Bagwell is a sure Hall of Famer, whether it's the first ballot or not next year.

I was also very happy to see Dawson get elected. He hit consistently for power and average, and was a tremendous defensive player in center. He was great at every aspect of the game, and was the keystone in one of the best outfields I have ever seen. The Expos of the late 70s and early 80s also had Warren Cromartie and Ellis Valentine. Dawson richly deserves his spot in the Hall, which was overdue.

Still overdue is the admission of Bert Blyleven, who came within a fraction of a percentage point of getting elected. He remains the biggest oversight of the Hall. I've posted before that I haven't seen a better curveball than his, and he was a meaningful part of two world champions. He didn't get the big market exposure, but his place on the all-time strikeout list as well as his 287 wins speaks highly of the dominant pitcher he was.

Alomar deserves to be in the Hall, but I thought some voters would withhold votes from him in his first year because of the Mark Hirshbeck inciddent. He and the umpire are friends today and have done good work together. I agree that Alomar is a slight notch above Kent as an all around secondbaseman. I would say that in my lifetime of watching baseball, only Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg were better. Utley has years to go before his career can be assessed at this level.