There are two schools of thought when members of the Baseball Writers Association of America sit down with their annual Hall of Fame ballots:

1. Do I look for the reasons to elect a player to the Hall?

2. Do I look for the reasons to keep a player out?

Unfortunately, history has shown us that more writers subscribe to the latter.

Consider that professional baseball began in 1869. In 1936, the BBWAA voted in the first Hall of Fame class. It did not include Cy Young. Yeah, that Cy Young. In that first year, 11 of the 236 voters didn’t vote for Babe Ruth or Honus Wagner.

Need more proof the system is screwy? How about Joe DiMaggio not getting in until his third try? Rogers Hornsby took five ballots. For Don Drysdale … 10 tries.

I thoroughly admit I’m a “Big Hall” type of guy. I’m always looking for a reason, within reason, to get a player into the Hall. I find it ridiculous that the game has been around 140 years, but the writers have manage to elect only 107 players — the equivalent of four MLB teams’ rosters — into the Hall. In 17 of those years, there have been zero electees.

Writers are allowed to vote for up to 10 players on their ballot, players need to appear on 75 percent of the ballots for entry. With a little research help from baseball-reference.com, here are the five players that would’ve joined worthy electees Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice on my ballot (if I had one):

1. Andre Dawson: The list of players with 400 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases reads like this: Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Dawson. Great production (478 homers, 1,591 RBI and 2,774 hits), but short of milestones. I blame the turf in Montreal for cutting Hawk’s prime years short. Eight All-Star Games, eight Gold Gloves, one MVP and runner-up twice.

The most comparable players on baseball-reference are Billy Williams, Tony Perez and Al Kaline — all Hall of Famers. His numbers at every age are most comparable to Dave Winfield — a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Should have been in years ago, but received just 67 percent of the vote this year.

2. Lee Smith: Retired as the all-time saves leader with 478, since surpassed by Trevor Hoffman. A seven-time All-Star with career ERA of 3.03, Smith finished in the top five of Cy Young balloting three times and averaged roughly a strikeout per inning pitched in his 18-year career during an era when one-inning saves were the aberration not the rule. If career relievers Goose Gossage (310 saves) and Bruce Sutter (300 saves) are Hall of Famers, Smith is a no-brainer.

3. Bert Blyleven: Fifth all-time with 3,701 strikeouts. Despite 287 victories, Blyleven constantly falls short in balloting, including 62.7 percent this year. Five of the top six comparable players are Hall of Famers (Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Fergie Jenkins, Robin Roberts and Tom Seaver). Top five in ERA seven times with career mark of 3.31. Postseason record of 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA and two World Series titles.

4. Dave Parker: A left-handed Dawson with slightly less of a resume. Parker has fewer home runs (339), but better career batting average (.290). The two-time batting champion won three gold gloves, two world series titles and one MVP.

5. Dale Murphy: A two-time MVP, Murphy won five gold gloves and put together a Hank Aaron-esque stretch from 1980 to 1987. During the eight seasons, without factoring in the 58 games missed in 1981, he hit roughly .290 while averaging 33 homers, 30 doubles and 96 RBI. Dominant player punished for hanging around too long and taking his career batting average with him from 1988 through 1993.

6. Jack Morris: Shouldn’t get in before Blyleven. Morris also spent his entire career in the A.L. and amassed 254 wins, 2,478 strikeouts and a career ERA of 3.90.

The career stats are secondary to his postseason accomplishments. Morris was a central figure on three different World Series championship squads, including perhaps the greatest postseason pitching performance in the modern era — a 10-inning shutout in the Twins’ 1-0 victory in Game 7 of the 1991 Series.

*Setting the wedding record straight: Last week, I erroneously stated San Diego punter Mike Scifres stood up in his brother Jonathan’s wedding to Sabrina (Apker) Scifres at First Assembly of God church in Kenosha last summer.

The Tremper girls volleyball coach actually got married in the summer of 2007.

*Book it (1-1): Despite their inconsistent play, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New Jersey Nets (104-102) on Friday to even my 2009 record.

I’ll take two on this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers will win the AFC Championship. The Philadelphia Eagles will win the NFC Championship.

Mike Larsen is a sportswriter for the Kenosha News. He can be e-mailed at mlarsen@kenoshanews.com