The Reds have announced the fan ballot for the Reds Hall of Fame Class of 2010.  Unlike last year when Barry Larkin was elected, the ballot lacks a “no doubt” candidate.  The finalists:
- Bret Boone
- Jeff Brantley
- Norm Charlton
- John Franco
- Danny Graves
- Kevin Mitchell
- Hal Morris
- Paul O’Neill
- Chris Sabo
- Scott Sullivan
I know team HOFs are purely a marketing gimmick – and fan balloting doubly so, but that ballot is ridiculous. Some of those guys didn’t play 4 years for the Reds.  Nice players, but franchise HOFers?
There are “objective” criteria for ballot eligibility, but they sure seem cherry-picked, to me:
- played for the Reds in the last 13 seasons,
- played for the Reds for at least three years
- in their third year of retirement.
I’m not sure which guy those rules were drafted to cover, or how Franco, Sabo, Mitchell, O’Neill, or Charlton qualify – none of them played for the Reds in the last 13 seasons.
In any event, I think Franco and Sabo are the only supportable choices.
- Sabo played almost his entire (9 year) career was with the Reds, won a ROY, appeared in 3 all-star games, and hit an absurd .563/.611/1.000 in the 1990 World Series.
- Franco was the all-time saves leader for a while, though most of his glory came as a Met.  As a Red, he was a 3-time all-star (in 6 seasons), and added a Rolaids trophy and 12th place MVP finish in ’88.  He’s still 2nd on the Reds all-time saves list, behind some other person.
- Mitchell and Brantley weren’t around long enough; and O’Neill, Boone, Charlton, Sullivan, and Morris were never even close to being the best player on their teams.  Danny Graves was atrocious, for the majority of his career.  If Danny Graves is in your franchise Hall of Fame, there’s something wrong with your franchise.
In any event, voting is open Aug. 1 until Sept. 2 at various locations, including the Cincinnati Hall of Fame and Museum, Great American Ballpark, participating Skyline locations and online at reds.com.  Knock yourself out, as they say.