In my third year of voting for the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for members who have been with the entity for more than 10 years, I received a vote with 25 candidates, 11 debutants and 14 returning from previous processes.
Because the coronavirus pandemic has canceled the 2020 ceremony (in which Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Marvin Miller and Ted Simmons must be honored), the 2021 law will include that group and those getting approval from the writers this winter. . The time committees (veterans) did not meet this year, also due to COVID-19.
Unlike in recent years, when some of the best players in recent times were eligible, the 2021 ballot includes several elements that had very good runs, but are not necessarily “safe shots” to get to the venue. famous.
According to the recommendations of the BBWAA and the Hall of Fame, the voting process should be based on the statistics of the candidates, their playing skills, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team (s) in which (they played).
In addition to those basic criteria, my other requirements for judging that a candidate deserves a vote are simple: all players with careers of at least 10 years, who stood out from their peers and who entered the major leagues’ anti-doping program (started in 2004) eligible in my opinion.
I do not consider myself a guardian of public morals, nor do I intend nor want to be part of any form of modern Inquisition, so I reserve the right to change my views on players who are suspended to modify / amend / vary. for doping, but for now I will deal with the others who do not bear that heavy burden.
I promise that under no circumstances will I convict a candidate of athletic merit for suspicion, prejudice or discrimination of any kind.
Finally, I think the honor of entering the Hall of Fame is so important that only the most notable protagonists in different fields should be considered annually, but bearing in mind that there is a major bottleneck of high-qualification candidates on the current ballot, I will continue to use almost all allowed places (maximum 10) until the ballot is released.
Due to the lack of super solid candidates among the first-timers on the ballot, I will only hold nine out of ten seats this year.
Two of my picks from last year received 75% approval (Jeter and Walker), leaving eight seeds for the 2021 vote (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, Omar Vizquel, Scott Rolen and Billy Wagner) and a seat for a new vote.
THOSE WHO RETURN
1. Barry Bonds
One of the greatest players of all time, Bonds competed in 14 All-Star Games, won 12 silver bats and 8 gold gloves, was Rookie of the Year, seven-time MVP and won three National League Hank Aaron Awards in 22 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants.
Bonds hit .298 with 2,935 hits, 514 steals, 1,996 RBI’s and retired with career home records (762) and in one season (73 in 2001) and the highest WAR lead (wins above replacement level, by the acronym in English) with 162, 8.
Bonds appear on the ballot for the ninth and penultimate time, after receiving 60.7% support last year.
Roger Clemens
During 24 seasons, he achieved 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts in 4,916.2 innings. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards (the all-time record), was the AL MVP in 1986, and played in 11 All-Star Games in 24 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston. Astros.
“El Rohete” was on two World Series champion teams and his 139 WAR is in third place in the all-time highest lead among pitchers. Returns to voting for the ninth and penultimate time, having received 61% support in 2020.
3. Sammy Sosa
“El Bambino del Caribe” is one of the best players with the least voter support (only 7.8% last year during his sixth appearance on the ballot). Sosa hit 609 home runs and drove 1,667 runs in 18 years with the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.
The Dominican was the Most Valuable Player and Hank Aaron Award of the National League in 1998, was called up to seven All-Star Games and received six Silver Bats. He is the only player in history with three seasons of 60 or more home runs, surpassing 30 11 times.
Sosa, who was 30-30 twice and stole 234 bases, amassed 58.6 WAR in his career, 43.8 of them in the best seven years of his career, but the 13.9% support he had in 2020 makes it unlikely to be chosen on his ninth and penultimate appearance on the ballot.
4. Curt Schilling
I admit that I have had a big internal debate to keep up with a person who has shown to be the opposite of what I am preaching. But as I already wrote, I will handle this trial without prejudice, and in that sense Curt Schilling, the pitcher, has my vote.
Schilling won 216 games, had a 3.46 ERA, and batted 3,116 batters in 3,261 innings over 20 seasons, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox. He was key to Arizona winning its first title in 2001 and Boston ended an 86-year drought in 2004.
The righthanded man had nine seasons of 200 innings, five of 200 strikeouts (2 of 300), three of 20 wins (eight of 15+) and finished second three times in the Cy Young battle.
In his entire career, he walked twice for every nine innings and walked 4.38 times. The six-time All-Star scored 80.6 WAR, well above the average of starting pitchers in Cooperstown.
He comes out of the 70% jury election in 2020 and if he fails to vote this year – ninth and penultimate – it will be his responsibility for the message of bigotry he lives as he preaches.
5. Omar Vizquel
When talking about Omar Vizquel’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame, journalists and fans immediately turn to Ozzie Smith as the best reference point, which isn’t exactly fair.
Did you know that there are 24 players in Cooperstown who played mostly shortstop in their careers and not all of them defending like Smith or hit like Honus Wagner and Cal Ripken Jr? Have you read Dave Bancroft, Joe Tinker, Rabbit Maranville and Travis Jackson before? They are also all shortstop in Cooperstown.
In a game that has long underestimated the value of defense, Vizquel is one of the best in the art of defending the ball. “Manos de Seda” won 11 gold gloves – two less than Smith and two more than Luis Aparicio, the only Venezuelan in Cooperstown – and had offensive numbers comparable to Smith’s (.262, 580 steals and 1.257 scored in 19 years ) and Aparicio (.262, 506 steals and 1.335 scored in 18 seasons).
Vizquel batted .272 with 404 steals, 1,445 runs scored and 951 RBI’s in 24 Major League-seasons, retiring as game leader (2,709) and field percentage (.984) and seventh in defensive WAR among all shortstops in history.
Vizquel was extraordinarily great and durable and has my vote for the Hall of Fame. In his third year on the ballot, he received 52.6% of the vote.
6. Bobby Abreu
The right fielder is not only the most complete Venezuelan player of all time, but also one of the most talented of his generation. In 18 seasons, Abreu hit .291 with 288 home runs, 574 doubles, 400 stolen bases, 1,453 runs scored, 1,363 RBI’s and 1,476 transfers.
Abreu was a five-tool player who hit more than .300 six times, hit 20 home runs in nine, 30 steals in six and 100 in eight. In 2004, the outfielder hit .301 with 30 homeruns, 47 doubles, 40 steals, 127 walks, 118 runs scored and 105 RBIs. That’s how good Abreu was.
One of the most underrated of the last three or four decades (he was only called up to the All-Star Game twice, won the Gold Glove once and the Silver Bat once), Abreu averaged 19 home runs, 38 doubles, 27 steals and 99 walks for every 162 career games.
Since 1980, “El Comedulces” has been # 18 in the major leagues in percentage of walks received for plate turns among players who have played at least 5,000 times. His total bases reached by hits, walks and balls (3,949) is # 49 in history.
7. Scott Rolen
I voted for Rolen last year after ignoring him in 2019 because the ballot was too full of better options.
Rolen averaged 25 home runs and 102 RBIs per 162 games and won eight gold gloves in 17 seasons. He was Rookie of the Year in 1997 and consistently contributed greatly to both sides of the game. His 70.2 WAR surpasses the 68.4 average of all Hall of Fame 3Bs.
Appears on the ballot for the fourth year. In 2020 it received 35.3%.
8. Billy Wagner
Wagner was another candidate I sacrificed in 2019 but saved in 2020. Compared to the best relievers in history, including those already inducted into Cooperstown, Wagner looks like he deserves a seat at the table.
A 5-10 man who weighed less than 160 pounds when signed to pro, he saved 422 games, with a 2.31 ERA and 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings (1,196 K in 903.0 IL) in an inspiring 16-year career. in Major League Baseball. Wagner never gave up more than eight homeruns in a season, limited the opposition to 6.0 hits per nine innings and fueled 1,196 of the 3,600 batters he faced.
Wagner (853 appearances and 903.0 innings) had a relatively short career, but he was extremely effective and that’s what the Hall of Fame is all about, honoring the best. He received only 31.7% support in his fifth year on the ballot.
NEW ELIGIBLE (0)
Of all those who make their debut on the ballot paper, I don’t consider any of them freshman candidates for the Hall of Fame. That is not to say that you are throwing them out for future consideration.
SAVED (I haven’t voted for them before)
9. Andruw Jones
I don’t want to compare pears to apples, but if my rationale for voting for Omar Vizquel is his defense, then part of the same approach should be used to advocate for Curaçao.
Let’s get started, as Jones won 10 gold gloves in midfield, hit 434 home runs and collected 67 WAR (Fangraphs version) in a 17-year career, 12 with the Atlanta Braves. Defensively, Jones has a higher WAR (24.4) than Willie Mays (18.2), and is # 22 of all time, according to Baseball-Reference.
Of all the players who won at least 10 Golden Gloves, only Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Schmidt more balls out of the park than Jones. They are all members of the Hall of Fame.
Jones batted .254, but hit 20 home runs 10 times, drove to 100 or more five times, scored 100 or more four times, and stole 20 or more bases in four seasons. In total, he hit 853 extra basehits, stole 152 bases and had more than 1,200 runs and 1,200 RBI’s, with a .823 OPS.
For a player with such defensive credentials, those offensive numbers should be enough to get into Cooperstown, but Jones has garnered little support, receiving just 19.4% of the vote last year (his third).