Scott Carson

Stats man Scott Carson is now in his 17th season as "third man in the booth" during Blue Jays telecasts.

Roberto Alomar apologized to John Hirschbeck, but will it be enough to sway voters?

It is nice to see some familiar names for Blue Jays fans on the list for consideration in Cooperstown. To date, only four former players who made stops in Toronto (Phil Niekro, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson and Paul Molitor) have received the call that all players covet.

Here's a breakdown of this year's candidates with solid ties to the Jays:

Roberto Alomar, 2B: 1991-95

On defence alone Alomar should be a Hall of Famer. He spent just five of his 17 major league seasons in Toronto, winning a Gold Glove in each of the five seasons. Alomar was also a central figure in getting the Jays to three straight post-season appearances in his first three years; two of which ended in World Series titles. His ninth inning, game-tying home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 4 of the 1992 ALCS, arguably the most important home run in Blue Jays' history, catapulted his team to its first world championship. Alomar finished his career with 2,724 hits, good for 53rd all-time and three more than the legendary Lou Gehrig.

But despite his impeccable numbers, a first ballot induction is unlikely due to an incident with umpire John Hirschbeck on September 27, 1996. As a member of the Orioles at the time, and ironically on the Rogers Centre field, Alomar and Hirschbeck exchanged harsh words following a called third strike. After being ejected, Alomar spit in the face of Hirschbeck. Unsportsmanlike behaviour like that is rarely rewarded by the 'holier-than-thou' members of the BBWAA. Alomar will one day get in, but he may have to pay his penance for a couple more years.

Fred McGriff, 1B: 1986-90

The lefty slugging first baseman will be forever linked to former Jays' GM Pat Gillick. He came to Toronto after Gillick got Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner - then involved in any and all transactions - to throw McGriff into a multi-player deal at the 1982 winter meetings; with the principles being outfielder Dave Collins coming and reliever Dale Murray. When McGriff finally arrived he brought with him a bat that averaged 31 homeruns over five seasons as a Jay. It was Gillick that packaged 'Buckethead' with Tony Fernandez to bring Alomar and Joe Carter into the fold from the Padres in the winter of '90. He went on to play until the age of 40, finishing career seven home runs shy of the magical 500. I'm thinking that McGriff won't even be close to a first ballot inductee, but he has the numbers for inclusion well down the road, ala Jim Rice this past year.

Jack Morris, SP: 1992-93

Long a nemesis of the Jays during his 14 seasons with the Tigers, Morris parlayed a World Series season with the Twins in '91 into a two-year deal with the Jays to get them over the top. Morris' 10-inning, complete game shutout in Game 7 in 1991 against Braves is one of the gutsiest, big game performances in World Series history. He lived up to the hype; becoming the first Toronto pitcher to win 20 games while being the ace of the staff that took the franchise to its first World Series win. All told, Morris had 254 wins (seven more on five complete games in the post-season) and was one of the most durable starters of his era. But if the writers can't put Bert Blyleven in with his big numbers then 'Black Jack' likely has a long wait as well.

Pat Hentgen, SP: 1991-99, 2004

The personable right-hander did not have a Hall of Fame career, but he did win 19 games in the franchise's second World Series title run in '93 and was a Cy Young award winner in '96 with 20 wins and 10 complete games. Over an eight-year span from 1993-2000, Hentgen averaged 14 wins a season while making at least 30 starts in six of those years. He was the winning pitcher for the Jays in Game 3 of the '93 World Series and long a fan favourite.

If I had to wager a guess, it seems that Alomar will not get in the first time around, McGriff might have to wait a decade, Morris may one day be a veterans committee pick, while Hentgen just didn't win enough over a long career. But all were great players/pitchers back in the day.

BACK TO THE POLLS

Another member of the Blue Jays family is in line to be recognized for broadcasting brilliance in Cooperstown. Long-time radio play-by-play Tom Cheek, who succumbed to a brain tumour in the days following the 2005 season, is again on the list of candidates for the Ford C. Frick award but he will need your help to make it to the final ballot.

As Mike Wilner mentioned on the Fan 590 website in Toronto, you can vote for Tom by following this link. Winning this award would add a final chapter to a brilliant and memorable voice silenced by cancer. Not only was Tom a great broadcaster, but a greater man and a good friend to all of us who crossed his path.

TIME TO MOVE FORWARD

Word is that Commissioner 'Bud' Selig will not continue in that capacity when his current contract runs out following the 2012 season. As I've written many times before, baseball can finally move ahead. The steroid scandal, coupled with the inequities caused by the lack of a salary cap, has caused the great game to lose a lot fans, mostly from the affluent younger generations. The time has come to get this right, bringing in a younger leader (like the NFL did with Roger Goodell) with fresh ideas so that the game, as a whole, can remake itself to be bigger and better. And a little competitive balance sure wouldn't hurt.

THIS WEEK IN HALLADAY

Sorry, no trade rumours for you to ponder this week but there was, apparently, an ultimatum. As reported on espn.com, Roy Halladay, through his agent(s), wants any trade to take place before the start of spring training or he'll play out the season with the Jays and then leave via free agency. This should make the Winter Meetings, which begin next Monday in Indianapolis, the place to be if the wolves all gather outside Alex Anthopoulos' gate. The shy ace holds the hammer - see no-trade clause - and is not willing to go through the media feeding frenzy that he was subjected to at last year's All-Star game in St. Louis. Whether this helps or hinders GM_AA as he tries to find the best deal will be debated across the blogosphere until we see Halladay stand up with his next jersey before the media.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE

Just when you thought that the Jays had no money to dabble in free agency, they signed not one, but two shortstops to fill Marco Scutaro's gaping hole across the bag from Aaron Hill. John McDonald was the first to sign up for two more years, but his hold on the starting job lasted just 24 hours. Veteran Alex Gonzalez, last seen in Boston, signed a one-year deal with an option, shuffling Johnny Mac back to his familiar back-up role. The feeling is that with such a young staff, especially after Halladay is sent on his way, infield defence will be paramount with Gonzalez and McDonald providing that in 2010. This is eerily similar to 2007 when McDonald signed a two-year deal late in the season and then the team signed David Eckstein in early December.