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| Michael Cuddyer didn't get elected to the Hall of Fame. Neither did anyone else. |
Well, the results of the 2021 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot were announced yesterday. No player was named on 75% of the ballots, so no one was elected. I was a little surprised, as I predicted Curt Schilling would make the jump to 75%. There were 14 blank ballots, the highest total ever. Those blank ballots made up 3.5% of the total ballots. 401 ballots were returned, up slightly from last year’s total of 397.
The New York Times had an article the other day about Hall of Fame voting concerns, and essentially made the point that writers are sick of the heavy task of sorting out who should be in the Hall of Fame and who shouldn’t be. I’ll gladly volunteer to take their ballot and vote for the Hall of Fame! Am I member of the BBWAA? Nope! Just a baseball fan who loves the game! I can understand the complaints of the writers to some degree, but at the same time, I hate them wanting to abstain from making judgements. That’s what voting for the Hall of Fame is all about! You can justify your vote however you want to, but ultimately, you’re making the call for which players should be enshrined. You want to vote for people who are widely suspected of using steroids? Go ahead! You want to vote for only players you think were clean? Go ahead! You also have the platform now to write as many words as you want defending your vote.
I like that the Baseball Hall of Fame is selective. I like that the basic premise—sportswriters vote for retired players, if you get 75% of the vote, you get in—has remained basically unchanged for 85 years now. They haven’t had to say, “No one’s getting 75%, we have to lower it to 50%.” Derek Jeter got voted in the same way Babe Ruth did. The historian in me appreciates that. And I will restate that I feel like, for the most part, the BBWAA does a very good job. Yes, there are great players they’ve missed, but if you look at the worst HOF selections, they almost all come from various iterations of the Veterans’ Committee. The system seems to work pretty well.
Okay, speechifying over. For now. Let’s move down the ballot.
Curt Schilling: Only moved up 1.1% from last year, Schilling fell 16 votes short of induction. I think as a player, Schilling deserves to be in. As a human being, however, he doesn’t measure up. In my preview of the ballot in November, I suggested that Schilling should mute Twitter until after the voting. He didn’t take my advice. In January, after the ballots were all mailed in, Schilling tweeted support for the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ugh. What do you do with someone like Schilling? He’s an intolerant idiot, but he was very good at baseball. Should Schilling’s idiotic opinions in his post-baseball life affect whether or not you vote for him? It’s a hard question, and I don’t have an easy answer for it. Maybe the BBWAA will just punt Schilling to the Era Committees.
Barry Bonds/Roger Clemens: I always discuss them together because their case is the same. Their totals have always moved in lockstep, and this year was no exception. Clemens gained 5 votes, moving up from 242 to 247, 61% to 61.6%. Bonds gained 7 votes, moving up from 241 to 248, 60.7% to 61.8%. I don’t think there’s any way Bonds and Clemens get elected next year, their last year on the ballot. I’m sure the BBWAA will be happy to kick them into the Era Committees—it will be interesting to see how their peers judge Bonds and Clemens.
Scott Rolen: Gained more than 17% in his 4th year on the ballot, moving up from 35.3% in 2020 to 52.9% in 2021. Getting over 50% is a huge deal, as almost everyone who has gotten over 50% on the BBWAA ballot gets elected, eventually. I think Rolen should be in, so hopefully next year he’ll get even closer to election.
Omar Vizquel: I did not think that Omar Vizquel would be a source of controversy. I was wrong. In mid-December, Vizquel’s wife accused him of domestic abuse. Vizquel denied the allegations, but they’re probably the reason why he dropped from 52.6% last year to 49.1% this year. After 2020’s strong showing, I thought Vizquel would gain more votes this year and move closer to election. I didn’t hear about the abuse allegations until yesterday. I believe Vizquel’s wife—these are multiple allegations, the police have been involved, it’s not good. This may permanently damage Vizquel’s candidacy.
Billy Wagner: An impressive gain, from 31.7% to 46.4%. I don’t have strong feelings about Billy Wagner, but geez, if he didn’t use steroids, and he isn’t a wife beating QANON troll, let’s put him in.
Todd Helton: A 15% jump, up to 44.9% this year. Helton was a great hitter, and I don’t really have a problem with him getting in, but I’m still skeptical of Coors Field numbers from the 90’s and early 2000’s. (See Larry Walker, who hit like Ty Cobb at Coors.)
Gary Sheffield: Another impressive gain, from 30.5% up to 40.6%. Does that mean the question will finally be answered: what hat would Sheffield possibly wear on his Hall of Fame plaque? Sheffield’s not my favorite player—terrible defender, steroid allegations. He’s got 3 years left on the ballot, and as we now know from Larry Walker, huge surges are very possible, so he could get in.
Andruw Jones: Another nice gain, up from 19.4% to 33.9%. Jones has now established himself as a serious Hall of Fame candidate, and not just someone hanging out on the edge of the ballot. He’s a fascinating candidate—if elected, he would be the first player in the Hall of Fame with fewer than 2,000 hits in the post-1961 era. If you like peak performance type of players, Jones is your guy.
Jeff Kent: In his 8th year on the ballot, Kent got 32.4% of the vote, a modest increase from 27.5% in 2020. I think Kent should be in the Hall of Fame—he was one of the best offensive 2nd basemen ever. I’m really surprised that he’s never received more support. Maybe the Era Committee will vote him in one day. Or maybe he’ll see a Larry Walker-like sudden ascent to 75%.
Manny Ramirez: 28.2%, the exact same as last year. Just Manny being Manny. Great hitter, but steroids tarnished him. And then there’s that atrocious defense.
Sammy Sosa: 17%, one more year on the ballot. I’m looking forward to these guys aging off the ballot.
Andy Pettitte: 13.7%, in his 3rd year on the ballot. Like I always say, take your 4 shutouts and go, please. Claude Osteen pitched 10 times as many shutouts!
Mark Buehrle: 11%, pretty good debut. For me, getting over the 5% to stay on the ballot is in some ways asking, “Can we have a conversation about this guy?” If the answer is yes, then they should get over 5% and stay on the ballot. If the answer is no, they shouldn’t get 5% and should drop off the ballot. I think we can have a conversation about Mark Buehrle. I’m not convinced he should get 75% of the vote, but I’m fine if he stays on the ballot.
Torii Hunter: 9.5%. Personally, as a Twins fan, I’m really happy that Hunter got more than 5% of the vote. I’m not going to say he should be a Hall of Famer, but he had a really nice career and was an excellent player. I’m happy that more than 5% of the writers think we should have a conversation about Torii Hunter.
Bobby Abreu: Moved up to 8.7%, and I’m just happy he’s staying on the ballot another year. I think Abreu deserves serious consideration and should stay on the ballot. He’s an odd player, with a very specific set of skills. An underrated player.
Tim Hudson: Just squeaking in at 5.2% of the vote! I think Hudson was good enough to have a conversation about. I don’t think he’s a Hall of Famer, but he had a good career.
Below 5%:
Aramis Ramirez: 4 votes, 1%. He’s not a Hall of Famer, but man, he had a very good career. 2,303 hits, 386 home runs, 1,417 RBIs. Solid numbers. And as I wrote in my preview, the quietest 386 home runs anyone ever hit.
LaTroy Hawkins: 2 votes, 0.5%. I love that LaTroy Hawkins got 2 votes. Not just 1, but 2. As I wrote in my preview, as a Twins fan, I have a soft spot for Hawkins. I love that he was able to pitch for 21 seasons—definitely a player who got the most out of his talent.
Barry Zito: 1 vote, 0.2%. Nice career, seems like a cool guy.
No votes:
Michael Cuddyer: One of my favorite Twins, and an unlikely batting champion. He’s in the Twins Hall of Fame, and deservedly so.
A.J. Burnett, Shane Victorino, Dan Haren, and Nick Swisher all drop off the ballot.
We’ll see you in November when the Era Committee ballot is released.
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