2024 Obligatory Hall of Fame Post

 

On January 24th, we'll find out who gets to join former manager Jim Leyland in next summer's Hall of Fame festivities. I enjoy this time of year, especially as voters reveal their ballots. I actually like reading about these votes, and the thought process each writer makes in choosing who they think is worthy. I wish more writers gave us a inside look at their choices. It's fascinating.

For the past few years, I wrote about who I felt deserved to get elected. I decided to do that again this year as well. Pardon me while I copy and paste from part of my original post from 2018:

I obviously do not have an official vote, but I too have thought about who is worthy and who would make my unofficial ballot. Before I list my choices, a few clarifications into my voting process:

• I'm a "Big Hall" type of guy - I believe that the Hall's main purpose is to reflect the history of the game. I'm not going to cross a guy off just because he's not an inner circle type.
  
• As far as PED users go, I generally don't have a strong opinion. Again, the Hall should reflect this era of the game. To be honest, I have genuine reservations as to how much PED usage affects a player's overall stats. That being said, those guys are placed in the back of the line. As much as I may feel Manny Ramirez deserves to get in, if there are at least 10 other worthy candidates, he won't make my ballot.

I'm going to categorize players into 3 groups - definitely worthy, probably worthy, and maybe worthy. (Real scientific, I know...)

 

I've since added a 4th group, Not Worthy, to at least give a nod of appreciation to those "one and done" ballplayers you won't likely see on next year's ballot. I've also unfortunately forced myself to make a decision on a player who has been a part of the Astros cheating scandal.

 

Definitely Worthy

 

These are the guys I don't have to think hard about. Statistically, they belong, and that's all there is to it. Obviously, because of the PED/cheating issues, it's possible that not all of these guys may make my final ballot.

Carlos Beltrán - The "character clause" gets interesting with Beltran on the ballot. He was the primary scapegoat of the Astros' cheating scandal, due in part to being the only player from that team whose career concluded between that World Series victory and the report getting released. He was never officially punished, so how do the voters view this transgression? For now, I'm lumping Beltran with the PED users as guys who get will get my non-official vote, but not if there are any worthy candidates ahead of him. 

2011 Topps #302 Adrian Beltre

 

Adrian Beltre - I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Beltre's lone year in Boston put him on the path to the Hall of Fame. He solidified it in Texas, but Boston is where it started.

 

Joe Maurer - A three time batting champ is impressive enough, but to do it while as a catcher? Hall Of Fame worthy!

Manny Ramirez - Great player, dumb asshole. He would be a Hall of Fame lock if it weren't for the  PED suspensions and off-field bullshit.

 

Alex Rodriguez - Great player, egotistical asshole. He would be a Hall of Fame lock if it weren't for the  PED suspensions and the ways he tried to weasel around all of it.

Probably Worthy

These players have strong cases, but not airtight. There are usually some reservations. However, if they get elected, I won't have a problem with it.

Todd Helton - There's a significant gap between his home/road splits. Should that matter? I haven't really decided.

Torii Hunter - Statistically, he's not among the elite, but he strikes me as the kind of player whose 9 Gold Gloves, highlight reel catches, and overall love of the game will get him in someday through a veterans' committee.

Andruw Jones - A decade of being one of the most dynamic and electrifying players in baseball might be enough to overcome a legendary drop-off in production.

 

Gary Sheffield - He may not have been the most likable person, but he was a scary hitter at his peak.

1993 Score #534 Gary Sheffield (DT)

Chase Utley - Stat-based voters love him, but outside of those elite peak years he was pretty pedestrian.

Billy Wagner - He was dominant on the field (more so than Trevor Hoffman), but pitching under 1,000 innings in his career is a tough hurdle to jump.

Maybe Worthy

These guys have their supporters, and may have a long stay on the ballots because of them, but I'm not convinced they belong.

Bobby Abreu - Walks are not exciting. He may have been elite at getting on base, but he was never someone I saw play and thought "Now that's a Hall of Famer!"

Mark Beuhrle - He was a consistently solid starter, but that's not really Hall worthy.

Bartolo Colon - If you ranked everyone on this ballot based on "fame", Bartolo would be towards the top of the list. No one has come back from a PED suspension to the levels of popularity that Colon has.

Andy Petitte - An average pitcher who had the benefit of pitching for one of the most dominate baseball dynasties in recent history.

Jimmy Rollins - An underrated player, the former MVP is 6th all-time in games played at shortstop.

2008 Upper Deck #605 Jimmy Rollins

Francisco Rodríguez - 4th all-time in saves and the single season leader, but he just wasn't the same when he left the Angels.

 

Omar Vizquel - Without even getting into what a horrible human being he is, he was never a real candidate for me. Outside the Gold Gloves, he was an mediocre ballplayer at best.

Not Worthy

In my opinion, none of these guys have a strong enough case to be elected. 

 

Jose Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes, James Shields, David Wright

These names gave us a lot of great individual seasons and highlight reel moments, but just didn't have the longevity of greatness required.

My Ballot

Here's my unofficial 10 player ballot:

1. Carlos Beltran
   
2. Adrian Beltre
   
3. Todd Helton
   
4. Torii Hunter
   
5. Andruw Jones
   
6. Joe Maurer
   
7. Manny Ramirez
   
8. Alex Rodriguez
   
9. Chase Utley
   
10. Billy Wagner
    

Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sheffield are held back due to their PED connections, while Beltran gets the same treatment for his involvement in the Astos scandal. That leaves newcomers Beltre and Maurer  from the Definitely Worthy list and 5 guys from the Probably Worthy list. Three spots remaining for the cheaters, which go to Beltran, Ramirez, and Rodriguez. I thought of bumping one of those guys to give Sheffield one last vote on his final ballot, but then he had to go ahead and whine about the 2004 post-season.

So far, Beltre, Maurer, and Helton look like they'll make it, with Sheffield and Wagner also putting up strong numbers. It's looking like we'll have a good sized class this year!