Along the Way: One man’s ballot for baseball’s Hall of Fame

“The days may come, the days may go, but still the hands of memory weave the blissful dreams of long ago.” — George Cooper, “Sweet Genevieve,” 1877.

You don’t have to swear to the truth of a song, you merely sit back and enjoy it. Baseball is that way. The heart of the sport is uniquely woven into the dreams of long ago.

You watch a superb athlete as he develops into a star, and you follow his career through its final innings.

Then you cheer again when he joins that pantheon of knights in knickers and is voted into the Hall of Fame.

I’ve just completed my second ballot as a retired sports scribbler and lifetime honorary member of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

And I drift back to my childhood when there were three giants who walked the Earth, named Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Stan Musial. The greatest of these to me and my best pals in Missouri — Merle Southern and Johnny Hall — was Musial, the star of the St. Louis Cardinals.

We severely retarded our own development as hitters by trying to copy that gnarled, twisted crouch Musial used at the plate. We cheered him through his final game in 1963 and shared the same pride when he was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1969.

Now 88, and awaiting the eventual call to a Higher League, I suppose, Stan will always be our greatest hero.

Somewhere there are whippersnappers starting to gray at the temples who idolized the eight heroes I voted for, the same way my buddies and I worshipped Stan Musial.

My choices this year are:

Pitcher Bert Blyleven, who ranks fifth all-time in strikeouts and ninth in shutouts.

Andre Dawson, outfielder, National League Most Valuable Player Award winner in 1987.

Tommy John, who pitched for 26 seasons, second most in major league history, won 288 games and gave his name to a surgical technique for which he was a pioneer and after which he won the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year in 1976.

Don Mattingly, who played 14 seasons, all with the New York Yankees and won nine Gold Glove Awards at first base.

Tim Raines, a seven-time All-Star outfielder, 1986 National League batting champion and four-time base-stealing champ.

Jim Rice, who played 16 seasons, all with the Boston Red Sox. Rice was the 1978 American League Most Valuable Player, and he finished his career with a .298 lifetime batting average and 382 home runs.

Alan Trammell, who shares the major league record for most years by a shortstop (20) and played all those seasons with the Detroit Tigers. He was voted to six All-Star teams and was a member of the 1984 World Series champion Tigers.

Matt Williams, my first Hall of Fame vote for an Arizona Diamondback player. Matty played 17 seasons for the Giants, Indians and Diamondbacks. Nobody ever played the game with more intensity, nor with more reverence for the sport.

He was the inspirational leader of the 2001 World Series champion D’backs.

Of those I didn’t vote for but wish I could have, Mark McGwire tops the list. One of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, Big Mac broke Roger Maris’ record with 70 home runs in 1998 and accumulated an astounding 583 for his career. But there is doubt about whether McGwire’s career was chemically enhanced and unless — and until — that matter is taken care of, this voter won’t mark the ballot for Mark.

Others honored with nomination this year and who may well be voted into the Hall of Fame, include Harold Baines, Jay Bell, David Cone, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Rickey Henderson, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Jesse Orosco, Dave Parker, Dan Plesac, Lee smith, Greg Vaughn and Mo Vaughn.

Voters were limited to 10 choices.

There is no universally accepted definition of greatness in baseball, but all of the men nominated contributed enormously to the enjoyment of the game.

The hands of memory weave many blissful dreams of these boys of summer.

Former Tucson Citizen Columnist Corky Simpson writes a weekly column for the Green Valley News.