With Mariano Rivera still tracking at 100 percent in the Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, it's clear that the Cooperstown electorate has settled on a couple of things. One is obviously that Rivera belongs in the Hall of Fame. But the possible unanimity in his selection also tells us that the once-hot debate about whether relievers belong in the Hall of Fame at all is now settled. The dissenters have all but disappeared.
There is still at least one out there, Boston-area sportswriter Bill Ballou, who wrote about why he couldn't bring himself to list Rivera on his ballot.