Days from the January 24, 2023, announcement by the National Baseball Hall of Fame of candidates who may have been elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), the burning question is not who those candidates, if any, will be. Instead, the burning question is: What morality are BBWAA voters going to legislate for the Hall of Saints this year?

For more than a decade, the controversy over performance-enhancing drugs (PED) has consumed discussion about who should or should not be elected to the Hall, capped by the late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan's now-infamous 2017 missive to voters about keeping the PED Penitents out of Cooperstown. But although the PED predicament remains—among the returning candidates on the 2023 BBWAA ballot are Manny Ramirez and Álex Rodriguez—voters are now finding other performance flaws in candidates to deny them entrance to the Hallowed Hall.

Matt Cain was a Giant throughout his 13 years of Major League service (2005-17), and despite his losing record (104-118, he was a vital leader of a squad that won three World Series wins in the 2010s.

Cain made it to the Majors in 2005, three years after he was a First Round Pick, and he was immediately plugged into the starting rotation.  The fifth-place finisher for the National League Rookie of the Year in 2006 (13-12, 4.15 ERA), Cain had better ERAs in 2007 and 2008, but San Francisco was not yet a contender, and he went 15-30 in those two seasons, but as the Giants got better, so did Cain.

The right-hander was an All-Star in 2009, posting his first sub-three ERA (2.89), and had a 14-8 record.  Cain's contribution to the Giants rotation helped them win it all in 2010, and he was 12^th in Cy Young voting (13-11 3.14 ERA).  The next two years were better for Cain, as he was an All-Star in both those years, and in 2012, he was the 22^nd Pitcher to throw a perfect game.  Also, a top ten finisher in both years for the Cy Young (8^th in 2011 & 6^th in 2012), Cain won two decisions in that postseason where the Giants won the World Series again.

2012 ended Cain's peak, as he never had a year with a winning record or an ERA under four again.  In his last five years, Cain was a lower-tier Pitcher but still coveted for his leadership.  He retired after the 2017 Season, with 1,694 career Strikeouts, and the Giants inducted Cain into their Wall of Fame the year after.

Matt Cain played all 13 of his seasons and 342 Games with the San Francisco Giants, a rarity in this day and age.  Cain made the starting rotation immediately and while he lost a lot of games early in his career, he hardly had a lot of run support and actually led the NL in Games Started in a season where he went 8 and 14 (2008).  He had an inverse record of 14 and 8 in 2009 and went to what would be his first of three All Star Games.  In those three seasons he had an ERA under 3.00 and he would assist the Giants win the World Series in 2010 and 2012 (he also threw a perfect game that year) and also won a third in 2014 though he was not a factor on the post season.  Cain retired with a losing record (104-118) but again that was not a reflection of his ability but lack of support early in his career.  Cain will always be known for the leadership he brought to San Francisco, which is why the team always held on to him.