WJR's Hall of Fame Ballot - 2014

I love the Hall of Fame debate.  I could do it all day. In fact, I HAVE done it all day. The beauty of the Hall of Fame is there is no exact science for choosing who deserves enshrinement.  If there were, everybody’s ballot would be identical and we’d have nothing but 1st ballot inductees who all collect 100% of the vote. And it goes without saying that 100% of the fun and suspense would vanish as well.

In 2013, the Baseball Writers of America Association (BBWAA) took all the fun and suspense out of it FOR us, with not a single eligible candidate collecting the 75% of the vote required for enshrinement.  Craig Biggio (68.2%) and Jack Morris (67.7%) came the closest.  Many voters simply “took a knee” last year, turning in a blank ballot and forfeiting the opportunity to vote for as many as 10 candidates.

For the past year, I have been trying to figure out that the writers were trying to prove or solve by shutting the door on Hall of Fame caliber players that are universally thought to be deserving of the honor.  The truth is it ticked me off a little, the thought of a writer casting a blank ballot with so many candidates worthy of consideration.  Blank?  REALLY?

Do the members of the BBWAA have a responsibility to enshrine players in Cooperstown?  I say yes.  The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a museum for baseball fans.  It is not funded by Major League Baseball in any way, but rather by private contributions.  Many of those contributions come in the form of admission fees and much of that is collected from folks intending to attend the annual enshrinement ceremony. 

The Hall exists for the sole purpose of connecting current and future generations to the proud, rich history of the game.  Fewer people visit when nobody gets in, and the connection weakens.  It is clear that the BBWAA does the Hall no favors when they fail to elect a single player, but it can also be argued that they are compounding the damage the Steroid Era inflicted on the game itself.

Every blank ballot cast, every deserving player asked to wait another year is a grim reminder that we’re still not past this very dark spot in the history of this magnificent game.  Measures have been taken to ensure history is not repeated.  Baseball is moving on.  Time for the high and mighty writers to do the same.

There are 19 new names on the 2014 ballot, including 4 with statistical bodies of work that easily pass my Cooperstown “eye test”, none of whom were the objects of suspicion of steroid or performance enhancing drug use.  These 4 names are going to make it much harder for a writer to turn in a blank ballot this year:

Tom Glavine:  305 wins over 22 seasons.  10-time All Star, 2-time Cy Young Award winner.  Won 20 or more 5 times over a 10 season stretch. 

Greg Maddux:   355 career wins, 4-time Cy Young Award winner, 5 additional top 5 finishes in Cy Young balloting.  8 time All Star.  One of the greatest righthanders ever.

Mike Mussina:  270 career wins over 18 seasons, 8 in Yankee pinstripes.  Never won the Cy Young Award, but finished in the top 6 in balloting 9 times over 17 seasons.   30 wins shy of the hallowed 300 number, but a very good pitcher for a long time.

Frank Thomas:  .301 batting average with 521 home runs over 19 seasons.  2-time Most Valuable Player (1994, 1994), plus 4 additional appearances in the top 4.  Played just slightly over half of his games as a 1^st baseman, the rest as a DH.

My case for Bonds and Clemens

For any player who ever used, it is impossible to understand or calculate what his “arc” of productivity would have been had he not made the choice to use.  Many voters don’t want to be burdened with such “mathematical gymnastics” and summarily cast aside literally everybody on the infamous list of PED users.  As 2013 balloting taught us, that position has grown in popularity, and I don’t consider it a thoroughly unreasonable one.  So why Bonds and Clemens then? 

As I evaluate a player, I remove from the evaluation any season where there’s a trail of PED use and any season AFTER that.  If you’re not a Hall of Famer before you start using, you’ll never get my vote after you retire.  No matter how productive you are.  Even if you only used ONCE.  The resume ends the very instant you start using.  Everything stops.

It might sound harsh, but it works both ways:  if you’re a Hall of Famer before you started with PEDs, you’ll have my vote at the end, no matter how much you used, no matter for how long.  The Hall is for the players who performed the best (without being caught cheating) in their respective eras.

Which brings us to Bonds.  Prior to 1999, when he reported to Spring Training and was fitted for a hat 3 sizes bigger than the previous season, Bonds had collected 8 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Slugger Awards and 3 MVPs. Whatever you think of him personally (and I think he’s an absolute jerk), study his career and you’ll conclude that he had built a Hall of Fame resume before he started with PEDs a few seasons into his years in San Francisco.

Next to Bonds, the case for Roger Clemens is a bit harder to make in my opinion, but his stretch with the Red Sox (again, before he reportedly started using) was pure dominance: an MVP Award, 3 Cy Youngs, 3 more top 6 finishes before he left Boston.  I don’t have any video, but I am reasonably sure that he extended his career with something illegal. With that said, there is no evidence to suggest that Clemens wasn’t clean in a Red Sox uniform, and he was an incredible pitcher in his Boston years.

Reasonable arguments both, but two of the most dominant players of their respective eras will be left out forever because, well, you know why.

What about Pete Rose?

Most folks who call themselves baseball fans have an opinion on this guy, and now that you know where I sit on Bonds and Clemens, my opinion on Charlie Hustle should not surprise you.  Listing his statistical credentials is pointless because everybody agrees that Pete’s body of work is worthy of Cooperstown. 

He is not in the Hall because Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned him from baseball for life and the National Baseball Hall of Fame honored the suspension (although not obligated to do so in any way).  There is ongoing debate because there are many who agree that betting on the Reds during his managerial years cancels all of that out.  I do not hold that opinion.  Somewhere in the middle of 4,256 knocks, a staggering number that may never be equaled, Pete punched his ticket to Cooperstown.  When future generations visit the Hall of Fame, they should be able to learn about Pete and the way he played, because it is how baseball SHOULD be played.

Outlook for 2014 Voting + WJR’S Ballot

In shutting the doors to everybody on the 2013 ballot, the writers were making a point, but my theory is that it was also a metaphorical “reset button” and the dawn of new mindset for voting.  Look for the vote totals to actually climb for players who are under the cloud of suspicion.  Don’t get me wrong:  I don’t think Barry Bonds will ever earn enough votes (which is a crime), but as the list of players suspected of juicing continues to grow, I predict that out of sheer pragmatism, some of the writers will relax their position and cast for players they had previously overlooked.

What does my ballot look like?  The current rules allow for voters to cast for as many as 10 eligible candidates.  While the idea of 10 players joining manager inductees Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre on stage makes for one long awards ceremony, my ballot has 10 names on it.  You already know about Bonds and Clemens, and 4 new names on the ballot that will have my checkmark next to them (Glavine, Maddux, Mussina, Thomas).  Here are the other 4:

Craig Biggio - One of my favorite ballplayers.  A career similar to Roberto Alomar (HOF 2010), not as flashy with the glove, a little more pop with the bat. Bobby Grich has a higher career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) total than Craig Biggio, and you shouldn’t have to say that about any 1st ballot Hall of Famer, which is why I left him off my mythical ballot a year ago, but other than Charlie Hustle himself, there are no Hall of Famers with more career hits than Biggio (3,060) not in the Hall.

Mike Piazza - 427 bombs highest among all catchers, higher WAR total than Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. He should have been in on the first ballot.  Don’t over think this one.

Tim Raines - Raines is another guy who’s been overlooked for a few years, but whose fine career looks even better through a sabermetric lens. Only Bonds and Pete Rose are left fielders whose WAR totals are higher than Raines. Stole 980 bags and that number may NEVER be matched again.

Alan Trammell - Passed over by the writers for 12 straight years, Trammell is one I have changed my mind on quite recently.  There are only two shortstops with higher career WAR totals than Trammell’s:  Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Tram went about his business very quietly in the Motor City, but his distinguished career is worthy of enshrinement.