Baseball Hall of Fame 2017 Edition

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12/31/2016 3:13 am

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It's time for my Fourteenth annual "If I had a Hall of Fame Vote" post.

My previous ballots:
2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015 - 2016

A few reminders:
1. Voters can vote for up to ten players.
2. I'm a "Big Hall" guy so I voted for ten.
3. I reserve the right to not have reasonable explanations for any or all of my selections.
4. To be inducted, players need to be named on 75% of the ballots cast.
5. The real results will be announced on January 18th.

Eligible Players:

Holdovers from last year - Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Trevor Hoffman, Jeff Kent, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Mike Mussina, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Lee Smith, Sammy Sosa, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker

First-timers - Casey Blake, Pat Burrell, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, J.D. Drew, Vladimir Guerrero, Carlos Guillen, Derrek Lee, Melvin Mora, Magglio Ordonez, Jorge Posada, Manny Ramirez, Edgar Renteria, Arthur Rhodes, Ivan Rodriguez, Freddy Sanchez, Matt Stairs, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield

Go to Baseball Reference.com for player stats.

My Ballot:

Jeff Bagwell - Eligible since 2011; 7th time on my ballot ('11-'17)
Barry Bonds - Eligible since 2013; 5th time on my ballot ('13-'17)
Roger Clemens - Eligible since 2013; 5th time on my ballot ('13-'17)
Vladimir Guerrero - Eligible since 2017; 1st time on my ballot ('17)
Edgar Martinez - Eligible since 2010; 7th time on my ballot ('10-'13,'15-'17)
Mike Mussina - Eligible since 2014; 2nd time on my ballot ('16,'17)
Tim Raines - Eligible since 2008; 10th time on my ballot ('08-'17)
Ivan Rodriguez - Eligible since 2017; 1st time on my ballot ('17)
Curt Schilling - Eligible since 2013; 3rd time on my ballot ('13,'16,'17)
Larry Walker - Eligible since 2011; 2nd time on my ballot ('12,'17)

Dropped from last year's ballot:
Ken Griffey Jr. ('16) (elected)
Mike Piazza ('13-'16) (elected)
Alan Trammell ('04-'16) (no longer eligible)

Added this year:
Vladimir Guerrero (first-time eligible)
Ivan Rodriguez (first-time eligible)
Larry Walker (back in top ten)

Eligible, and voted for in the past, but not this year:
Fred McGriff ('10-'12)
Lee Smith ('06,'07)

	Matt - 3941 Posts 12/31/2016 @ 03:45:39 AM
As with the past few years, there are more than ten players I feel are Hall of Fame worthy. I would also cast votes for Jeff Kent, Fred McGriff, Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa, and probably Gary Sheffield. I don't really know what to do about the closers on the ballot. I think I would vote for Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith, but then you have Billy Wagner with a stat line that measures up to both of them, and I never really thought of him as a hall of famer. Maybe that means all three should be in, or maybe it means all three should be out, I don't know. Luckily with enough non-closers deserving of a spot on my ballot, I don't have to figure that out for a while. 2018 doesn't look likely to help the backlog any as Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Andrew Jones, Scott Rolen, and Omar Vizquel are all eligible and should get support. Johan Santana, Johnny Damon, and Jamie Moyer could potentially get enough votes to stick around as well.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Sarah - So's your face 12/31/2016 @ 11:07:28 PM
I vote for Orlando Cabrera - all he did was win!		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Alex - Who controls the past now controls the future 01/03/2017 @ 11:54:46 PM
Alex Wrote - 01/06/2016 @ 11:09:33 PM Good to see a number of guys improve their vote %, but really, how does at least Bagwell still not get in? This is seriously messing up my fake ballot that doesn't matter. I don't want to bump Raines on his last year and I'm tired of snubbing Martinez, so Ivan gets the biggest shaft this year. Top ten: Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Jeff Bagwell Mike Mussina Larry Walker Curt Schilling Vladimir Guerrero (new) Edgar Martinez (added back) Tim Raines Manny Ramirez (new) Dropped from last year - elected: Ken Griffey Jr. Mike Piazza Dropped from last year – The Rule of 10: none Dropped from last year – too slow: Alan Trammell Additional votes: Ivan Rodriguez Sammy Sosa Jeff Kent Gary Sheffield My perpetual VC ballot (Fails since 2000) Kevin Brown Bret Saberhagen Luis Tiant Alan Trammell Kenny Lofton Lou Whitaker Dave Stieb Kevin Appier David Cone Keith Hernandez Chuck Finley Rafael Palmeiro Jim Edmonds Mark McGwire		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Matt - Nutcan.com's MBL 01/18/2017 @ 05:25:07 PM
http://www.baseballhall.org/hof/class-of-2017 Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez elected. Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero fall just short.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Jeremy - 9543 Posts 01/19/2017 @ 09:41:02 AM
I suspect Hoffman will get in, but what more can he do and not make it? Saves is a terrible stat, but a) having [basically all of them] of a flawed stat at some point is still impressive. b) a lot of the people voting on this are the people that think things like saves and "proven closers" are things. So what gives? Is this going to be some stupid "no one before Rivera" thing?		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Jon - 1000000 posts (and counting!) 01/21/2017 @ 11:33:31 PM
Eckersley is already in, though he did start a fair amount. I imagine people don't want to put a closer in on the first ballot, especially if they feel like he's not far and away the best one.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Matt - Washington Bureau Chief 01/22/2017 @ 11:04:14 AM
It's not that unusual for a good player to wait a few years to get in. He got 67.3% last year and 74.0% this year, so he's had pretty good support considering a crowded ballot and that relievers (and especially modern 1-inning guys) are somewhat rightly seen as not as valuable as starters and position players. He's also maybe experiencing the Tim Raines effect, as his accomplishments get dwarfed by a better contemporary (Rickey Henderson for Raines, Mariano Rivera for Hoffman). Finally, the advanced stats are being accepted more and more, even by some of the older class of writers and that hurts Hoffman. His counting stats and being a top closer for so long work in his favor, but the advanced stats don't differentiate him from the pack as much as they do for Rivera, so a chunk of voters may downgrade him to "not a HOFer" or at least behind the others in a crowded ballot.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Scott - 6225 Posts 01/23/2017 @ 07:29:02 AM
Plus, Hoffman finished his career in Milwaukee, so it's fairly safe to assume that some writers probably forgot who he even was. (Trevor Hoffman, Sid Hoffman, Sid Frenchman?)		Rate this comment Yours: Total: Rated 1 times.
Scott screwed with this at 01/23/2017 7:55:00 am

	Jeremy - Super Chocolate Bear 01/23/2017 @ 04:36:11 PM
Sid Ho-frenchman		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Alex - 3619 Posts 07/26/2017 @ 08:00:39 PM
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hall-of-fame-careers-that-cooperstown-never-gave-the-time-of-day/		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Jeremy - 9543 Posts 07/27/2017 @ 09:44:59 AM
The Bizzle Lives.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.