So What Happened To Cecil Cooper In 1993?

Who’s received the most votes but never been enshrined?

Cooper was one of those guys who was so close. I even remember reading a newspaper back in the 1980s that listed potential Hall of Famers, and I remember clearly he was under the “Close but No Cigar” list. I was pissed. Loved Coop.

When it comes down to it, two things hurt his career: 1) Wasting away as a part time player through the age of 26 in Boston when he should have been a starter somewhere for at least three of them, and 2) A SHARP decline at the age of 36.

Hell, in 1987, he didn’t have a single plate appearance in the second half of the season. He was active and healthy the entire time. Can you imagine that happening these days? A player taking up a roster spot all season long but not even seeing the field after the All-Star break? And that’s when the Brewers kept 24 instead of 25 due to some unwritten code.

I’m never sure if everyone knows this or no one knows it, but hall of fame voters are only allowed to vote for 10 names on the ballot. So at points when there are a big list of controversial candidates, or a long list of guys who have been on the ballot for a few years, you’ll get those instances of seemingly unfair vote totals of guys you’d think would be good enough to at least get a few years consideration.
So next year is going to be really interesting with a loaded ballot including the greatest modern era player ever (Craig Biggio because most HBPs = greatest player), and a pile of steroid legends, plus a bunch of playoff greats that will have strong support from certain fanbases (Schilling, David Wells, Lofton). And then Steve Finley and Julio Franco show up pretty far down the list on next year’s ballot, so both of them have a great chance of breaking Cooper’s most hits with no hall votes record.