Jack Morris pitched in the 1984 World Series as a member of the Detroit Tigers, whom heplayed with for 14 seasons before signing with the Twins in 1991.
Jack Morris pitched in the 1984 World Series as a member of the Detroit Tigers, whom he played with for 14 seasons before signing with the Twins in 1991. (Associated Press file photo: Mark Duncan)

The percentage of Baseball Hall of Fame votes increased for Jack Morris, but not enough. He went from receiving 53.5 percent of the vote in 2011 to 66.7 percent this year, leaving him short of the required 75 percent for the 13th straight year. The only eligible candidate to receive more votes was Barry Larkin, and he was elected in results released Monday.

Morris will return to the ballot a 14th year, which is how long it took Bert Blyleven to get elected. After his election, Blyleven thanked and credited an investment manager named Rich Lederer for lobbying for him. Lederer used his baseball blogging site, BaseballAnalysts.com, to pump up Blyleven. He also contacted writers with hall of fame votes and shared the numbers he crunched on Bert's behalf.

I talked to Lederer on Monday after Larkin got in and Morris didn't.

BS: Were you surprised Morris wasn't elected?

RL: I would have been more surprised if he did get in. That would have required a humongous jump (in percentage of votes). I actually thought Larkin would get in. I have personal favorites. I think Alan Trammell should be in, and Tim Raines. I also would vote for Jeff Bagwell and Edgar Martinez.

BS: What do you think needs to happen for Morris to get into the hall of fame?

RL: That's a pretty big jump (from 53.5 to 66.7 percent), and he's pretty close. Typically, the player who has the highest vote total short of 75 percent gets that much more publicity the following year. Two-thirds are voting for Morris. That makes the other one-third look at him, especially with him having only a couple of more years on the ballot. Based on the numbers and how many years he has left, I wouldn't call it a sure thing, but it looks like he has a better possibility today than ever before. He's probably next in line. He probably has to do it this next year, because it gets really tough. Every year after that, it's incredible with the (Greg) Madduxes and (Randy) Johnsons coming on. It will be more and more difficult for the marginal player to make it. With him at nearly 67 percent, it will be easier to make that jump.

BS: Would you lobby for Morris the way you did for Blyleven?

RL: I'm not passionate enough about him, to be honest. I understand the case for him. The real case for him was that he was the best pitcher of the 1980s. The weakness about him is hat was a nice, clean decade. If you look at other 10-year periods, Jack's 10-year period coincided with the 1980s in an era when pitchers probably were better than him in single seasons. It was an era of guys who didn't have the longevity Morris did. The other argument is his postseason accomplishments. I don't see him as being in Bert's class. To me, Blyleven was so obvious. I couldn't see how people were overlooking his numbers. I understand the case for Jack, but there are some warts on the resume. If he made it, I salute him. His case is not one that makes me passionate about getting him in.

BS: Game 7 of the World Series. Both Morris and Blyleven are in their prime and available. Who do you start?

RL: I know a lot of people would take Morris based on what he did in 1991. The one thing I got a kick out of is, the one time they faced each other in the playoffs, Bert won (6-3 in Game 2 of the 1987 American League Championship Series between the Twins and Detroit Tigers). So I think that's an interesting stat. I think your question would generate a lot of Jack Morris conversation. But when they did face each other, Blyleven won.

BS: Are you passionate about taking up anyone's cause?

RL: Among the current players, I do believe Alan Trammell is totally overlooked. (Trammell received 36.8 percent of the votes this year.) I don't believe he was that far off from Barry Larkin (as a player). I really do believe Trammell deserves it and he's going to come up short, especially with the writers. Tim Raines, second-best leadoff hitter of all time, I think he gets overlooked. He just doesn't have the magical numbers like 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. The guy I probably would be most passionate about is Bill James.

BS: Interesting.

RL: He should get consideration (for his scientific analysis of baseball statistics). In my mind, he has made us think in a way that has impacted how we think about baseball. I almost would like to see James get into the regular hall of fame and not the baseball writers' (section). I don't know how he'd get on the ballot. He's still a current executive (with the Boston Red Sox). To me, he has a hall of fame-type resume.

BS: What do you think about the players with hall of fame numbers who've been tainted by steroid claims and allegations?

RL: I'd put them all in and put a notation on their plaque about steroids.