Now that the Padres are bringing back their Hall of Fame, who should get consideration going forward?
In case you missed it this past Friday, Tom Krasovic announced via "The" Twitter that the Padres Hall of Fame is finally rising from the dead.
Here's what I gathered from his tweets: the top secret voting committee was assembled in one day, they all got matching tattoos and gathered together in one room, looked at each other and agreed that it was strange that one of the Padres all-time greats, Trevor Hoffman, had his number retired but wasn't in the Padres Hall of Fame. Nodded in approval at each other and then went and got a pizza and a few beers.
Yesterday the Padres made it official:
August 30th: @THoffman51 to be inducted into the #Padres Hall of Fame! #HellsBells More: http://t.co/im715W6zqmpic.twitter.com/xeZal5fPtF
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 4, 2014From the Press Release:
The San Diego Padres Hall of Fame committee, comprised of members of the local sports media and San Diego Padres front office, voted unanimously to induct Hoffman, who retired in January 2011, following a playing career that spanned 18 seasons, including parts of 16 years with San Diego.
In case you didn't know, I'm a huge Padres history nerd and have been pleading for the Padres Hall of Fame to return for years and years now. In fact the Padres have been one of the worst teams at honoring their past in all of baseball. Before we get to the topic at hand, here's a quick refresher as to who is already enshrined.
1999 - Nate Colbert, Randy Jones & Ray Kroc
2000 - Dave Winfield
2001 - Buzzie Bavasi & Jerry Coleman
2002 - Tony Gwynn
2009 - Dick Williams
2014 - Trevor Hoffman
Yes Randy Jones was inducted in 1999. Not 2002 like the Padres website suggests.
We do know that the committee is comprised of both local sports media and the Padres front office. My guess is Bill Center and Randy Jones are in the group, along with Krasovic. Judging by the tweets Nick Canepa is not. There are currently no known guidelines as to how they vote for players, nor is there any word on what being in the Padres Hall of Fame entails. Will there be something besides a dusty locker space in the Hall of Fame Bar and Grill? I'd propose working out something with the Hall of Champions if they can't find proper accommodations at Petco Park.
So for my first order of business here at Gaslamp Ball I will start a series where I state a case for past Padres who I think are worthy. For my selection process, I will use the method similar to what the Cincinnati Reds use for their Hall of Fame, which I think is one of the best, if not the best, in all of baseball.
1. Had to have played for the team for 3 seasons.
2. Played his last game 3 seasons ago.
3. Stats, Awards & Accomplishments and Fan Adoration will all be taken into account.
There will be 5 parts to this series and it will be broken up as so:
1. 1969-1979
2. 1980-1989
3. 1990-1999
4. 2000-2009
5. 2010-2011
Each part I'll include the people who I think are worthy from that time frame. In addition to that, I'll choose a group of players who were on the bubble for one reason or another and have a fan vote for one more player. Reader participation!
I hope you enjoy the series and possibly even learn something along the way.