Sort of.
As a fan of a certain age, I have trouble reconciling the stature of more recent players voted into the Hall of Fame against some of the legends of the game. Are we really comparing modern candidates with the likes of Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, or Mickey Mantle, to name just three?
I know there are scores of stat-heads (said with love), who can come up with all sorts of numbers, broken down by era (not necessarily ERA), expansion, etc., not to mention including socially (pre-Jackie Robinson), geographically (the physical and mental tolls traveling cross-country takes), and other non-mathematical ingredients. Maybe there’s something “magical” about reading about Ruth, Gehrig, Mathewson, etc., that more contemporary modern athletes just don’t make me feel the same at this point.
Jayson Stark is one of my favorites when it comes to diving behind the stories and stats. Here’s his take on the latest elections. You can read more of his fascinating stuff on his page at The Athletic. Also, there are a number of books discussing who should be in who’s not and who should be out who’s in. One of my favorite is Jay Jaffee’s The Cooperstown Casebook: Who’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Who Should Be In, and Who Should Pack Their Plaques.)
All that said, congratulations to Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones. I’m sure there are some intrepid writers who are already composing books in their honor.