With the persistent creep of “steroid” candidates not voted into the Hall of Fame, the annual ballot for Cooperstown has become much less an opportunity than a wall.
There are 35 names on the ballot this year, and, since voters can list just 10 names, there are deserving players who simply cannot feasibly reach the 75% threshold for entry. And the same will happen next year, and the next year, and the next year …
In this year’s installment, alone, there are no fewer than five new guys worthy of serious consideration: Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and Lance Berkman. Add to them the seven or eight returning guys who are deserving, in my view, and you’ve got guaranteed disappointment ahead. Oh, and you obviously have to make room for Ted Lilly, so …
Here’s the ballot for this year, via the BBWAA: