2018 Hall of Fame Ballot!

Once again, tomorrow is the date for one of my favorite debates.  Who should be in the Hall of Fame? 

First, I'm going to go through my "ballot" (remember, you can only vote for 10).  Second, I'm going to give a simple yes or no for whether each guy on the ballot should be in.

My ballot (alphabetical order):

Vladimir Guerrero

            The best bad ball hitter I've ever seen (though I hear Yogi Berra was pretty good).  Tons of power, plenty of speed (though the Montreal turf destroyed his knees), a cannon of an arm.  The only knock was he was pretty bad with the glove, but who cares?  Has to get in his second year.

Trevor Hoffman

            Those who say "he wasn't Mariano" are stupid and have a ridiculously high bar for success.  He was the second best closer of his time.  Plus, there's no beating him entering to Hells Bells (they basically invented the closer walkup music).  The only knock I've seen against him was his postseason record.  I would counter the postseason should only help your chances, not hurt them.  I'm not joking when I say I am waiting for my return trip to Cooperstown until after he is in.

Chipper Jones

            This is a reluctant vote to show I am not biased.  I hated Chipper.  First, because he was a rival (in my mind at least) to Caminiti.  Second, because the Astros could never get past those annoying Braves.  But, I can't argue with his stats.

Jeff Kent

            Added to my ballot this year because there's more room.  One of the greatest offensive second basemen of all time.  He had a decent glove but was apparently not a great teammate.

Edgar Martinez

            The greatest designated hitter of all time (sorry Papi), only injuries and a late start kept him from 3000 hits.

Fred McGriff

            The second greatest casualty (after the Expos) of the 1994 strike, because he fell 7 home runs short of 500.  It's crazy he doesn't get more consideration, especially since people now want to laud clean power hitters from the 90s.

Curt Schilling

            Perhaps the most dominant postseason starter in the modern era, it was also unquestioned that when he paired with Randy Johnson in Arizona they were the best 1-2 punch of their time.  Anybody who doesn't vote for him because of his post-career outspokenness is an idiot.

Jim Thome

            Do you realize he hit 612 home runs?  In any other era, that number would be bonkers.  He also had a lifetime .956 OPS, way better than Sheffield or Sosa (fourth best on the ballot, behind Bonds, Ramirez, and Walker).

Billy Wagner

            Closers are supposed to be dominant.  Nobody, except maybe Mariano, has been more dominant.  Only his lack of innings is keep his consideration down.

Larry Walker

            As someone else said, if you vote for Vladimir you have to vote for Larry.  They were basically the same person, but Larry was less flashy (and he played in Colorado).  He also had one of the strongest arms in right field you will ever see.

So there's my 10, and honestly there's only one other that I would consider:

Barry Bonds - blatant roid user, no

Chris Carpenter - no

Roger Clemens - same boat as Bonds

Johnny Damon - no

Livan Hernandez - no

Orlando Hudson - no

Aubrey Huff - no

Jason Isringhausen - no

Andruw Jones - no, an annoying showoff in the field, he coasted defensively on reputation and offensively on a couple of good seasons, his drop off was dramatic

Carlos Lee - HA! no

Brad Lidge - no

Hideki Matsui - no

Kevin Millwood - no

Jamie Moyer - no

Mike Mussina - Yes - 270 wins and a 123 career ERA+ pitching entire career in AL East (same as Juan Marichal, better than Bob Feller, Eddie Plank, Don Drysdale, Warren Spahn, etc.)

Manny Ramirez - no - twice tested positive

Scott Rolen - no, though he was underrated

Johan Santana - no because of injuries, he still pitched the most impressive game I've seen in person (and I've seen a no hitter)

Gary Sheffield - based on numbers, yes, but no

Sammy Sosa - no, see Bonds

Omar Vizquel - no and I don't understand why there's even a debate.  Sure, he was flashy with the glove (or no glove), but he was terrible offensively and only put up big counting numbers due to longevity

Kerry Wood - no

Carlos Zambrano - heck no (I seriously hated this guy)