Lofton for the Hall of Fame?
Jonah Keri writes on Grantland to give his Hall of Fame ballot and gives the analysis you'd expect from a writer of his background. He argues for the inclusion of Bonds, McGwire and Clemens -- and it's almost impossible to claim that they shouldn't be elected without some moral baloney full of hypocrisy and ignorance -- but Indians fans might be most surprised by his inclusion of Kenny Lofton. Lofton won't get much support from the writers because his skill set (getting on base, scoring runs, great baserunning and defense) isn't what catches the attention of the media and because he didn't have many outstanding seasons, but he was a very good player for a long time and ranks career-wise as one of the best CF of all time. I don't think even most Indians fans realize what a great career he's had. Unfortunately, like Tim Raines and many players before him, he's going to wait a long time to get support from the majority of baseball writers while the stat guys make his case for the Hall.



