By Bob Markus

As Frank Sinatra memorably crooned: Regrets, I've had a few. One of them is that I'm probably the only baseball writer who didn't vote for Roberto Clemente when he first appeared on the Hall-of-Fame ballot. Since Clemente, obviously, was one of the greatest right fielders of all time, that, on the face of it, appears to be outrageous. No one admired the Puerto Rican born Pittsburgh outfielder more than I did. On the one occasion I met him, in the dressing room after his second home run in two days gave the Pirates a 2-1 victory over Baltimore in the seventh game of the 1971 world series, I found him cooperative, thoughtful, and surprisingly articulate in his second language.

What, then, was my problem? It was this: Clemente was killed in a plane crash while on a mission of mercy after the 1972 season. There was an immediate stampede to place his name on the ballot, despite the rule that a player must wait for five years after his retirement before being eligible for the Hall-of-Fame. My argument was that if we bent the rule for Clemente, there might come a day when we would bend it for someone not so worthy. Besides, as far as I was concerned, Clemente was already in a higher Hall of Fame and he didn't need any writers' votes to validate it. I intended all along to vote for him five years later and I did write his name in on my ballot that year. Which was my second mistake, although not one that I regret.

While pondering this year's list of eligible players, I was reading through the rules for voting as determined by the Baseball Writers Association of America and came upon clause (D) under rule 3--in case of the death of an active player or a player who has been retired for less than five full years, a candidate who is otherwise eligible shall be eligible in the next regular election held at least six months after the date of death or after the end of the five year period, whichever occurs first. Whether that clause was in effect in 1973, I don't know. Reading further I find under rule 4, Clause (B) that "write-in votes are not permitted."

Now comes another player named Roberto and once again I'm torn. I know that some year, if I'm still around, I'll vote for Roberto Alomar. There are 15 players eligible for the first time this year and it seems to me that Alomar is the best of the lot. Some of the first timers can be dismissed without much thought, guys like Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Robin Ventura, and Todd Zeile. If any of these guys gets the required 5 per cent of votes needed to keep them on the ballot next year, I'll be surprised.

But a few names made me pause. Andres Galarraga, one home run shy of 400 and a former National League batting champ. Barry Larkin, 19 years with one team and the first shortstop to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases. Fred McGriff, 493 homers, 1550 r.b.i. Enough said? Edgar Martinez, .312 lifetime batting average over 18 seasons, all with the Seattle Mariners. And, of course, Alomar. Some people may remember Alomar as the player who spit in umpire John Hirschbeck's face in 1996 and was suspended for five days. But the well-travelled second baseman should be remembered for his 10 Gold Gloves, his 12 consecutive All-Star appearances, his lifetime .300 batting averge and 474 steals..

There are those who feel that the Hall of Fame is becoming diluted, with too many players being voted in who were very good--but not great--players. I tend to favor the exclusionary side myself, but it's awfully hard, sometimes, to define greatness, especially so in these times when ball players are hanging around for up to 20 years, compiling numbers that almost demand inclusion.

Last year I was disappointed that Tommy John did not make it in his 15th and final try. This year I don't think I'll be disappointed even if no one gets the required 75 per cent. Last year I voted for seven players, including Harold Baines. I admitted that I ws only voting for him to help him get the 5 per cent he needed to stay on the ballot. He did that, but from now on he's on his own. As the Hall of Fame is now constituted I don't think he belongs there. At some future date, who knows. I voted for only five players this year, finally deciding that as long as Mark McGwire's name is on the ballot it's not up to me to rule on his character. So he got one of my votes. Lee Smith, the big, hard throwing relief pitcher, whose 478 saves rank third alltime, also gets an "x" next to his name. He definitely belongs. I voted for Andre Dawson, who captured 67 per cent of the votes last year and is the leading returning vote getter, and for Pitcher Bert Blyleven, who got nearly 63 per cent in his 12th try. Obviously his time is running out.

I considered Martinez and probably will vote for him some day, but all his numbers were accrued as a designated hitter and I have a problem with that. Finally, I voted for Alomar. I hope I don't regret it.