Lafleurs Guy
Guuuuuuuy!
- Jul 20, 2007
- 75,415
- 45,459
Neely never should've made it to begin with. Great player but didn't do nearly enough to warrant it. Politics is what got him in. His inclusion has hurt the (already poor) credibility of the HOF. He's among the worst inductions of all-time and is always the measuring stick when players who are left out come up for debate.
The "he was the first power forward" claim is completely bogus (he wasn't even the best power forward of his generation) and his peak years coincidentally coincide with Adam Oates (who somehow is NOT in the HOF?) being on his line. It's absolutely ridiculous that guys like Oates and Mark Howe are sitting around waiting to get in while a guy with less than 400 goals and less than 700 points gets in. Disgraceful.
Lindros was infinitely better and probably was at one point the best player in the world. That said, if the HOF had the standards it should he probably shouldn't get in either. His case is more legitimate than Neely's as he actually won some major awards and could be said to be the best player in the game but again his career is too short. He reminds me of Don Mattingly in that he had a very good career, great short peak but health kept him from becoming the player he would've become. The difference is that baseball has the sense to understand that letting in Mattingly would be lowering the standards of its Hall so they don't do it.
As far as I'm concerned the HOF has zero credibility as it stands. And unfortunately, Lindros getting in will be arbitrarily decided based on political decisions. I wouldn't be surprised with whatever happens there. If Neely gets in though and Lindros doesn't it's just another example of why Neely shouldn't be in there to begin with and underscores what's wrong with the HOF.
The "he was the first power forward" claim is completely bogus (he wasn't even the best power forward of his generation) and his peak years coincidentally coincide with Adam Oates (who somehow is NOT in the HOF?) being on his line. It's absolutely ridiculous that guys like Oates and Mark Howe are sitting around waiting to get in while a guy with less than 400 goals and less than 700 points gets in. Disgraceful.
Lindros was infinitely better and probably was at one point the best player in the world. That said, if the HOF had the standards it should he probably shouldn't get in either. His case is more legitimate than Neely's as he actually won some major awards and could be said to be the best player in the game but again his career is too short. He reminds me of Don Mattingly in that he had a very good career, great short peak but health kept him from becoming the player he would've become. The difference is that baseball has the sense to understand that letting in Mattingly would be lowering the standards of its Hall so they don't do it.
As far as I'm concerned the HOF has zero credibility as it stands. And unfortunately, Lindros getting in will be arbitrarily decided based on political decisions. I wouldn't be surprised with whatever happens there. If Neely gets in though and Lindros doesn't it's just another example of why Neely shouldn't be in there to begin with and underscores what's wrong with the HOF.