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Let the Hall of Fame controversy begin

Baseball's Hall of Fame will announce it's 2011 inductees at 1 p.m. today.

The controversy over who made it and who didn't will commence at 1:00:00.01.

In a way, the debates are better than the election itself. Every fan has a favorite player and an emotional opinion.

Like it or not, however, the process is the process for this particular Hall of Fame.

The electorate is composed of sports writers who have been around the game for at least 10 seasons. Cooperstown reflects their perspective and only their perspective.

The Hall would look different if fans, broadcasters, former players or stats geeks voted.

It's like film awards. Oscars, Golden Globes and SAG awards don't always go to the same candidates.

Let's return to baseball and use former Cubs third baseman Ron Santo's case as an example.

Much disgust was expressed around here over the years — especially following Santo's recent death — that he wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame.

Santo would have made it if his fans, friends and family voted. However, the prevailing electorate didn't agree.

Like, the first time Santo was eligible he didn't even receive the 5 percent required to remain on the ballot.

Years later Santo and a few other retired players were returned to the ballot. He still never reached 44 percent when 75 percent was needed.

Full disclosure: I had the opportunity for a few years to vote for Santo and didn't. I watched his entire career and never said to myself, “That's a Hall of Famer.”

This troubled me because Santo and I were friendly at the ballpark during the past couple decades and it would have been fine with me if the Veterans' Committee voted him into Cooperstown.

Santo was an outstanding player. His courage as a Type A diabetic was admirable. His charity work was impressive. His broadcasting style was fun.

All that said I just couldn't vote for Santo for the Hall.

Now back to the general point: Cooperstown is populated by a group of players selected by sports writers.

Again, that's sports writers. Not broadcasters or statisticians or knowledgeable fans sitting on barstools at the corner tap (each a group that might elect Santo, by the way).

I have sat in the media lunchroom at Wrigley Field with former major leaguers and scouts who insisted that it's stupid that Bert Blyleven isn't in the Hall of Fame.

Trust me, I respect that opinion but still don't vote for Blyleven, who very well might make it this year regardless.

Here are the candidates I voted for last month, in order of preference: Roberto Alomar, Jack Morris, Mark McGwire and Lee Smith.

Others I pondered but rejected were Blyleven, Larry Walker, Juan Gonzalez, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Barry Larkin, Rafael Palmeiro, Dale Murphy and Fred McGriff.

I can hear the moaning already, as in how can anyone vote for a steroid bum like McGwire and reject a stand-up guy like Santo?

Different people have different views of the criteria, which is why these elections are decided by voters diverse in geography, age, race, religion, ethnicity and gender.

Over the years the electorate determined that some guys I voted for don't belong in Cooperstown and that some guys I didn't vote for do belong.

In each case, the process featuring this particular body of voters worked the way it was supposed to.