As the eminent philosopher Maxwell Smart used to say, "Missed it by that much."

Former Red Sox outfielder and current NESN fashion plate Jim Rice missed election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by a mere 14 votes. He got over 72% of the required 75% of the votes required for induction. Reliever Goose Gossage did get in, the only player elected by the baseball writers.

I'm pretty disappointed by this. Rice was the Sox greatest hitter during my youth. Although Yaz was my favorite player, Rice was amazing to watch. I have been seeing him all the way back to his days with the Pawsox. In fact, one of my first vivid memories of seeing a baseball game was watching Rice hit a home run at McCoy Stadium in 1974.

The good news is that every player who has gotten more than 70% of the vote has eventually made it into the Hall of Fame. Rice has his last year of eligibility in 2009. Hopefully he will get in.