I Dunno, What Would Jefferson Davis Say?
This collection of ballots is a good, if depressing, guide to which writers can be taken seriously and which ones can permanently be ignored. (“Jack Morris was one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation.” Sure, I guess — not as good as Steve Rogers, but better than LaMarr Hoyt. And?) To steal a line from Emma Span, though, my favorite reaction is from Mr. Marty Noble, who thinks that Jack Morris and only Jack Morris was a Hall of Famer on a ballot that includes arguably the best player and pitcher in MLB history, not to mention Alan Trammell, Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell, etc. etc.:
I’m not comfortable with the suspicions I have, so I’m voting for only Morris and hoping for a bolt of wisdom from Kenesaw Mountain Landis or Lee MacPhail.
Yeah, that’s a great way of thinking about this — ask the segregationist for moral guidance. He’ll give you the answer you want to hear about Bonds, though! And I must admit that this a consistent way for a drug warrior to proceed.