It's one thing for another year to pass with Tuffy Rhodes not yet even within shouting distance of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. But there has to be something in the voters' water for the American slugger to be left in the dust by Masahiro Kawai on the ballot. Yet that's where we are.
The Hall opened its doors to former Chunichi Dragons Kazuyoshi Tatsunami and Hiroshi Gondo as well as former high school federation head Haruo Wakimura on Tuesday.
Rhodes meanwhile was left to languish about halfway down the ballot results. Needing to garner 75 percent of the vote, or 279 out of the 371 valid ballots returned, Rhodes clocked in at 29.6 percent.