So the results are in and we have five guys who are getting inducted in the first-ever TCB Astros Hall Fame. Lance Berkman is your fifth inductee, joining Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Cesar Cedeno and Nolan Ryan.
I understood the arguments against Cedeno and Ryan, so I'll tell you my thinking about both of them. Ryan may not be quite as iconic as J.R. Richard in franchise history, but he had many great years with Houston and was integral to that 1986 team. Plus, with Cedeno, Ryan, Biggio/Bagwell and Berkman, we've got representatives from four of the five decades Houston has been a team. That's pretty good for a first class.
Also, I like the idea of coming up with rules for induction. I just threw together this first class, frankly, but I like how it turned out. Still, we should make some requirements for entry.
First up, let's set the number of years with Houston as 8. That's a pretty substantial number without being too short. The real HOF has a 10-year minimum, but that's just as arbitrary as my 8. Should that number be higher or lower?
Second, active players can be considered. It's up to you, the voter on these guys to determine how you want to handle them. Obviously, enough of you voted for Berkman to get him in this class, so we'll let you, the reader, handle this.
Third, a player needs double-digit votes to stay on the ballot for next year. That means, sadly, Roger Clemens will be ineligible for two different reasons next year. Oh well, Rocket. Guess we won't be the only Hall snubbing you soon.
Who does that leave for next season's ballot? Well, I'll let you decide. The holdovers from this season are the following:
Roy Oswalt - 33 votes
Larry Dierker - 66 votes
Jimmy Wynn - 42 votes
Jose Cruz - 40 votes
Those four will make up next year's ballot, but we'll add a few guys to it. Then, when the time comes, I'll set up a ballot that you can use to vote for up to five of them for induction. Sound good?
Over the next few weeks, we'll hold Induction Ceremonies for these guys with a post highlighting their Astros career. Let me know if you want to write the induction for a particular guy and you can do the honors.