Ah, it’s that time of year, when two things are perfectly acceptable in general, but start waaaaay too early: Christmas music and Hall of Fame debates.
The ballot for the 2020 Hall of Fame class is out today, with all the familiar PED Era mainstays, and some notable new faces:
The 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, as announced by @baseballhall moments ago. pic.twitter.com/yyTzUNyoMA
— Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs) November 18, 2019
As you can see, the new entrant list includes one lock (Derek Jeter (as a player, not a terrible owner)), several guys you could have some debates about (Cliff Lee, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi), and some guys with Chicago connections (Carlos Peña, Alfonso Soriano, … and Brian Roberts).
Ultimately, the biggest questions come with the guys whose performance obviously makes them Hall-worthy, but the voters still haven’t figured out how to just sucked it up with respect to the PED Era and move on. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, among others, should be in the Hall of Fame, however odious you may find it.
Also: can we finally get the obviously-very-deserving Larry Walker inducted?