Tracy Ringolsby's weekly baseball notes

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Now that the injustice of the past eight years has been corrected and Goose Gossage is in the Hall of Fame, it's time to start looking at who should be next on the list of greats finally given their due.And don't waste time talking about Rickey Henderson. He will be on the ballot for the first time next year and will easily be enshrined in Cooperstown.But what about others whose names will be on the ballot again next year?The biggest debate will focus on former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice. He will be on the ballot for the 15th, and final, time. If he isn't elected by the veteran members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America next year, his case will go to the Veterans Committee, which consists of living Hall of Famers.No player has been elected in his final year of eligibility since Ralph Kiner in 1975.Rice was second to Gossage this time, falling 16 votes short of the 408 necessary for election.For all the hype that comes out of Boston, Rice just doesn't fit. He was a marginal defensive player, more suited to being a designated hitter, and had a handful of dominating offensive years, not a career of them.Rice does have history on his side. No player has gotten 72.2 percent of the votes and not been elected in a subsequent year on the ballot. Nellie Fox did fall two votes short, but that was in his final year on the BBWAA ballot. He was later voted in by the Veteran Committee.Gil Hodges currently has the record for the highest percentage for a player not elected, being named on 63.4 percent of the ballots in 1983, his final year of eligibility. He remains a Veterans Committee candidate.But Rice is not even the most worthy of the outfield candidates, and there is ongoing debate about whether the likes of Andre Dawson, Dale Murphy and Tim Raines belong, although all have stronger resumes than Rice.OVERHEARD-- Baltimore continues to talk with Cincinnati and Seattle about left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard. Both teams, however, also are looking at free agent Josh Fogg as a possible addition to their rotations. The key is Fogg, whose agents were looking for a three-year, $21 million deal, would be offered only one year and wouldn't cost either team several of its premiere prospects.-- Free-agent center fielder Mike Cameron could wind up in Milwaukee, which has failed to land a third baseman, which would allow the move of Ryan Braun to left field. Signing Cameron could result in moving Bill Hall, converted from second to center a year ago, to third base and Braun to left field.-- The Mets are back in talks with Minnesota about left-hander Johan Santana, although the Yankees and Red Sox are supposedly leading that pursuit. The Mets also are keeping in touch with Oakland about Joe Blanton and Baltimore about Bedard.READER'S TURNDenny Dressman writes, "If Josh Fogg, Jorge Julio and Jeremy Affeldt aren't drawing any interest, would the Rockies still consider bringing them back on one-year deals if nothing longer materializes for any or all of them? Or has the club moved on? Seems like they'd still be interested if they could get them on Rockies terms?"Denny, both Fogg and Affeldt had ambitions of multiyear deals -- Fogg looking for three years and $21 million and Affeldt for four years for about $20 million. They aren't going to get that, but they aren't going to wind up back with the Rockies, either. The Rockies initially made inquiries with both about one- or two-year terms. When both players rejected the offers out of hand, the Rockies went other directions, including signing Kip Wells and re-signing Mark Redman. A decision was made early to let Julio go elsewhere.For responses to other questions or to ask questions of your own, check out the Rockies Inbox at RockyMountain News.com/sports.TWO CENTS' WORTHMark McGwire is now 0-for-2 in his Hall of Fame bid, having received the same number of votes each year, 128.McGwire's name ignites outrage over steroids, but the real question is if McGwire had a Hall of Fame career, regardless of suspicions he used performance-enhancing drugs. He hit 583 home runs, which would seem worthy of induction, but given the number of home runs that have been hit in recent years, the question that begs to be answered is whether we need to re-evaluate the impact of home runs while judging Hall of Fame candidates from this era.More concerning is the overall skills of McGwire, a marginal defensive player at best. Don't get caught up with the one Gold Glove he somehow was awarded by coaches and managers. Even Rafael Palmeiro won a Gold Glove at first base in a season in which he was a designated hitter.Career totals of 1,626 hits and 1,596 strikeouts gnaw at McGwire. He hit .280 or better in only five seasons. He seems a lot more like Dave Kingman than Babe Ruth.The argument for McGwire will center on the 1998 and 1999 seasons in which he hit 135 home runs and, in conjunction with Sammy Sosa, helped baseball recapture fans' attention in an assault on Roger Maris' single-season home run mark. But are two powerful seasons enough to earn enshrinement?It wasn't for Atlanta's Murphy, who won two successive MVP awards but never enough support to be remembered in Cooperstown.NUMBERS GAME-- 52: Career saves in appearances spanning seven outs or more for Goose Gossage. All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman has done that twice, Mariano Rivera once.CAPPING IT OFFGossage will go into the Hall of Fame with a Yankees cap. He pitched for nine teams in his career. After breaking in with the Chicago White Sox, he helped San Diego to its first World Series appearance in 1984 and spent time with Pittsburgh, the Cubs, San Francisco, Texas, Oakland and Seattle. But it was with the Yankees he established himself as the ultimate closer, earning four All-Star Game selections and appearing in three of his four postseason appearances.HE SAID IT"Dick Allen took me under his wing and taught me how to pitch from a great hitter's standpoint. Chuck (Tanner) had huge influence in that he taught me the game from A to Z, and Johnny Sain taught me a changeup and later a 'slurve' because I didn't really have any breaking pitches. After that, my career really began to spiral."-- Gossage, on the three most influential people in his big-league career.(Contact Tracy Ringolsby at ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com)(Tracy Ringolsby writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. E-mail ringolsbyt(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)