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| Jim Thome, crushing a dinger for the Twins in 2010. |
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| Vladimir Guerrero smoking a line drive with the Montreal Expos. |
On Wednesday, it was announced that the BBWWA elected four
new members of the Baseball Hall of Fame: Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir
Guerrero, and Trevor Hoffman. Jones and Thome were elected on their first
ballot, while Guerrero and Hoffman made it in on their second try.
All four of the players selected were excellent selections.
Jones was one of the best hitting third basemen ever, and one of the best
switch-hitters of all time. Thome was one of the most feared sluggers of his
era, slamming 612 home runs in a career untainted by any connection to PEDs. As
a Twins fan, Thome was the player I hated to see come to bat when he was with
the Indians. You knew that every single at bat he was a threat to homer. I always
liked Thome, so I was glad when he went to the Phillies, because then I could
cheer for him. And then he went to the White Sox, and beat the Twins in a one
game playoff in 2008. But then he came to the Twins in 2010, and all was right
with the world. It was pretty great watching Thome tear it up during that
season, which was also the first year at Target Field. My Dad works as an usher
for the University of Minnesota, and he took Jim Thome and Michael Cuddyer’s
tickets when they attended a U2 concert at TCF Bank Stadium in 2011. My Dad
recognized Thome, talked to him a bit, and somehow touched Jim Thome’s bicep. I
wish I could have seen that interaction.
Guerrero was a dynamic player-at the beginning a true
five-tool athlete, with a cannon for an arm. Hoffman was the all-time saves
leader late in his career, and his 601 are second all-time. In a position that
seems to chew up players quickly, Hoffman was one of the most consistent
closers of the 1990’s and 2000’s.
Among players remaining on the ballot, Edgar Martinez moved
up to 70.4% of the vote. Next year will be his last year on the ballot, and with
the usual bump in the voting that provides, it seems pretty likely he’ll be
elected. Martinez is one of those players that I just don’t have strong
feelings about one way or the other. If he gets in next year, that’s fine, but
I wouldn’t be outraged if he wasn’t in the Hall of Fame. I appreciate how good
he was as a player, but I’m just not passionate about advocating for him.
In his 5th year on the ballot, Mike Mussina moved
up to 63.4%, so he’ll probably be elected in 2019 or 2020. I’m very glad to see
Mussina moving up so much, as I think he deserves to be elected.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens continue to be right next to
each other in the voting. They both moved up a couple of percentage points, but
Bonds’ vote total stayed the same at 238, and Clemens only gained 3 votes,
moving from 239 to 242. With four more years left on the ballot, it will be
very interesting to see if these two players, such symbols of the steroid era,
are elected or not.
In the “he was such a great player, but SUCH a jerk
category,” Curt Schilling went back over 50% of the vote, after dropping to 45%
last year.
Omar Vizquel made a very strong debut on the ballot with
37%, which could bode well for him on future ballots. Vizquel’s a really
interesting player. He was a defensive whiz at shortstop, but not much of a
threat with the bat, with an OPS+ of just 82 for his career. However, Vizquel
did collect 2,877 hits, putting him very close to the magic 3,000 mark.
Larry Walker got the most support he’s ever received this
year, moving up to 34.1%. Walker is basically the Canadian Edgar Martinez for
me. I can appreciate that he was really good, but I just don’t feel strongly
about him.
Fred McGriff continues to languish in the low 20% region,
meaning it’s pretty unlikely he will gain the more than 50% he needs to be
elected next year, which will be his last year on the ballot. As I’ve written
before, I really like Fred McGriff. He was one of the most consistent players
of the 1990’s, and he just seems like a really nice guy. I mean, his nickname
was “Crime Dog.” Just that alone should get him into Cooperstown!
Jeff Kent continues to languish near the bottom of the
ballot, despite being one of the best-hitting second basemen of his day. I
wonder what voters don’t like about him? He never got great press coverage, but
that can’t be the only reason why his vote totals are so low.
Andruw Jones debuted with 7.3% of the vote, so he at least
gets to come back again next year. Jones is a fascinating player who seemed to
be well on his way to Cooperstown before his career suddenly imploded,
seemingly overnight. Jones definitely has the peak one would expect for a Hall
of Famer, but he didn’t even play long enough to get 2,000 hits, ending up with
1,933.
One of my favorite players, Jamie Moyer, sadly did not get
enough votes to remain on the ballot. Moyer only got 10 votes, or 2.4%, short
of the 5% needed to remain on the ballot. I always enjoyed following Moyer’s
improbable career, as he kept fooling hitters with slow pitches well into his
40’s. Oh well, Moyer’s awesomeness will live on, just not with a plaque in
Cooperstown.
Johan Santana also got 2.4% of the vote. As a Twins fan,
Santana was one of my favorites during our run of great baseball during the
2000’s. Santana had several great seasons, and while I know he’s not really
good enough to be in the Hall of Fame, he was pretty fantastic. I vividly
remember watching his 17 strikeout game on TV in 2007. I really thought he was
going to pitch a perfect game. It’s one of the most dominant pitching
performances I’ve seen.
Johnny Damon got just 1.9% of the vote, despite having some
really great career numbers. Damon collected 2,769 hits, scored 1,668 runs, hit
235 home runs, and stole 408 bases. I don’t know if Damon’s really a Hall of
Famer, but I think he deserved to stay on the ballot. I think Damon is one of
those players who just doesn’t pass the “smell test” for most people. Sure,
Damon was a really good player, but he doesn’t FEEL like a Hall of Famer.
Carlos Lee got just one vote, but I’ve always liked him,
even though he played for the hated White Sox. I remember going to a game at
the Metrodome in 2003 or 2004, and someone had a sign in the outfield that
said, “Carlos Lee isn’t very good.” The sign itself was really funny, as though
it was proof that Minnesotans are too polite to trash talk. Lee laughed at the
sign, which made me appreciate his sense of humor.