It's Baseball Hall of Fame Season Again

Ballots are slowly being revealed, with the final votes announced January 21.

New candidates this year are Ichiro (a mortal lock), Carlos Gonzalez (who?), Curtis Granderson, Felix Hernandez, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Brian McCann, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, CC Sabathia, and Troy Tulawitzki.

A lot  will be dropped after this year.  A few pretty good players will hang on for a few years and then drop off.  

The only question for Ichiro is whether he is unanimous or loses a few votes for some unbelievable reasons.  Likely he comes in around 95%, where Beltre landed (and he is a far better candidate than even Beltre was).

CC Sabathia is an interesting case.  His lifetime ERA of 3.74 is going to give many voters a pause.  But his innings pitched, Cy Young award and several top 5 finishes, and pennant run/post season heroics with both the Yankees and Brewers will get him in one day soon.  Not to mention that the writers always liked him.

Among the returning candidates, this should be the year that Billy Wagner gets in.  Carlos Beltran has a lot of support from fans, but I wonder if his Astros scandal will scare some voters away.  For my money, both he and Wagner deserver to be in when compared to contemporaries.

Andruw Jones also continues to get a lot of support, but I am not so sure on him.  A great fielder for sure, but a limited period of very good offense followed by a bunch of not so good offense.

Frankly, if Jones gets a look, then Abreu deserves an even better look.  When you compare them offensively Abreu was a lot more productive in many areas.  Yet he is going to drop off the ballot sooner than later, while Jones may get in.

I wish the BBWAA would get over itself and elect Manny and Arod this year, and retroactively induct Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro, Sheffield, and all the other more than worthy candidates who were blackballed for actual or supposed steroid use.  Either that, or weed through all the HOF members personal lives and toss out the drunks and abusers of greenies and wife beaters and any other of a number of unsavory things that they do not like.

mfpark said:

Carlos Gonzalez (who?)

Cargo!

until these baseball illiterate nerds put in Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, they can plug their golden at bat right up their ghost runner.

BarneyGumble said:

until these baseball illiterate nerds put in Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, they can plug their golden at bat right up their ghost runner.

Small steps first. Let’s see if these illiterates can spell Chisholm.

Chisum should get an HOF vote.  He fits right in with the sports writer nerds as far as baseball IQ.

Production at the plate that was 55 percent better than league average over a 14-season career, and a career fWAR of 61, including a ROY-winning 8.2 in 1964 and an MVP-winning 8.0 in 1972. A lifetime .292 hitter with an OPS of .912.

It seems like every baseball fan in Philadelphia who’s 70 or older has a story about seeing him knock the ball harder and farther than anyone else alive at the time.

A prominent target of racism during his early years in Philly, he returned in 1976 as a veteran role model for a rising Phillies team and eventually appeared to come to peace with the city and its fans. It’s a shame his election to the Hall didn’t come before he died four years ago at age 78.

Welcome to Cooperstown, Dick Allen.

DaveSchmidt said:

Production at the plate that was 55 percent better than league average over a 14-season career, and a career fWAR of 61, including a ROY-winning 8.2 in 1964 and an MVP-winning 8.0 in 1972. A lifetime .292 hitter with an OPS of .912.

It seems like every baseball fan in Philadelphia who’s 70 or older has a story about seeing him knock the ball harder and farther than anyone else alive at the time.

A prominent target of racism during his early years in Philly, he returned in 1976 as a veteran role model for a rising Phillies team and eventually appeared to come to peace with the city and its fans. It’s a shame his election to the Hall didn’t come before he died four years ago at age 78.

Welcome to Cooperstown, Dick Allen.

I'm glad he and Parker got in, though it should have been sooner. I never got to see him play, but he had some remarkable seasons. 

So Dave Parker ok but Barry Bonds not ok.  To say MLB are rank hyprocrites would be an insult to Tony Montana. 

BarneyGumble said:

So Dave Parker ok but Barry Bonds not ok.  To say MLB are rank hyprocrites would be an insult to Tony Montana. 

Not to mention Willie Mays who was hopped up on greenies much of the time.  It is not MLB per se that is hypocritical in this instance (although it is plenty foul in its own right)--the fault here lies with the dinosaurs in the Baseball Writers Association.  

Beltran, Pettite, Utley (???), and Wagner have picked up more support than last year, although only 8% of votes are known as of now.  Of these, Wagner should get in this year, Beltran will fall a bit short, and the other two will never get more than 50%, if even that.  Andruw Jones is tracking about even with last year, meaning he will likely fall short again.  

The 2025 enshrinees will be Ishiro, Sabathia, and Wagner.  Not a bad outcome.

Beltran may be the only inductee in 2026 with a very weak new class (Hamels and Braun top the list).  2027 may not have any inductees, with the top of that class being Posey and Lester (although Posey may imitate Mauer--very similar catcher with a few really great years but not a lot, to go along with lots of bling).  In 2028 Pujols is a mortal lock, and Molina will get in because he is one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time, and the writers love him, and he is paired with Pujols.