Partner Pulse

By JEFF FLETCHER
Bay Bridge Baseball

So today I started thinking about my Hall of Fame ballot -- hey, the thing's due in less than five months! -- and in particular Jack Morris. I have never really felt Morris had all that compelling of a case for the HOF, mostly because he had a rather pedestrian ERA and his vaunted "postseason excellence" is based on two or three games. (His overall postseason ERA is 3.80, compared with his regular season ERA of 3.90.)

Well, the crux of the argument in Morris' defense is that he was one of those "winners." He did win 254 games, which is an impressive total, for whatever it's worth. The Morris defenders say you can throw out his ERA.

"The goal is to win the game, and he did that," they say. "It's not just to have a sparkling ERA."

There's the old "pitch to the score" meme. When Morris had a 5-1 lead, he didn't care about his ERA, just making sure that the opponent didn't get that fifth run, the Morris defenders reason.

I've always thought that was a little silly.

Click here for the full column on Jack Morris and the Hall of Fame.

Read more of Jeff Fletcher at Bay Bridge Baseball.