NEWSLETTER
The list of players upon which the BBWAA can vote for Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2015 is now out, and the debates about sabermetrics, and PEDs, and ballot limits, and all manner of (fun) ridiculousness can begin.
First, the list of holdovers from last year’s ballot who did not receive enough votes for the Hall (requires that the player be named on 75% of the ballots cast):
Craig Biggio (74.8%)
Mike Piazza (62.2)
Jeff Bagwell (54.3)
Tim Raines (46.1)
Roger Clemens (35.4)
Barry Bonds (34.7)
Lee Smith (29.9)
Curt Schilling (29.2)
Edgar Martinez (25.2)
Alan Trammell (20.8)
Mike Mussina (20.3)
Jeff Kent (15.2)
Fred McGriff (11.7)
Mark McGwire (11)
Larry Walker (10.2)
Don Mattingly (8.2)
Sammy Sosa (7.2)
Sammy, bringing up the rear. Ultimately, when I consider everything, including the era, I think Sosa probably deserves to be a “Hall of Very Good” type, rather than a “Hall of Famer” type – and that’s without getting into the PED stuff. Lee Smith, the other guy in whom you may have a personal voting interest, is simply not ever going to get there via the voters.
I can see a number of those guys getting a bump this time around, especially Bonds and Clemens, as it feels like attitudes continue to shift. Biggio probably gets the extra two votes this time around, and Piazza might get there, too.
It may be tricky, because, as it was last year, there is a strong group of newly-eligible players:
Rich Aurillia
Aaron Boone
Tony Clark
Carlos Delgado
Jermaine Dye
Darin Erstad
Cliff Floyd
Nomar Garciaparra
Brian Giles
Tom Gordon
Eddie Guardado
Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
Troy Percival
Jason Schmidt
Gary Sheffield
John Smoltz
Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz strike me as no-brainer first-ballot types. There probably isn’t another Hall of Famer among the rest (although you could make a strong argument for Sheffield), but new guys can always syphon off votes given the 10-name limit.
The results of the vote will be revealed on MLB Network on January 6.
