Jim Ed to the Hall?

Is it time for Jim to make it to the Hall? Does he belong?

Ask people outside of Red Sox Nation who didn’t play or pitch against him during his reign of hitting terror and you’ll find few supporters.

The time, however, as pointed out by Dan Shaughnessy, has come and Jim Ed Rice will see his day in the sun. And not a day (or year) too soon. With only one more year on the ballot before he gets tossed aside to the Veteran’s Committee, Jim might need to take his show on the road, hand over a couple of olive branches and make sure that he does his best to get in.

I’m personally torn on Rice getting into the Hall. He was the first name I could think of when the club needed that special hit. He was the person everyone looked to for that RBI. But I’m not sure that he was good enough outside the fan base. And, to be honest, if the fan base were half as large as it is these days, he’d already be in the Hall.

I like his chances based on the steroid era and all of the black marks against the game over the past 10 years. It certainly gives the old-school types a chance to … tip the needle.

Good luck, Jim. I don’t know if you really deserve it on pure statistics, but I will be the kid cheering you on if you make it just like I was when you came up to the big leagues.

Happy New Year to everyone. Play safe.