Much
like last year I’m writing a post on the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
candidates. And this is that blog post.
Feel free to skip it if this isn’t your bag. There are a ton of worthy candidates this
year (due in large part to the holdovers from last year), but I only think
twenty-three are worth considering.
"No" votes from last year that remain "no" votes – my prior year reasoning still applies:
Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Jack Morris, Rafael Palmeiro, Lee Smith, and Sammy Sosa
New to the ballot and worth considering, but still a quick "no" vote for me:
Luis Gonzalez
So if you’re keeping count that leaves sixteen candidates that I would consider voting "yes" on, a crowded ballot when you can only vote ten. I would rank the top ten as follows:
1) Frank Thomas – one of my all-time favorite players and should be a no-brainer first ballot hall of famer
2) Greg Maddux – sentimentality puts him behind Thomas, but only an idiot wouldn’t vote him into the hall of fame
3) Barry Bonds – I discussed the PED issue last year so I won’t repeat, he’s one of the all-time greats
4) Roger Clemens – ditto on Clemens
5) Jeff Bagwell – I’m surprised how few voters seem to be on his side, he was a beast
6) Mike Piazza – the best hitting catcher ever
7) Curt Schilling – one of the best pitchers of his generation
8) Tom Glavine – new to the ballot, but a "yes" vote even on this crowded ballot
9) Craig Biggio – if I was more in favor of a small HOF he might not make it (in truth the line probably would have been drawn after Piazza)
10) Tim Raines – he was behind Edgar Martinez last year, but this year I moved him into my final ten; his peak was that of a star, but he did stick around as an average player for a long time
The final six would be consigned to a "no" vote due to lack of room on my hypothetical ballot:
11) Edgar Martinez – see Tim Raines above; Edgar is the last man out this year, but he was a great hitter
12) Mike Mussina – I go back and forth on him and wouldn’t completely rule out that he was better than Glavine, but he’s here for me
13) Mark McGwire – I wavered on him last year, but now think he’d be a definite "yes" for me if I had more room; I was close to putting him at #10
14) Alan Trammell – last year he was a "no", but a closer look makes me think I’d vote "yes" if I had more votes
15) Larry Walker – like Trammell he was a "no" last year, but I keep looking back at his numbers and wavering; makes no difference with all the guys above him
16) Jeff Kent – new to the ballot and like Kenny Lofton last year, I think he’s a hall of famer even if he gets less real life support; he has no chance though with all of the players I rank higher
So that’s that. Once again I’d use all ten of my slots. I doubt more than two or three players actually get voted in this year and it might just be Maddux. But there really is no reason for Thomas not to be there as well. If I had to guess it will be Maddux, Thomas, and maybe Glavine or Biggio. Either way it ensures another crowded ballot next year or until the PED mess sorts itself out.
"No" votes from last year that remain "no" votes – my prior year reasoning still applies:
Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Jack Morris, Rafael Palmeiro, Lee Smith, and Sammy Sosa
New to the ballot and worth considering, but still a quick "no" vote for me:
Luis Gonzalez
So if you’re keeping count that leaves sixteen candidates that I would consider voting "yes" on, a crowded ballot when you can only vote ten. I would rank the top ten as follows:
1) Frank Thomas – one of my all-time favorite players and should be a no-brainer first ballot hall of famer
2) Greg Maddux – sentimentality puts him behind Thomas, but only an idiot wouldn’t vote him into the hall of fame
3) Barry Bonds – I discussed the PED issue last year so I won’t repeat, he’s one of the all-time greats
4) Roger Clemens – ditto on Clemens
5) Jeff Bagwell – I’m surprised how few voters seem to be on his side, he was a beast
6) Mike Piazza – the best hitting catcher ever
7) Curt Schilling – one of the best pitchers of his generation
8) Tom Glavine – new to the ballot, but a "yes" vote even on this crowded ballot
9) Craig Biggio – if I was more in favor of a small HOF he might not make it (in truth the line probably would have been drawn after Piazza)
10) Tim Raines – he was behind Edgar Martinez last year, but this year I moved him into my final ten; his peak was that of a star, but he did stick around as an average player for a long time
The final six would be consigned to a "no" vote due to lack of room on my hypothetical ballot:
11) Edgar Martinez – see Tim Raines above; Edgar is the last man out this year, but he was a great hitter
12) Mike Mussina – I go back and forth on him and wouldn’t completely rule out that he was better than Glavine, but he’s here for me
13) Mark McGwire – I wavered on him last year, but now think he’d be a definite "yes" for me if I had more room; I was close to putting him at #10
14) Alan Trammell – last year he was a "no", but a closer look makes me think I’d vote "yes" if I had more votes
15) Larry Walker – like Trammell he was a "no" last year, but I keep looking back at his numbers and wavering; makes no difference with all the guys above him
16) Jeff Kent – new to the ballot and like Kenny Lofton last year, I think he’s a hall of famer even if he gets less real life support; he has no chance though with all of the players I rank higher
So that’s that. Once again I’d use all ten of my slots. I doubt more than two or three players actually get voted in this year and it might just be Maddux. But there really is no reason for Thomas not to be there as well. If I had to guess it will be Maddux, Thomas, and maybe Glavine or Biggio. Either way it ensures another crowded ballot next year or until the PED mess sorts itself out.
No comments:
Post a Comment