Sunday, January 20, 2019

2019 Hall of Fame Ballot


The results of the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot will be released on Tuesday, so I have to give my thoughts ahead of time.  I will start with my ballot and then follow that with whom I think will get the votes.  I would love to vote for Roy Oswalt, but there's just no room.

My ballot:

Lance Berkman

            I realize he is a bit of a homer pick, since he was my favorite Astros player between Caminiti and Springer, but he does have some really good numbers.  I hope he gets somewhere in the 10-15% range to keep him on the ballot.

Todd Helton

            People discount his numbers too much due to playing his entire career in Colorado.  Regardless, he was one of the best, most consistent, first basemen during the steroids era who never had any suspicion about him.

Jeff Kent

            One of the best offensive second basemen of all time, I am surprised he only got 14.5% of the vote last year.

Edgar Martinez

            The greatest designated hitter of all time, he was, plain and simple, a great hitter.

Fred McGriff

            I have written about this before, but I cannot believe people say he does not belong in the Hall because he was seven home runs shy of 500 for his career (which he would have had if not for the strike in 1994).  He was never the flashiest player, but he was a solid offensive force for 15 years.  Unfortunately, because baseball writers are dumb, there is no way he jumps 50% on his final ballot.

Mike Mussina

            Upon further examination, I do think he deserves to be in the Hall.  His numbers are especially good when considering he pitched his entire career in the American League East.  His career totals are essentially the exact same as Jim Palmer and Juan Marichal.

Mariano Rivera

            I hated him, and I think he was overrated, but I cannot deny he belongs in the Hall.

Curt Schilling

            Once again, the only reason why he is not in the Hall is because people do not like his politics.  That’s ridiculous and a shame.  Beyond his postseason heroics, he was one of the best starters for almost 10 years.

Billy Wagner

            I really do not understand why he has received such a small amount of support (11.1%).  He was just a tick below Hoffman and Rivera.

Larry Walker

            Similar to Helton, people discount his numbers way too much with the “Coors effect.”  He was one of the best 5-tool players of his generation.

Who I think will get in:

Roy Halladay

            I don’t see it, but he is getting a lot of support (I hope not because of his untimely death).  He was good, but not for long enough.

Edgar Martinez

            It’s his last year on the ballot, and he was only a few votes shy.

Mike Mussina

            He’s been rising basically 10% each year since he started on the ballot in the mid-20s.  He was at 63.5% last year, I think he gets enough to squeak in, but barely.

Mariano Rivera

            He will be close to 100%

No comments:

Post a Comment