, but Keith is not only an integral part of the hobby, having written many articles about cards, but is a grass roots true baseball fan. Further he has written many forwards for books written about ballplayers, including several concerning Negro League players. He has been a member of SABR for 21 years and in that time has truly contributed not only to the hobby we all love but a love of the National Pasttime also. He certainly needs no defense from this poster, but he'll get one.
Also, Tom H., you mention that you didn't see anything in the transcript you read about some of the things I alleged that Keith said. Many of the comments were made, not on his news show, but on the Dan Patrick shown on ESPN.com the next day after he had time to think about everything and really stew at the inequities. If you desire, his hour long segment can be heard in the ESPN.com archives if you pay a nominal fee.
I guess in conclusion I feel strongly about the injustice that happened to Buck O'Neill and every single word concerning his exclusion from the Hall which I wrote, I still believe with the exception that I would modify my comments about SABR, which is a great organization, to include only those members of SABR who did not vote to elect Buck and instead elected a gangster and a White woman, finding they were more worthy as Black candidates than someone who, in the words of J.D. Salinger in Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, represents baseball and everything that is good about America.