Kernels: Is this really a hall of 'fame?'

Let me preface this by saying Jeff Mathis was a nice kid when he played here as a teenager eight years ago, and I understand he still is very much a good guy. I completely respect that he has been a catcher in the major leagues.

But to put him in the 2011 class of the Cedar Rapids Baseball Club's Hall of Fame is an absolute, complete, utter joke that devalues the entire Hall of Fame. Sorry if I held back too much for you there.

Seriously, it's getting ridiculous, Kernels. I disagreed with the induction of Shawn Wooten way back when. I didn't think Howie Kendrick and Tony Reagins should go in over others last year. But this selection is just plain embarrassing if you care one iota about professional baseball's 100-plus-year history here.

I know I care.

Mathis was a big prospect at one point. He had a nice season in 2002 for the Kernels, hitting .287 with 10 home runs, 41 doubles and 73 RBIs. But he has played in just over 300 games at the major league level and has a career batting average of .199.

Let me say that again: .199!!!!

While guys like Ted Simmons, Chili Davis, Reggie Sanders, Jerry Reuss and Trevor Hoffman aren't deemed hall of fame worthy, Jeff Mathis is. Wow.

On their website, the Kernels say the mission of their Hall of Fame is to "honor those individuals who, through extraordinary personal effort, have furthered the existence, quality or preservation of professional baseball in Cedar Rapids, Iowa." But it's obvious by this point that's simply not accurate.

Part of this is about forcing the parent Los Angeles Angels upon a community that is and always will be apathetic towards them. Part of it is about trying to sell tickets to the club's annual Hot Stove Banquet, in which the HOFers will officially be inducted.

The club has adopted a short-sighted policy in which no one will be inducted unless they agree to appear at the Hot Stove Banquet. That's why guys like Simmons, Sanders, etc., will never go in.

Hoffman apparently has agreed to come back to Cedar Rapids once his playing career is officially over. That will be ultra cool!

And the rest of the 2011 class is legit. Bob Brenly won a World Series managing the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dave Miley has had a very long professional managing and coaching career that included three seasons skippering the Cincinnati Reds. Contributor Mike Novak has served the Kernels as a longtime member of the club's board of directors.

But that's where the legitimacy ends. I'll leave with this. I sincerely hope the Kernels stop with the charade and separate their "Hall of Fame" into the three sections it really is:

1. "Some" outstanding former players, managers and coaches.

2. "Some" outstanding contributors.

3. Los Angeles Angels players or staff who agree to show up for their induction ceremony.