Petition: Roger Maris for Hall-of-Fame

One of the most enduring sports debates in this region for years has involved the question of whether North Dakota's own Roger Maris should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Several previous attempts to put Maris in the "hall" have failed. Now, a new online petition seeks to to get Roger on the list of candidates for the Golden Era Committee's ballot in 2017.

Among the reasons why Maris fans think he belongs in the hall:

◾He hit a then-record 61 Home Runs in the 1961 season as a member of the New York Yankees (still the most by an American League player for 53 years and counting)

◾He was a 7x AL All-Star (selected to 8)

◾He was a 2x AL Most Valuable Player. Only three other players who won multiple MVP's are not in the Hall of Fame: Juan Gonzalez, Barry Bonds, and Dale Murphy.

◾He won a Gold Glove award in 1960. Roger Maris may have won only 1 Gold Glove, but he was a phenomenal fielder. His .9834 career fielding percentage in RF is 58th best among right fielders. That's better than 15 Hall of Famers. He also committed only 49 errors in his career, an average of just 4 per season. Roberto Clemente committed 142. Willie Mays committed 156. Statistically, Roger was one of the best right fielders of his time. If Roger wasn’t playing in the same position as Kaline, he would’ve won a lot more Gold Gloves.

◾He played in 7 World Series in the 1960’s (the most of any player in that decade), winning 3.

◾He had his #9 retired by the New York Yankees in 1984

Get more information about the petition here...