To me, Fisk and Gary Carter are basically the same player. If Fisk gets in, Carter should as well. I'm constantly surprised how little support Carter has received since becoming eligible in 1998. Someday, he will get into the Hall of Fame, but it may take a while.

I have been voting for Tony Perez ever since he got on the ballot. It's great that he finally made it, mainly because of his tremendous RBI totals. I have spoken to his teammates on those great Reds teams, like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Dave Concepcion. They all say that when they really needed a big hit, it always seemed like Perez was the one who got it.

Even though it was his first time on the ballot, Goose Gossage deserved a better response. The great lineage of relievers in baseball includes Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Sutter, Gossage and Dennis Eckersley. I voted for both Gossage and Sutter this year.

I have never voted for Jim Rice, and every year I feel like I'm making a big mistake. Eventually, he will get in, but I still think people hold it against him that he was not a good defensive player and his career really only lasted 10 quality seasons. At some point, I will have to change my thinking because he was a dominant American League power hitter in his time, along with Eddie Murray. Rice made nice progress in this year's election, and it should be only a matter of time before he gets voted to the Hall.

Another player I voted for was Jack Morris. I knew he had no chance of election his first time on the ballot because his ERA (3.90) would be the highest of any pitcher in the Hall of Fame. But he merited more than only 111 votes. From 1979-92, he won over 50 more games and pitched over 500 more innings than anybody else. He was the classic ace in a lot of ways. He was a real warrior; you never questioned who was starting on Opening Day or who would start the first game of the World Series. He took the Tigers to the World Series and helped the Twins and Blue Jays to world championships. Morris is more valuable than his numbers would suggest.

Saying that, I believe a vote for Morris should equal a vote for Bert Blyleven, but I made a terrible mistake not voting for Blyleven. Eventually, Blyleven will get in -- and should get in -- but for him to get less than 100 votes (84) is not right.

It's fortunate that Fisk and Perez got in this year because Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett are among the players eligible next year. Winfield is definitely a Hall of Famer, and -- without doing all my research -- I think Puckett is one as well. That's part of the problem for players who just miss election. When more players with great credentials become eligible, it is difficult for the holdover players to still make it.

ESPN The Magazine's Tim Kurkjian is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.