Alan Greenwood

Attention to all rabid Edgar Martinez Fan Club soldiers:

It is time to re-release the hounds.

Bowing to the creed of transparency that journalists routinely demand of others, here is your curmudgeonly servant’s Baseball Hall of Fame selections for 2019: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Mariano Rivera and Curt Schilling.

There are two principal areas of contention in these votes – steroids and statistics. Many responses sent here will also contend that these votes and omissions are the result of stupidity, idiocy or profane strains of both. That’s OK; such diagnoses are offered with at least a modicum of subjective judgment, as are the x’s on Hall of Fame ballots.

For most critics, the root of all dispute is a voter’s devotion to the numbers.

As has been stated here many times, statistics are the foundation of a Hall of Famer’s candidacy, but not its entire being. If statistics alone are the basis of election, set the bar at an agreed upon level and dismiss all voters. That would include the sage members of the Today’s Game Committee, which set the bar at the level of a footstool last month by giving its nod to Harold Baines and Lee Smith.

That should mollify Martinez lobbyists, not to mention those touting Mike Mussina. Both may well have received the required 75 percent of the vote, due to be made public Jan. 22.

And if they fall short, they certainly achieved the modest standards of the easy-grading Today’s Game Committee.

In this voter’s eyes, Martinez has fine regular-season numbers. Beyond that, he left a very light footprint on the game’s history.

David Ortiz’s regular-season numbers are fine; his mark on the game’s postseason history is extraordinary.

It isn’t fair that Ortiz had many more opportunities for postseason heroics. It certainly isn’t Martinez’s fault that the Mariners had so few chances at postseason success.

Alas, life is sometimes unfair.

A similar argument is made for that noted member of The Blowhard Hall of Fame, Schilling. His postseason performance was at the highest end of historical significance.

Halladay and Mussina had comparable statistical resumes, but many of Mussina’s numbers were a result of longevity. And Halladay has two Cy Young Awards to his credit.

Rivera is probably the last closer to win this man’s vote for a long time. Rivera was alone at the top of his specialty for years. His colleagues were mostly interchangeable parts.

Then there are the steroid-stained candidates. After years of detailed argument over them, let’s keep it simple this time.

If MLB issued them its capital punishment – lifetime bans – they would not be eligible. They are on the ballot, which makes them eligible.

Now it is time to find a vaccine for rhetorical rabies.