by
Greek Giant
Yesterday was the deadline for members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to submit their official ballots for players to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Today the Hall will announce the results of voting.
In the spirit of the Hall let’s pretend that yours truly is a member and has a say in the voting.My thanks to Jayson Stark for giving me this idea. If you have a subscription to The Athletic you should read his article.
Here is the official Ballot. Matt Cain is eligible.
Here is how my ballot would look:
In
Jeff Kent
There is no need to explain this one but here goes:
Most HR by a 2B — Kent (351)
Most RBIs by a 2B — Kent (1.428)
Most 100-RBI seasons by a 2B — Kent (eight)
Highest slugging pct. by a 2B* — Kent (.509)
It turns out that Kent was somewhat of an underrated second baseman from a defensive standpoint. Finally, there’s that redass mustache. Kent belongs.
Todd Helton
First the numbers: Todd Helton has the sixth highest career OPS+ of all first baseman, retired, IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL. Forget about Coors Field. Helton’s stats were pretty much park neutral. He was dominant. He deserves the Hall.
HIGHEST CAREER OPS+, RETIRED 1B
(since 1900, min. 2,000 games at 1B)
Lou Gehrig: 179
Jeff Bagwell: 149
Willie McCovey: 147
Albert Pujols: 145
Fred McGriff: 134
Todd Helton: 133
Billy Wagner
Just so dominant. No need to cite the stats. One of the rare lefty relievers to be effective as a closer for so long.
Scott Rolen
Just one of the greatest third baseman of all time. He passes the numbers and the Eye test. He was also a destructive hitter posting ten seasons of 20 or more homers, many of those were seasons in which he hit over 30 long balls and drove in 100 plus, from a guy who saved runs at a historic clip in the hot corner. Take a look:
Nope
Carlos Beltran deserves a Hall of Fame ceremony but not yet. He needs to be punished a bit for his role on the 2017 cheating Astros. He can wait a few years. Andruw Jones was a historically gifted center fielder but so poor as a hitter with a drop-off in his defense that he does not make the Hall in my book. Garry Sheffield is borderline. I really loved Sheffield’s approach to hitting but he was a defensive liability pretty much his entire career and he was not a dominant hitter to put the fear of god in Pitchers the way Kent or Bonds were. Jimmy Rollins is a border line member. Stark makes a great case for him. I am not sure, though I always liked his dynamic range of talents. Rollins was a winner.
Here are my criteria for entry into the Hall of Fame
- Dominance in phase of the game
- More than one skill
- Winning a World Series
- Making your team better
- Sustained success, more than just two or three years
Who do you think should be in the Hall of Fame?