How Shoeless Joe Jackson Came to Revealing My Hall of Fame Ballot
I'm happy to discuss my Hall of Fame selections.
Scott Rolen. Billy Wagner. Gary Sheffield. Todd Helton, Manny Ramirez. Alex Rodriguez. Andruw Jones. Carlos Beltran.
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Have at it. I'm open to debate. But the boxes have been filled in, the letter has been mailed, and the announcement. What's done is done. Such arguments and analysis is what we have relied on to help get us through this portion of the baseball calendar.
For me, the exercise has also led to something else on my mid-winter docket ... fun. Because, I don't know if you have heard this, but baseball isn't boring. (There is a podcast, t-shirts and social media accounts - @bbisntboring - suggesting as such, so it seems pretty scientific.)
Hence, another Hall of Fame ballot reveal.
Last year, the genius that is Batting Stance Guy (Gar Ryness) took the challenge of announcing my first Hall of Fame ballot in his own unique way. People seemed to like it. I liked it. That seemed good enough for me.
Immediately, I started thinking what could represent Year 2. Somebody mentioned using an astronaut on the space station. Others floated different exotic locales with a variety of backdrops and narrators.
At one point I thought perhaps I could get those I voted for to unmask themselves via a video. That, I soon found out, was far too ambitious this time around. David Letterman liked to read lists. Nope. Then it hit me - I was voting for eight players. Three of my selections from a year ago - Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Curt Schilling - were off, and in their place (along with the holdovers on the previous ballot) were newcomer Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, who would have been my 11th guy last time around.
Eight men in. Eight Men out. There it was.
So, with the help of the fine folks at The Foundation To Be Named Later, I was able to get in touch with perhaps the centerpiece of the iconic 1988 baseball movie about the 1919 Chicago White Sox. John Cusack was good. Charlie Sheen actually felt like he knew how to play baseball. But it was D.B. Sweeney - who played Shoeless Joe Jackson - who represented the signature character in the production.
And, on top of the too-good-to-be-true "In" vs. "Out" construct, Shoeless Joe was the perfect centerpiece for the ballot reveal considering he represented the meat and potatoes of most Hall of Fame arguments - why some are in, and others aren't. He is was a Hall of Famer who isn't in Cooperstown but certainly has the credentials to be. He was the OG when it came to the conversation that now hovers around the likes of Bonds, Clemens, Rodriguez and Manny.
It was all too perfect.
But, as it turned out, it was better than I could have imagined.
Sweeney immediately dove in head-first, religiously texting ideas for the shoot, including taking it upon himself to find a cornfield in the middle of winter outside Chicago. It was humbling that this accomplished actor was taking time away from shooting both Francis Ford Coppola's soon-to-be-epic movie "Megalopolis" and the television show "Call Me Kat" to bring back Shoeless Joe for the sake of something we both clearly loved - baseball.
So, the day after Christmas, my wife and my two sons took an early morning flight to a freezing-cold Chicago to execute this idea of ours. In short, it worked.
The uniform. The cornfield. The perfect sky. The talents of the project's director - my son Riley. The assistance of my wife, Jen, and my other son, Colby. The conversations with D.B. while eating hot dogs at Portillos before loading into his pickup for the ride out to Naperville. And, most importantly, the excellence and enthusiasm of our main character.
(For an in-depth look at the entire adventure, listen to the following Baseball Isn't Boring podcast with D.B. Sweeney.)
Maybe this exercise is something that scratches where just a few people itch. Perhaps the holier-than-thou crowd will roll their eyes at such a venture. So be it.
Baseball is built on history, conversation and fun. That's what I like to believe we packaged up with this Hall of Fame ballot reveal.
Now, about Scott Rolen ...
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