true maverick of the metrics world, Adam Darowski (Hall of Stats, Sports-Reference, Building the Ballot podcast) joins Brett Ballantini on our 75th program, reviewing four White Sox on the precipice of the Hall of Fame and pulling back to take a look at the processes that have created such a backlog of great candidates.
We start with some broad Hall of Fame discussion, then hone in on the four White Sox on the Golden Days Era ballot, with results announced on December 5:
- The emotion that drove Adam to start Hall of Stats a decade ago, and how some of his anger toward the flawed election process has tempered over time
- Darowski’s preferences: big Hall, small gatekeeping
- The process and emotions behind the groundbreaking change, led by Seamheads and validated by Baseball-Reference, to officially elevate the Negro Leagues to major status
- After years of the “unelected till dead” habit of Hall voters, are we on the precipice of a direction change, with the experts making an effort to enshrine living legends?