However, Dale Murphy absolutely belongs in the HOF.
Personally I am fine with the hall of fame considering popularity and character at the margins. Asking "is baseball better off because this guy played?" is a relevant question.
If someone was very popular- the favorite player of hundreds of thousands, or millions of fans, that matters. It matters if they let down some of those fans by gambling or cheating. And it matters if they didn't.
Because of the relative reach of the Superstation in the 1980s and because he was a great player for several years, I think Murphy may be one of the most popular players left out of the Fame besides those banned formally or informally for gambling or steroids.
Of course, you still have to draw a line somewhere and excellence should be weighed more than popularity or character. Bo Jackson was awesome, super popular, but unfortunately not a Hall of Famer because he just didn't get enough years in before the injury. But, back to back MVPs, 7 time all star, favorite of many, and overall credit to the game? Let him in.
Baines being in will forever be one of those great mysteries of life.
Putting Murphy aside, if it's a travesty that Baines is in the HOF (and it is), letting people in simply because the meet the standard of being as good or better than Baines would also be a travesty.
Having grown up a Philly fan he was the biggest star to come play the Phils. 14 year old me would not believe he wouldn't be in the hall.
If you're gonna keep Curt Shilling out for being an a-hole, give Dale the extra bump across the line for being a quality human being.
And the comparison to Baines is quite apt.