Huh, so Repoz is a Fringe fan.

Let's just put everyone in Cooperstown and be done with it.

In my prediction column up at THT today, I reckon Kaat has a serious chance to go in next week. Not the best chance (that's Santo), but just below it.

...I recently came across those quotes scribbled in a notebook. They required extensive deciphering. I read them more than a few times, and the more I read them, the more a Hall of Fame candidate Kaat became. Reliable ... valuable ... effective ... dependable ... always available. And Herzog was characterizing Kaat at ages 41-44, not during his prime, when the foundation of his 283-237 career record was under construction.

and considering those quotes came from Herzog, a guy who really only believes in complimenting himself, is also a tremendous point in his favor. Usually when he compliments someone else, it's always a backdoor way of complimenting himself, so this was probably mentioned as a way to justify how brilliant Whitey was in acquiring Kaat that nobody else would have done. Of course I'm not sure those comments are a reflection of Kaat as a current pitcher, but more about his reputation when coming to the Cardinals.

I recently came across those quotes scribbled in a notebook. They required extensive deciphering. I read them more than a few times, and the more I read them, the more a Hall of Fame candidate Kaat became. Reliable ... valuable ... effective ... dependable ... always available.

And if you flip over the original Declaration of Independence and read the back, it says in code that that Steve Garvey should be elected to Cooperstown. The secret message makes sense, too; the man was the father of his country.

Kaat wouldn't be a terrible Hall of Fame selection (I guess his longevity and fielding are worth something), but shouldn't he at least be in line behind Tommy John?

Seems to me they were similar pitchers (BB-Ref's similarity scores agree) but John had more value over his career and a better multi-year peak. Kaat has the 16-straight-Gold-Gloves thing, but John has a revolutionary surgery named after him.

Anyway, I'd be fine with neither of them in the HOF, or both of them, or John alone, but I don't see how you can justify Kaat over John

[EDIT: I know that Tommy John isn't on the current VC ballot, so it's not really a choice of Kaat over John.]

I know it's been discussed here ad nauseum, but I think it might be reasonable for John to be in the HOF because of the surgery. He's borderline, or maybe slightly over, without any "extra credit," but being willing to undergo that procedure, and then pitching well afterward, changed baseball a great deal for the better.