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| Photo montage of Scott Rolen, 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. |
Yesterday the results of the voting for the 2023 BBWAA ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame were announced. As I correctly predicted, Scott Rolen was the only player the BBWAA elected to the Hall of Fame this year. Rolen just barely squeaked in, getting 5 votes over the 292 needed for election. Rolen set a new record for the lowest vote percentage in a player’s first year on the ballot who was eventually elected by the BBWAA. When Rolen debuted on the ballot in 2018, he was overshadowed by the quartet the BBWAA elected: Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman. Rolen received just 10.2% of the vote in 2018. I’ll admit, I didn’t even specifically mention Rolen in his first couple of years on the ballot. I’m pleased that Rolen was elected, he deserves it, as one of the best third basemen ever. JAWS ranks Rolen as the 10th best 3rd baseman ever, and I wouldn’t disagree with that.
Moving down the ballot, Todd Helton fell 11 votes short of election, so I feel confident he’ll be elected in 2024. He was an excellent player, and of course his stats are a little skewed by playing half of his games at Coors Field.
Billy Wagner moved up nicely to 68.1%, so he’ll probably get in. Wagner has two more years on the ballot, so it just depends on the writers being able to expand their minds enough to let Adrain Beltre, Todd Helton, and Wagner in next year. Come on BBWAA voters, it’s not that hard! You CAN let in more than one player at a time! I don’t have strong feelings about Billy Wagner, but I’m fine if he gets in. He was one of the more dominant closers for a long time.
Andruw Jones made a 16% gain on this ballot, moving up to 58.1% of the vote in his 6th year on the ballot. Jones could break Rolen’s record of lowest percentage in a player’s first season, as he debuted in 2018 with just 7.3% of the vote. I’d be fine with Jones getting in. He was a superb defensive player-obviously, that’s not the only reason people are voting for him, but I think it’s interesting that baseball has very few players who are in the Hall of Fame strictly for their defense. Jones had a fantastic 11-year run with the Braves from 1997-2007, but after he turned 30, his career just fell off a cliff. If Jones gets in, I wonder if that would signal a change where we’d see more short-peak players elected to the Hall of Fame.
Gary Sheffield moved up to 55%, but he only has 1 more year left on the ballot, and Helton, Wagner, and Jones ahead of him on the ballot. Some writer said something akin to “Why did Big Papi get in on the first ballot and Sheffield isn’t in?” It’s a valid question. Sheffield was a terrible defender, with negative 27.7 DWAR, but he still went out to field a position in 2,210 games, while David Ortiz only played 278 career games in the field. If Sheffield had been made a full-time DH early in his career, would he be in the Hall of Fame now? I’d also argue that Ortiz has a better narrative than Sheffield does. Oritz brings championships to Boston, swears on live TV, becomes a national hero, while Sheffield bounces from franchise to franchise.
Carlos Beltran did well in his debut on the ballot, getting 46.5% of the vote. Without his role in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal, I think Beltran would have sailed into the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. He’s one of the best switch-hitters ever, and one of the best center fielders ever. Should Beltran’s role in the cheating scandal override his impressive resume? I don’t know if it totally should, but I’m fine with Beltran having to wait a bit for election. As usual, MLB totally botched their handling of the 2017 cheating scandal, but they were really screwed because of course the Astros players all retreated into silence, so then the only thing MLB could do was offer immunity to the current players and punish managers, coaches, and front-office personnel. So, Beltran didn’t get to become the New York Mets manager in 2020. Is that fair? Not really.
In his final year on the ballot, Jeff Kent tied with Beltran at 46.5% of the vote. It was Kent’s highest vote total in his 10 years on the ballot. I think Kent should be a Hall of Famer, and it has continually puzzled me that he didn’t fare better. But he’s one of those players who had a reputation, fairly or unfairly, for being “difficult” with the press, and perhaps that hurt him. I predict that Kent will be elected by an Era Committee in the future.
A Rod gained 4 votes, and moved up 1.4%, to 35.7%. That says to me that his support isn’t very fluid. The people who support him aren’t going to move, and no one new is going to be swayed to his side.
Manny Ramirez gained 4.3%, but he’s still a long way from 75%.
Omar Vizquel was the only returning player whose support dropped, because of allegations of spousal abuse, and also sexual harassment of a minor league batboy. Vizquel got 52.6% of the vote in 2020, and now that’s down to 19.5%.
Andy Pettitte is at 17%. Ho hum.
Bobby Abreu moved up to 15.4% in his 4th year on the ballot. That’s good, he’s climbing out of the Kenny Loggins danger zone. I think Abreu should be strongly considered for the Hall, and hopefully he’ll continue to gain votes. Here’s an interesting stat for you-the only players who have 400 or more stolen bases and 250 or more home runs are: Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Craig Biggio, and Bobby Abreu. Not a bad list to be on.
Jimmy Rollins moved up to 12.9% in his 2nd year on the ballot. I think Rollins should be strongly considered for the Hall as well, so I’m glad he’s over 10%.
Mark Buehrle made a 5% gain, to 10.8%. I’m fine with Buehrle staying on the ballot, although I’m not really convinced he’s a Hall of Famer.
I said that Francisco Rodriguez was the only other newcomer to the 2023 ballot that would possibly get more than 5% of the vote, and I was correct, as he got 10.8%, which is more votes than I thought he’d get.
After losing votes in 2022, my boy Torii Hunter gained 6 votes to move up to 6.9% in his 3rd year on the ballot. Phew! As a Twins fan, Torii Hunter was one of my favorite players, so I’m always holding my breath for him every year, hoping he’ll stay above 5%. Hunter won 9 Gold Gloves, and he’s in the top 100 all-time in total bases, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and extra base hits. I’m biased, so I don’t know if Hunter should really be in the Hall of Fame, but lesser resumes have won election to the Hall of Fame. Just sayin’.
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