With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty seven men on the ballot this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2012 menu at the top of the page.

Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.

In this article, we take a look at Dale Murphy

Dale Murphy
Murphy’s 18 year career would begin in 1976 as a member of the Atlanta Braves organization and come to a close in 1993 with the Colorado Rockies. Between he would spend a few years with the Philadelphia Phillies. This will be his 18th year on the ballot.

Why He Should Get In
Murphy is a unique case. His raw number show an above average but not superstar player. However, the accolades paint a different picture. He was a seven time All Star, five time Gold Glove winner, four time Silver Slugger, would lead the league in home runs and runs batted in twice each, and won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in 1982 and 1983. He does have over 2,000 hits and just shy of 400 home runs.

Why He Should Not Get In
This is a classic case of “a few good years does not make you great”. Murphy was outstanding and dominated pitching from 1982 through 1987. The rest of his career was average and the last few years were horrible. He may have been a great player for a short time, but that does not making him a Hall Of Fame player over the course of his career.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
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