If I Had A Ballot.....

It's everyone's favorite time of year, Hall of Fame voting. In my consistently inconsistent writing for this blog, the one consistent thing I have done almost every year is write a post about the players that I would like to see in the Hall of Fame. I also like to throw in some baseball cards to make things interesting. In the past, I gave some of the players baseball cards. This year, I will give all of them a baseball card, minus one player. There are 30 players on the ballot this year and voters are allowed to select a maximum of 10 players.  There are more than 10 players on the list who I would support, or wouldn't mind being in the Hall. In keeping with the format of previous "If I Had A Ballot..." posts, I will count down the 30 players, eliminating the 20 I would not vote into the Hall. Again, if they are in my group of 20, it does not mean that I do not support them.  

30. A.J. Pierzynski 

A.J. was on the Cardinals briefly, so I want to make this kind and friendly. Especially considering he had to put up with Mike Matheny as a manager while he was in St. Louis. A.J. Pierzynski was a decent catcher and a very unique personality. I best remember him for the dropped strike play in the ALDS in 2005. Controversial play, but I am not posting videos.

 I also know he was thrown out of a ton of games during his career and there are stories about umpires questioning is ability to play in day games, because he was perspiring alcohol from the previous night. Let's also not forget the time he campaigned for the All-Star Game using the slogan "Punch AJ" after Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punched him in the face.  

29. Jonathan Papelbon 

Solid no.  

28. Omar Vizquel 

The Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Morals. There are plenty of great baseball players who are not great people. However, I do have my boundaries. I would not vote for Omar Vizquel as a player regardless because of his off-the-field problems. I cannot support someone who has a long and troubling history of spousal abuse. No baseball card either. A young Bryce Harper will help me out.....

27. Curt Schilling 

While I am playing the role of moral police, I am also not able to vote for Curt Schilling. I try not to foist my political opinions on people, but I simply cannot support him for things he has said and done off the field. Wearing a shirt that says, "Rope, Tree, Journalist. Some Assembly Required" is not cool, especially when they are people who are working hard to cover your playing career. Journalists are also protected by the Constitution, whether you like them or not. Further, as a person who teaches science and government, there are far too many people at the moment who have their own set of facts. Schilling is one of those people. It makes my job harder and I do not appreciate it.  

End of rant. I will still post a baseball card.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 26. Jake Peavy 

Very good pitcher with the Padres at the beginning of his career and solid at the end when he played for the White Sox, Red Sox, and Giants. Won a Cy Young in 2007 and two World Series, one with the Red Sox in 2013 and another with the Giants in 2014. Do the Padres have a team Hall of Fame? He definitely should be in, if one exists. 

25. Joe Nathan - P 

Great reliever with the Twins, but I am not a huge fan of modern relief pitchers and the Hall of Fame. Just my opinion. I think they are generally overvalued. It is not that I am against them being in the Hall, but there has to be something overly exceptional about their career. Similar to Peavy, if the Twins have a team Hall of Fame, they should induct Joe Nathan. 

24. Tim Lincecum 

Tim Lincecum had four or five Hall of Fame worthy seasons, but ended up having a down second half of his career. He had some great starts in both the 2010 and 2012 playoffs to help the Giants win the World Series both of those seasons. I know Lincecum was on the 2014 Giants too, so he has three World Series rings in all, but I don't think he pitched much in the playoffs that year. Not even sure he was on the Postseason roster. Still, Lincecum was a great player for the Giants, just not long enough to get into the Hall.

23. Ryan Howard 

Ryan Howard is another player on this list who had Hall of Fame seasons, but not a long enough career to get into the Hall of Fame. I have felt empathetic towards Ryan Howard for a long time. I am not going to screen shot any tweets or Facebook posts, but Phillies fans were often brutal towards him during the second half of his career. That was after he tore his Achilles tendon on the final play of the epic Chris Carpenter vs Roy Halladay Game 5 in the 2011 National League Division Series. That's one of those injuries that end careers. It says a lot that he came back and played another five years after that injury. No Cooperstown for Ryan Howard, but I leave you with my favorite card of the St. Louis native. This is from a set that Topps produced and gave away at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis. There were only three cards in the set, but well done by Topps to include a local player. 

 

22. Justin Morneau 

Solid player. Morneau's best season was in 2006 when he won the American League MVP.  First, he was not even the best player on the Twins that year. Needless to say, he also was not really the best player in the American League that season. Goes to show how far being a really good player on a really good team will get you with end-of-season awards. Really though, Morneau was a good player.  

 

21. Carl Crawford

Let me start out by saying that Carl Crawford was awesome while he was on the Durham Bulls. He helped the team win the 2002 International League Title. Crawford was also a very exciting player for the Devil Rays/Rays. He had four seasons with more than 50 steals and led the American League in that category in each of those years. Crawford also led the American League in triples four different times. For his career, he has almost 500 stolen bases, almost 2,000 hits, and is one of the few modern players to cross 100 career triples. That being said, as a player who thrived off of his speed, his later years with the Red Sox and Dodgers were rough. He would probably be remembered in a more positive light if the Red Sox hadn't decided that paying an aging speedster $142 million dollars over 7 years was a great idea. Good for Carl. I hope he is enjoying retirement. Carl is not a Hall of Famer.  

20. Prince Fielder 

Prince Fielder is another player who is not a serious Hall of Fame candidate due to injuries. He is only 37 years old and he has been retired for 6 years due to a neck injury. Prince had more than 300 home runs when he retired in his early 30s. No neck injury and I could see him pushing 500 home runs. I was not a huge fan of Prince while he was on the Brewers, but appreciated him a little more once he was not in the same division as the Cardinals. Hall of Fame seasons, just not a long enough career to be a serious Hall of Fame candidate. My answer is no.  

19. Mark Teixeira 

Teixeira was a good player. He hit 30 plus home runs every year and drove in 100 runs. I have seen some people try to make the argument that is similar to Fred McGriff and that he belongs in the Hall, or at least has a better argument than most people think. I could see that, but I still think McGriff is better and my answer is no.

 

18. Torii Hunter 

I am a solid no on Torii Hunter. However, as a Cardinals fan who watched Ozzie get into the Hall of Fame, hopefully Yadi too, I completely understand some of his Hall of Fame supports make about his credentials. Torii hit 350 home runs, almost 500 doubles, and he won 9 Gold Gloves. Excellent defensive player who had some good year with the bat. In the end, some of his counting numbers are nice. I am tempted to post a highlight video of him taking away a home run from Barry Bonds in the 2002 All-Star Game, but I will stick with baseball cards for this post. 

17. Jimmy Rollins 

I really enjoyed watching Jimmy Rollins play. He was a really good player on the 2007-2011 Phillies team that won a World Series and came close a few other times. Jimmy was the 2007 National League MVP and also won a few Gold Gloves. For me, he is a step below being a Hall of Famer, but definitely one of the more memorable shortstops of his generation. At some point, I would not surprise me that a Veterans Committee of some sort puts Rollins into the Hall. 

16. Billy Wagner 

Again, not a fan of modern relief pitchers, but I would not complain too much if Billy Wagner ended up in the Hall. He never led the league in saves and only has 422 saves, but I would argue that he was a lot better player than Trevor Hoffman. Wagner pitched in almost 200 games less than Hoffman and still has more strikeouts. As a Cardinals fan who got to watch him pitch numerous years for the Astros, the game felt over when he came in to pitch. Wagner had a 100 mph fastball and some wicked off-speed pitches. I am a no on Billy Wagner, but I think he will actually get into the Hall at some point.  

 

15. Tim Hudson 

I am a no on Tim Hudson, but I would like to point out that he has better sabermetric numbers than Jack Morris. Tim Hudson also never sexually harassed a college intern working at the Detroit Free Press. I would also implore people who think that Hudson should be in the Hall of Fame to support Adam Wainwright in a few years. I think Wainwright is a Hall of Very Good Player, but if Hudson gets in, Wainwright better be in too. I am counting on your support.  

 

14. Jeff Kent 

I am a no on Jeff Kent, but I am not going to be surprised if he ends up in the Hall at some. I won't complain too much. I understand the comparisons to Ryne Sandberg. Kent's power numbers are better. However, Sandberg did not play during the steroid era and did a lot of other things that Kent did not. Sandberg has over 300 stolen bases and won 9 Gold Gloves. Most importantly, Sandberg's best years are still better than Ken't best years. I am not voting for Jeff Kent, but I know plenty of other people who think he belongs in the Hall. 

 

13. Andy Pettitte 

I am going to dig myself a hole on this one. If you're a Yankees fan, skip down to the next player. You're not going to like what I have to say. I am trashing Pettitte and Whitey Ford. I apologize for nothing.  

Pettitte has 5 World Series rings, more than 250 wins, and he played for the Yankees. His connection to steroids is likely all that has kept him out so far. Let's compare Pettitte to Whitey Ford. 

Both were highly successful, left-handed pitchers for great New York Yankees teams. That makes Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer? Neither was ever the best player on their team, at times not even the top 3 or 4 players. Both excelled at accumulating wins, but their other numbers are blah. Pettitte has an ERA of almost 4, Tim Hudson's is half a run lower. Pettitte never won the Cy Young and led the league in wins once. That was the only time he led the league in a major statistical category. If you are into sabermetric numbers, feel free to look up Whitey Ford. It's not very impressive. All the other pitchers from 1950s and 60s who are now in the Hall were better than him. They just didn't play on the Yankees. Same with Pettitte's modern peers. 

Do you know how many games Robin Roberts, Gibson, or Koufax would have won if they had been on the Yankees

Pettitte is still getting into the Hall at some point. I am not a fan.  

12. Mark Buehrle 

I really like Mark Buehrle. He was a fun player to watch and pitched some great games. There was a no-hitter, a perfect game, and he helped the White Sox win the 2005 World Series. Buehrle has more than 200 career wins and almost 2,000 strikeouts. He has almost the same career ERA as Andy Pettitte and a lot of their sabermetric numbers (WAR, JAWS, etc) are basically the same. If Pettitte gets into the Hall of Fame at some point, I think it's only fair that Buehrle gets in too. However, as a player who played the majority of his career with the White Sox, I do not think he will get in. The bar for modern pitchers is pretty low at this point given Jack Morris being voted in, I would be fine with Buehrle being there too. 

I am not going to leave Jack Morris alone.  

11. David Ortiz 

If Hall of Fame voters could pick more than 10 players, I would give David Ortiz a vote. I would also leave him on the outside for this year, mainly because there are players on their last year who would be a bigger priority for me. I am actually hoping that Ortiz gets into the Hall at some point. He has more than 500 home runs, almost 2,500 career hits, and helped the Red Sox win the World Series three times. More importantly, he is linked to steroids. I also believe Ortiz may be popular enough to maybe break through the glass ceiling for many players from the 1990s and early 2000s. If Big Papi gets into the Hall, is there any reason to hold out Mark McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa? Roger Clemens?  No. I would vote for him and I sincerely hope he is the player who turns the tide on the steroid era. 

 

From this point forward in the post, these are player I would support putting into the Hall of Fame. If I had a ballot, these are the player I would vote to put in.  

10. Gary Sheffield 

Sheff has more than 500 home runs, almost 500 doubles, 2,700 hits, he won a batting title, and also a World Series with the 1997 Florida Marlins. That being said, he is in the group of players who have been linked to steroids and there are some holes in his career. His best years were excellent, but when you start putting them together, he is someone who could be considered a compiler. A good player who ended up with great numbers because he played forever, 22 years in all. Sheffield was also a horrible defender.  Bad to the point that he is the opposite of players like Ozzie Smith who are in the Hall because of defense.  Sheffield is getting in because he can hit. He also put on a fielding glove and stood somewhere on the field. Would you hold a player out because of defense? I have heard people make that argument. Again, I would put him in.  

 

9. Bobby Abreu 

This is my most controversial take on this post. I have seen some huge arguments break out online over whether or not Bobby Abreu should be in the Hall of Fame. First, one of the biggest arguments against Abreu is that he never won anything. That is very true. He played the majority of his career for the Phillies. They were a terrible team during that decade and Abreu never made the playoffs. He also was only selected for the All-Star Game twice and rarely received MVP votes. Second, he only has 288 home runs, which is really low for a modern player.  

Here is my argument for Abreu getting into the Hall. Abreu has almost 600 doubles. That's fourth all-time amongst right-fielders behind only Stan Musial, Hank Aaron, and Paul Waner. Abreu walked at a prolific rate. He also ranks fourth all-time in that category amongst right-fielders behind Musial, Ott, and Aaron. Abreu also has 400 career stolen bases, which is 7th all-time amongst right-fielders. If you cut out the deadball era players, he is third behind Bobby Bonds and Ichiro. You can also add in that Abreu's sabermetric numbers (WAR, WAR7, and JAWS) are similar to Vladimir Guerrero and Dave Winfield, both Hall of Famers. In short, Abreu played on bad teams, was a doubles machine who got on-base frequently, and could make teams pay with his speed. Doubles are not home runs, but they are still useful. I suspect if he had played at a different time, like the 1950s, this would not be all that controversial. I would vote for him.

8. Manny Ramirez 

I don't care about steroids and I do not care about colorful. I do care about 500 home runs, 500 doubles, more than 2,500 hits, and two World Series titles. Add in 12 All-Star Games, 9 Silver Sluggers, a batting title, and a World Series MVP Award, and this is an easy decision. Yes, Manny should be in the Hall. 

7. Sammy Sosa 

Sosa hit 600 home runs and is the only player to more than 60 home runs three times in his career. Sammy and personality and was not only a good player during the 1990s, but also one of the big personalities of the game. I am not anti-steroids, so I would vote to put him in. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Andruw Jones 

Andruw is another player who creates some huge arguments. As a Cardinals fan, this is somewhere in the neighborhood of Ozzie Smith, but with the opposite timeline. Ozzie was an elite defender his whole career, but also a subpar hitter at the beginning of his career. Ozzie eventually became a productive offensive player for the Cardinals and achieved some decent counting numbers by the time he retired. Andruw Jones was an elite defender the majority of his career. For roughly the first decade he played, Andruw was an above-average offensive player. The last five years of his career, Jones hit .214, bounced around the league, and was primarily a bench player. Just for comparison, during the first five years of his career, Ozzie Smith hit .234. Both of them won double digit Gold Gloves. Ozzie Smith is a Hall of Famer, so is Andruw Jones. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 5. Todd Helton 

The good Rockies players are treated a lot like steroid users when people start talking about their chances of being in the Hall of Fame. Helton hit 369 home runs, 592 doubles, and had a career .316 batting average. Yes, he played in Coors Field, which made those numbers better. However, Helton also hit outside of Coors. This is the second-coming of Larry Walker's time on the Hall of Fame ballot. When I see a Rockies player having a good year, I look at their road stats to help with perspective. In 2000, Helton won the National League batting title. His road batting average was .351. In 2001, Helton hit his career high of 49 home runs, 22 of them were on the road. Helton had 59 doubles in 2000, with 31 coming on the road.  Those are all really good numbers without think air. When you look at his career road numbers, Helton hit .287, with a .386 on-base percentage, and a .469 slugging percentage. That road slugging percentage is higher than Tony Perez and only a few points off of Eddie Murray. His career road on-base percentage is higher than George Sisler, Harmon Killebrew, and Willie McCovey. Put him in.  

 

4. Scott Rolen 

Why are we still talking about Scott Rolen? He's a great player who was good at talking his way out off of teams. I don't care if he was a jerk to Tony LaRussa or whoever in Philadelphia. Vote him in.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 3. 3. Alex Rodriguez 

I don't care about steroids, 600 home runs, and 3,000 hits. Yes, he is annoying, but also a great player.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Roger Clemens 

I don't know what else to say. He belongs in the Hall.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Barry Bonds 

Yes.  

 

If I Had A Hall of Fame Ballot

It's time for my annual Hall of Fame post.  Feel free to argue at the bottom of the post, no name calling.  I really liked the format I used last year, so I am keeping it this year.  Voters can pick up to ten players on their ballots out of a total of 32 retired players.  There are ten players on this year's ballot that I would vote for, so lets start out by getting rid of the 23 players I would not support, or need a little more time to ponder. 

Go. 

1. Heath Bell 
2. Jose Valverde 
3. J.J. Putz 
4. Adam Dunn 

I am going to give Adam Dunn a baseball card on my list.  He was a fun player who either hit a home run, struck out, or walked on the majority of his career at-bats.  Sure, that describes a lot of players in baseball today, but back in the early 2000s it was far less common.   Sorry, can't have Adam Dunn in the Hall of Fame. 

5. Raul Ibanez 
6. Brad Penny 
7. Chone Figgins
8. Carlos Pena 

Is there a Hall of Fame for really cool autographs?  If there was, I would vote for Carlos Pena in my Top 10.  Unfortunately, there is no such Hall of Fame.  Carlos Pena was also in the Moneyball book.  Billy Beane trades him to the Detroit Tigers to force Art Howe to play Scott Hatteberg at first base.  Sorry Carlos, there is no place for you in Cooperstown.  Don't buy his 2002 Bowman autograph like I did. 

9. Brian Roberts 
10. Josh Beckett 
11. Omar Vizquel 

I cannot believe that there are people who think Omar Vizquel is a Hall of Famer.  Last year, I did not give him a card, just a stock photo of a clown.  This year, I am not giving him a card, just a stock photo of a clown. 

12. Eric Chavez 
13. Rafael Furcal 

Rafael Furcal won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2011, so he gets a card in this post. I appreciate his efforts in getting the Cardinals their 11th World Series Championship.  In particular, he hit a lead off triple against Roy Halladay in the first inning of Game 5 of the NLDS, and ended up scoring the only run of the game. Still not a Hall of Famer though.

14. Cliff Lee 
15. Andy Pettitte 
16. Paul Konerko 

I liked watching Paul Konerko.  Not a Hall of Famer, though there are probably a few White Sox fans who think he should be in Cooperstown.  Just a really good player.  Worthy of a baseball card. 

17. Jason Giambi 
18. Jeff Kent 
19. Alfonso Soriano 
20. Billy Wagner 

I am not a big fan of putting relief pitchers into the Hall of Fame.  If I could restart the Hall of Fame, take people out, there are several relievers who would get the heave ho.  However, nobody is going to let me restart the Hall of Fame, so let me just say that I like Billy Wagner more than I like a few of the more recent elected closers.  Specifically Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman.  I have some good Lee Smith blown save stories for a different post.  I would not vote for Billy Wagner, but I am sure there will likely be a day where he gets into Cooperstown. 

21. Bobby Abreu 

I really like Bobby Abreu. I am not sure that many people realize how good his career numbers are, or how good he was during his career.  If you like WAR, WAR7, JAWS, and some of those other metrics to measure careers, than Bobby Abreu is in line with Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield.  I also like that he has almost 600 career doubles, and also 400 stolen bases.  I am putting Bobby Abreu outside of my top 10, but he's a player who at a minimum deserves a little bit more dialogue. 

22. Gary Sheffield

I like numbers.  I do not always like to rely on my opinions of players during their career as a barometer of whether they are Hall worthy or not.  Gary Sheffield is in that same neighborhood as Bobby Abreu.  There are some numbers that are really good, like he has more than 500 home runs.  He's also one player, my opinion from watching him play, who feels like he should have better numbers.  Plus, that bat waggle was sort of scary as a Cardinals fan.  I would not have a problem with Sheffield being in the Hall, but I have 10 players I like more. 

That brings me to my Top 10 players I would vote for if I had a Hall of Fame ballot.  Each of them gets a blurb. 


10. Derek Jeter 

I would vote for Derek Jeter.  I think he's a Hall of Famer.  I also don't think he is as good as Ozzie Smith or Cal Ripken.  Does ARod count as a shortstop, because he was not as good as him either.  Also Robin Yount.  Yep, Derek Jeter is a Hall of Famer.  Probably a good thing he was on the Yankees, otherwise he would be sitting around for the next two decades like Alan Trammell. 

9.  Sammy Sosa 

I do not really care about steroids.  There were a lot of players who took them, and it did not guarantee players success.  You still had to be talented enough to actually hit the ball.  See Adam Piatt.  Sammy hit 600 home runs, which included three seasons with more than 60 home runs.  He should probably get a "Thank You" card from Major League Baseball for the whole 1998 home run race.  Baseball was very good to Sammy, let's do a little better.  Put him in the Hall. 

8. Andruw Jones 

Let me tell you about modern centerfielders from the 1990s and 2000s.  Kenny Lofton should be in the Hall of Fame, but he was off the ballot in a year.  Jim Edmonds should be in the Hall of Fame, but he was off the ballot in a year.  Andruw Jones has done better.  I know there are many people who do not like Andruw Jones.  There are two halves of his career.  The Braves half was Hall of Fame worthy.  The Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees half was not.  In conclusion, Jim Edmonds and Kenny Lofton should be in the Hall of Fame. 

7. Manny Ramirez 

I am a big fan of Manny.  He has 555 home runs, 2,500 hits, 1,800 RBIs, a .585 slugging percentage, and a .996 career OPS.  Manny also helped the Red Sox win two World Series championships.  Have I ever mentioned that his rookie cards were photographed at Duke?  I know the answer is yes.  Pretty cool local connection. 

6.  Scott Rolen 

Rolen does not have the counting numbers that are essential for many Hall of Fame voters, but I still think he is worthy of a place in Cooperstown.  Even without great counting numbers, there are many metrics that place him amongst the top dozen or so third baseman.  Rolen's peak years with the Phillies and Cardinals were very good, in line with many of the already enshrined at his position.  I do not really care if ended up getting traded out of every city he played, put him in. 

5. Todd Helton 

I had Helton outside my 10 players last year on my Hall of Fame post last year.  Yes, there are some problematic numbers with Helton, especially his home and road splits.  However, I am not going to penalize him for playing half of his career in Coors.  Many players have been on the Rockies, but few are Hall of Fame worthy.  He only had 369 home runs, which might seem low with a long career at Coors, but he also had almost 600 doubles.  Throw in a batting title, along with a great career slashline, and I am fine with Helton being in the Hall. 

4. Curt Schilling 

I have a lot of problems with Curt Schilling the person.  There are plenty of other players in the Hall that have said and done plenty of questionable things.  Curt Schilling the baseball player is Hall of Fame worthy.  Great Postseason player. 

3. Larry Walker 

I have posted a lot about Larry Walker in the past.  I feel like it's all been covered.  I also feel like he is going to make it into the Hall this year.  Just a feeling. 

2.  Roger Clemens 

Clemens has 350 wins and more than 4,500 strikeouts.  He's the greatest right-handed pitcher that I have seen in person.  Yes, he was on steroids.  No, I do not care. 

1.  Barry Bonds 

Barry Bonds is a Hall of Famer.  That's the blurb. 

If I Had A Hall Of Fame Ballot.....

There are 35 players on the Hall of Fame ballot this year.  If I had a ballot, I would definitely have to vote for the full 10 players this year.  That means I have to cross off 25 players.  Mind you, there are players I am going to have to cross out that I would vote for if I were able to choose more than 10 players.  There are also players that I would not vote for, yet would have no real issue with them being in the Hall of Fame.  Baseball cards throughout.

Let's go, counting down.

35. Rick Ankiel 

Last I heard, Ankiel was going to attempt a comeback this year.  So, if he gets signed and reaches the Majors is he back on the Hall of Fame ballot again when he retires again?

34. Juan Pierre 

33. Darren Oliver
32. Jon Garland 
31. Michael Young 
30. Jason Bay 
29. Travis Hafner 
28. Ted Lilly 

27. Billy Wagner 

I do not really think that Billy Wagner belongs in the Hall of Fame, but he's better than Trevor Hoffman.  I was disappointed that he somehow got into the Hall last year.  Perhaps Wagner will make it one day with whatever the Veteran's Committee is called now.

26. Vernon Wells 

I would not vote for the former Blue Jays and Angels outfielder named Vernon Wells.  His agent should be in the Hall of Fame for getting him that gigantic contract he signed with the Blue Jays.  His father should also be in the Hall of Fame for doing the artwork in the 1990s Upper Deck sets.  Look at that Vince Coleman artwork.  Nothing says Vince Coleman like trying to bunt your way onto base.

25. Kevin Youkilis  
24. Freddy Garcia
23. Derek Lowe  

22. Placido Polanco 

21. Omar Vizquel 

Does Omar Vizquel belong in the Hall of Fame?

"That's a clown question bro" -Bryce Harper

I know Bryce was not talking about Omar Vizquel's Hall of Fame candidacy when he gave that quote, but I felt like it is applicable to this situation.  How do we get into these situations with players on the Hall of Fame ballot.  There is a lot of:

"I remember Omar was a good fielder and won a bunch of Gold Gloves.  He was the Ozzie Smith of the 1990s"

or

"Great defense belongs in the Hall of Fame.  What is the difference between Scott Rolen and Omar Vizquel"

About 300 home runs, 300 doubles, and a World Series ring. 

What do people not understand about math?  It's not really all that close.

20. Miguel Tejada 

19. Roy Oswalt 

He was pitching for the Phillies at the time of the rally squirrel incident.

18. Lance Berkman 



We will always have Game 6.

17. Fred McGriff  

No problem with Fred McGriff being in the Hall.

16. Jeff Kent 
15. Andy Pettitte 

Although Jack Morris got into the Hall, so Andy Pettitte and all his World Series rings probably gets in at some point too.


14. Sammy Sosa 

I would have no problem with Sammy being in the Hall of Fame.  If there were less people on the ballot who were deserving of being in the Hall of Fame, I might even put him in my Top 10.  However, I also understand why he has lingered around and is now on his 7th year on the ballot.  Plenty of players used steroids, most did not end their careers with 600 home runs, 2000+ hits, almost 250 stolen bases, and more than 1,500 RBIs.  If I were going to spend more time on Sammy, there are some negatives to his career too. 

13. Gary Sheffield 

I think Sheffield is the fringiest player I support for Hall of Fame.  I have heard a lot of solid arguments against him and I completely understand.  I am more on the "Small Hall" side, but not considering someone like Sheffield feels like being slanted to the extreme side of that group.  He was always a great player in my opinion whose public perception was hurt by a lot of stuff that happened off the field.  Sheff hit more than 500 home runs, almost had 500 doubles, and stole 250 bases.  He has a better career OPS+ than Reggie Jackson, Al Kaline, Dave Winfield, and Roberto Clemente.

On the non-number side, he was always a player I feared when the Cardinals played him.  That bat waggle, quick hands, and the power.

12. Andruw Jones 

Andruw Jones had two halves of his career.  There is the Atlanta Braves version of Andruw Jones who won Gold Gloves, hit home runs, and played a vital role on the dominate National League teams of the 1990s.  Most of the focus on those Braves teams was on pitching and Chipper Jones, but Andruw was a great player too.  There have been plenty of other modern center fielders who have gotten hosed in Hall of Fame voting in recent years, like Kenny Lofton and Jim Edmonds, so I am guessing that Andruw Jones will end up in the Veterans Committee voting.  The second half of Andruw Jones's career also really hurt him.  He bounced around between the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees.  Mainly a bat off the bench who hit home runs and struck out often.  I would be fine with Andruw being in the Hall of Fame, as long as we end up with Jim Edmonds and Kenny Lofton too.

11. Todd Helton 

I have this really bad feeling that Helton is going to end up with similar results as Larry Walker.  Both were helped by playing in Denver, who wouldn't, but those two players were scary away from Coors Field.  In 2000, Todd Helton won the National League batting title with a .372 average.  Moises Alou finished second that season with a .355 average.  Helton hit .353 on the road.  He ended his career with more than 2,500 hits, 350 home runs, 1,300 walks, and almost 600 doubles.  I don't care about Coors Field, there have plenty of players on the Rockies, nobody has numbers like Helton.

Which brings me to the ten players I would vote for if I had a ballot.

10.  Scott Rolen 

There are those who would argue that Rolen is a more fringe candidate than Sheffield, but I actually think that the former Phillies/Cardinals/Reds third baseman should be a no doubter.  There are not many third baseman in the Hall of Fame, but if you look at Jay Jaffe's JAWS ratings on Baseball-Reference Rolen stacks up as the 10th best player all-time to man the hot corner.  The nine players in front of Rolen are all in the Hall of Fame, minus Adrian Beltre since he is not eligible yet.  He had an injury shortened career, so his counting numbers are a little bit short of what that crowd likes to see.  Rolen had more than 300 home runs, 500 doubles, and almost 1,300 RBIs. He also seemed to burn bridges everywhere he played, plenty of other jerky people in the Hall.

9.  Roy Halladay  

Halladay deserves to be in the Hall.  He's a little short on counting numbers, so I could see some voters potentially being sticks in the mud over the fact that Roy barely crossed the 200 win mark.  He's also only at 2,100 strikeouts.  Let's also remember that Halladay played for some mediocre teams in Toronto for much of his career.  There were some really good season up north where he won games and posted a good stat line.  He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2003, when he led the league in wins, but did not place the year before when he had an ERA+ of 157 and a 7.3 WAR.  Halladay's Hall of Fame candidacy was really helped by his time on the Phillies.  He won 55 games over three and half years, which included a second Cy Young Award in 2010 and a Postseason no-hitter against the Reds that same season.

8. Edgar Martinez 

I not only like steroid users, I also like DHs.  I really wish that Jaffe and other statisticians would include a DH category in his Hall of Fame rankings, he's in the third base rankings at the moment.  Considering Edgar played 2000 games in his career and only appeared in the field right around 600 times, pretty hard to take that comparison seriously.  DHs are just supposed to hit, so lets keep it simple and just look at his hitting stats.  Martinez has a .312/.418/.515 slash line over his 18 year career with two batting titles.  He also led the league three different times in on-base percentage, once in OPS, and once in RBIs, and two times in doubles.  Not the most powerful hitter home run wise for a DH, but he still ended his career with over 300.  Throw in the 500 doubles and that's a pretty impressive total of extra base hits.  His overall OPS+ for his career was 147, which would be the third highest on this year's ballot behind Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds.

7. Mariano Rivera 

Last year I got blocked a few times on Twitter over my instance that Trevor Hoffman was not a Hall of Famer and that relievers are overvalued.  Not a real popular argument.  I do make exceptions to my rule.  Not many, but Rivera is better than all the other closers.  Hoffman should not be in the same conversation of Mariano.  Rivera ended his career with 652 saves, which is the all-time record, along with an incredible ERA+ of 205.  The only "relief" pitcher, quotations not meant as a put down, with a high WAR than Rivera is Dennis Eckersley.  Eck spent the first half of his career as a starter and undoubtedly built up his WAR a little bit during those seasons.  Rivera also won 5 World Series rings and closed out 42 games for a save during the Postseason all while maintaining a 0.70 ERA.  If you watched the Postseason games during the 1990s and early 2000s, Mariano Rivera was almost automatic.

Break out the Duke card......


6. Manny Ramirez 

This card should be in the Hall of Fame.  Manny is a steroid user who likely will have to wait a long time to get into Cooperstown.  He's a care free guy though, sure it's not really bothering him too much.  Pretty easy math here:  Manny won two World Series titles with the Red Sox, he was the MVP in the 2004 Series, appeared in twelve All-Star Games, and took home nine Silver Sluggers.  All of those accolades are added to 555 career home runs, 547 doubles, 1,300 RBIs, and a career slash line of .312/.411/585.  Many players took steroids, still takes a lot of talent to hit the baseball the way way Manny did.  Put him in.


5.  Curt Schilling 

Schilling has lingered on the ballot for awhile. Wearing shirts that say "tree, rope, journalist" is probably not the best way to garner support amongst the sports writers voting to elect players to the Hall of Fame.  So, let's look at the positives on the field.  Schilling has 216, which does not sound like a lot for a player who lasted 20 years, but the first half of his career was mainly spent playing for some really bad Phillies teams.  The second half of his career featured three 20 win seasons, three top 5 Cy Young finishes, three World Series rings, a World Series MVP, and surpassing the 3,000 strikeout mark for his career.  His Postseason career mark is 11-2 with an ERA of 2.23.


4. Mike Mussina 

The biggest knock I always hear about Mussina is that he was never great at anything.  He did not win any awards, only once led the league in a major category (wins in 1995), and did take home a ring even though he played half of his career for the Yankees.  Awards?  He finished in the Top 5 in Cy Young voting six different times and he won seven Gold Gloves.  Mussina played 18 years for the Yankees and Orioles in the two of the smallest, home run friendly stadiums in baseball during an era where there were a ton of home run hitters.  He won 270 games, had an ERA around 3.50, and almost struck out 3,000 batters.  He has a higher career WAR than Nolan Ryan, and if you break it down to his best seven years, it's still higher than Nolan Ryan.  His career ERA+ is the same as Juan Marichal and higher than Bob Feller, Don Drysdale, and Steve Carlton.  Put him in.

3. Larry Walker

The worst non-steroid linked omission from the 1990s players.  While he has never been linked to steroids, it seems that many writers have decided to treat his time with the Rockies as the same sort of dark stain.  Luckily, Larry Walker played other places along the way, and with a few clicks of the mouse, you can find out that he was a pretty great player away from Denver too.  Like that time he hit .322 during his final year with the Expos, or those two years at the end of his career where he had a .520 slugging percentage playing for the Cardinals in a pitcher friendly park.  Most seasons, while playing for the Rockies, his road batting average was around, if not over .300.  He hit home runs, he hit doubles, and he drove in runs playing on the road.  For his career, he is just short of 400 home runs, 500 doubles, hit .313 with with a .565 slugging percentage, won seven Gold Gloves, a National League MVP, an three batting titles.  You want a number that compares him to some Hall of Famers?  How about this: Out of all the Hall of Famers who are listed as a right fielder, his slugging percentage falls in between Stan Musial and Babe Ruth.  If Walker does not get into the Hall, there will never be a Rockies player there.  Seriously.

2. Roger Clemens

I am obvious not opposed to putting steroid users into the Hall of Fame.  There is a clear line, based his different legal battles, and the Mitchell Report, which give baseball fans a good time frame of when Clemens started using steroids.  Let's go ahead and clear his numbers out after Boston.  Most of the steroid use appears to have started in the late 1990s with the Blue Jays and Yankees, and extended into his time with the Astros.

 Cutting those numbers away, Clemens at age 33 was just short of 200 wins and right around 2,500 strikeouts.  He had two Cy Young Awards and an MVP Award too. Clemens had an ERA+ of 144 with the Sox, which would have put him in the top 5 all-time, and he was already at 81.0 WAR, which is higher than both Schilling and Mussina.  Basically, pre-steroids, Clemens was already a border line Hall of Famer.  Even if you assume he career last five more years past his time with Boston, and he is a mediocre pitcher, he still probably gets around 220-230 wins and crosses 3,000 strikeouts.  Although, during his final 10 win season in Boston, he did manage to lead the American League in strikeouts with 257.

I will not argue that he gets to 350 wins and 4,500 strikeouts without a little help from the pharmacy, but it is also a pretty silly argument to say that Clemens is not a Hall of Famer without steroids.

1. Barry Bonds 

Similar story to Clemens.  There is a definite time line connected to Bonds and steroids.  So, again we can clear out Bonds numbers at a specific date and look at his credentials from that point.  That line would be 1998.  At that point in his career Bonds was at 400 home runs and 400 stolen bases, the only player to reach those plateaus, along with 400 doubles, almost 2,000 hits, three National League MVPs, and eight Gold Gloves.  Bonds was also at 79.1 WAR after 1998, which puts him in the top 5 players at the position behind Ted Williams, Rickey Henderson, and Carl Yastrzemski.  Jay Jaffe would have put him behind Pete Rose too, I consider him a first baseman, but you get the point.  He was in really good company at that point.  If he had walked off the field after the 1998 season with only those numbers and accomplishments I have a hard time believing that Barry Bonds is not in Cooperstown.

From a non-numbers side of things, I saw Barry Bonds numerous times as both a Giant and a Pirate.  If I being honest, and not a Cardinals homer (Sorry Albert), Bonds is the best player that I have seen in person.  He was a great and feared hitter, a fast base runner, and an excellent left fielder.  There was little that he he ever did wrong.  I know there are baseball fans older than me who are upset about Pete Rose not being in the Hall.  I feel the same about Barry Bonds, except Barry was better than Pete.