Santo should have been a lock. When someone is the premiere player in their leage at a position for ten years, they should go into the Hall of Fame. It shouldn't always be about cumulative career offensive stats. That's
That would also put Ozzie Smith in there.
Tony Oliva too.
Hopefully with living Hall of Faners now having a say about who gets in, some of the oversights of the past will be rectified.
Santo would be making 12 million a year or more, if he were playing today.
Interesting bit of Santo trivia: I believe he was the first player to exercise the 10 year / 5year clause and veto a trade to another team. This preceded Free Agency, and was the first actual victory by any player over any facet of the old Reserve Clause.
There's no excuse for Santo's exclusion. I have yet to hear it explained credibly.
As for Ozzie -- as someone who has actually seen him dominate the left side of the infield for a decade and a half, he gets my vote. However, in future years, those of us who remember will have to continue to tell the eyewitness accounts to justify his enshrinement, because his numbers are closer to that of one of the least-qualified HOF'ers -- St. Louis Cardinals' "Gas House Gang" shortstop Rabbit Maranville.
What do you mean, "who?" Rabbit Maranville!