Pat Gillick, Hall of Famer? Marvin Miller, Not a Hall of Famer?

So the Veterans' Committee elected former Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I have no problem with Gillick. He put together some amazing Blue Jays teams in the 80s and early 90s, including 2 World Series winning teams. In an age before you could just buy a championship, he managed to put together a lineup that had a very good Devon White leading off, Roberto Alomar at his prime hitting second, late-stage but still awesome Paul Molitor hitting third, and Joe Carter batting clean-up, with quality pitchers like Jimmy Key holding down a good-enough rotation.

But to elect Pat Gillick over Marvin Miller? This is a total joke. Outrageous. Marvin Miller is one of the five most important individuals in the history of the game--up there with Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Branch Rickey. Miller brought free agency to the game. For that, the owners still hate him. What's worse, many players don't care about him because they don't like to think of themselves as anything but self-made (Jim Palmer, who is on the Veterans Committee, has specifically had this allegation thrown at him). I would say Bud Selig should simply just name him to the HOF, but Selig, as a former owner, probably hates Miller too.

I am outraged that Bert Blyleven, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Tim Raines, and Bobby Grich aren't in the Hall of Fame. That's ridiculous. And if there's any real resistance to Roberto Alomar, I'm going to throw a clot. But Marvin Miller--that's just sheer injustice.

The other question coming out of today's vote was where George Steinbrenner would get in--I certainly think he deserves to be, but I don't mind his candidacy waiting a bit. The fact that Dave Concepcion nearly got in is a good sign--I'd probably vote for him, particularly since I believe in the value of great defense.