with No MVPS, CYs, ROYs, or other such periperal paraphalia, has got an uphill battle to convince me that he's a HOFer. If those things matter to you (to me, they are also sort of summaries of other people's opinions) he's got 1.85 career Cy Young Award shares. 0.23 career MVP Award shares. (You long supported writers who refused to --- and discouraged their colleagues from --- supporting MVP causes of pitchers anyway.) six All Star (six innings, with a 3.00 ERA) selections starting pitcher honors in two of those games. The 1993 NL NLCS MVP. The 1995 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (league-wide award given by Phi Delta Theta Fraternity in recognition of the player who best exemplifies Gehrig's character and integrity both on and off the field). The 2001 World Series MVP (shared), pitching to the tune of a 1.69 ERA over 21.1 innings as the D'Backs beat the Yankees and brought honor to America. 2001 NL Babe Ruth Award (given by MLB to the player with the best overall performance in the post-season). The 2001 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. The 2001 Branch Rickey Award (league-wide award given by The Rotary Club in recognition of the player who best demonstrates a commitment to community service). 2001 ML Hutch Award (league-wide award given by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and displayed at the MLB HoF, to the player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire of Fred Hutchinson). 2001 ML Roberto Clemente Award (league-wide award, given by MLB to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team.") 2001 NL The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year 2002 NL The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Three rings, which certainly aren't subjectively conveyed, but certainly are team awards, but he was a big part of those teams. Those aren't MVPs, but it's a whole lotta junk for one man's closet, if you care about that sort of thing. And as far as the notion that the sock gave him an inflated reputation as a "winna," I think that that post-season record sure backs up the anecdotal. I'm not sure I'm voting one way or the other on him. The barbell shape of his career --- showing all of 18 wins from 1994 to 1996 --- is not only distressing, but also a little bit suspicious coming at pretty much the exact point that his mentor Roger Clemens' career was also sliding downhill, leading him apparently into a life of PEDs and bullshit. Maybe he went drugging too. But the pitchers of his ERA had it so hard. The few that flourished --- Maddux, Martinez, Johnson --- were magic users. But this guy ground out a heck of career. Hard to say. I think he could have held on a little bit more and won 12-16 more games and raised a few more eyebrows, but with a .600 adjusted winning percentage and a 128 ERA plus (ten notches higher than Blyleven's), I'm not sure he should have to pile on a few more counting stats when his rate stats are so good.