2018 Hall of Fame Ballot released (Vlad, Chipper, Thome & Hoffman are in)

[Filthy Dangles]

2018 BBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot

Will Bonds and Clemens finally be elected in?

Puzzling that Schilling hasn't been elected. He is a bigoted douche bag but imo that shouldn't be taken into account.

Chipper Jones is definitely a HoFer.

Click to read more...

 

[Fenway]

Schilling has become so toxic off the field that looking at him objectively is going to be hard.

Clemens and Bonds have been working to repair perceptions. In Roger's case I look at the fact the man was willing to go to jail and faced a jury that he lied to Congress and was acquitted.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Schilling has become so toxic off the field that looking at him objectively is going to be hard.

Clemens and Bonds have been working to repair perceptions. In Roger's case I look at the fact the man was willing to go to jail and faced a jury that he lied to Congress and was acquitted.

And in Bonds' case, there's a pretty clear 'before and after' steroids. He went from Dee Gordon to Frank Thomas physique in the matter of a couple years. He was a HoFer even before the juice, just let him in already.

 

[Fenway]

Joe Morgan goes after steroid users in letter to Hall voters

Hall of Fame second baseman and Hall vice chairman Joe Morgan sent an impassioned emailed letter through the Hall to every eligible voter from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday, the day after the 2018 ballot was released, imploring them that “steroid users don’t belong” in Cooperstown.

 

[robert terwilliger]

Joe Morgan goes after steroid users in letter to Hall voters

Hall of Fame second baseman and Hall vice chairman Joe Morgan sent an impassioned emailed letter through the Hall to every eligible voter from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday, the day after the 2018 ballot was released, imploring them that “steroid users don’t belong” in Cooperstown.

 

[tony d]

My ballot would be: Bonds, Clemens, Guerrero, Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Martinez, Mussina, Schilling, Thome, Walker.

 

[robert terwilliger]

curious what will happen to scott rolen. one could craft an argument that he might be the best defensive third baseman currently retired.

also wonder what kind of support andruw jones will get. i wouldn't put him in but he checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people and was an absolute force defensively.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

also wonder what kind of support andruw jones will get. i wouldn't put him in but he checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people and was an absolute force defensively.

His peak was absolutely that of a Hall of Famer. He lacks the longevity and he didn't just decline, his game straight up fell off a cliff once he hit 31/32.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Please no Vizquel, please no Vizquel, please no Vizquel...

 

[robert terwilliger]

if vizquel gets in before andruw jones we should just finally burn the place down.

 

[rangerssharks414]

curious what will happen to scott rolen. one could craft an argument that he might be the best defensive third baseman currently retired.

also wonder what kind of support andruw jones will get. i wouldn't put him in but he checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people and was an absolute force defensively.

If Edmonds fell off the ballot after one year (not sure who had the better career off the top of my head), I don’t think Andruw will last more than a year.

And yeah, Rolen strikes me as another player that will get hosed because home runs and RBI!

 

[Fenway]

Joe Morgan wrote a letter to myself and other members of the voting pool for the National Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame. I’ve deconstructed it for you.

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

The 3 locks are Chipper, Hoffman and Vlad imo. I think Thome might make it this ballot too.

 

[Terry Yake]

curious what will happen to scott rolen. one could craft an argument that he might be the best defensive third baseman currently retired.

also wonder what kind of support andruw jones will get. i wouldn't put him in but he checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people and was an absolute force defensively.

yeah i can't see how andruw doesn't drop off the ballot right away when that was the case for edmonds

bonds, clemens, vlad, thome, chipper, mussina get my votes

realistically, it'll likely be hoffman (lol), chipper, vlad. thome most likely gets in in 2019 although i wouldn't be surprised if he made it next year

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

They really need to drop the "you can't vote for more then 10" rule and go to "Is this guy a HOFer, yes or no?" Because there's more than 10 guys on there who belong in.

Still a joke that Hoffman is going to get in and Billy Wagner might fall off the ballot. Neither should be in but Wagner was arguably the better player.

 

[robert terwilliger]

yeah hoffman lowers the bar substantially.

 

[Voight]

And in Bonds' case, there's a pretty clear 'before and after' steroids. He went from Dee Gordon to Frank Thomas physique in the matter of a couple years. He was a HoFer even before the juice, just let him in already.

Bonds never used steroids. But you are correct that he had a palce in Cooperstown even before the alleged use.

Who should get in - Bonds/Clemens/Mussina/Chipper (going with the typical 4)

Who will end up getting in - Vlad/Chipper/Hoffman/Edgar or Thome.

Although I am surprised so many people are saying Vlad is a lock to get in and Thome isn't.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

FWIW (nothing) here's who I'd vote for sure:

Bonds
Clemens
Guerrero
Chipper Jones
Martinez
Mussina
Schilling
Thome
Walker

With the final spot there's a few different guys I'd have tough calls on.

Andruw Jones - At his peak he was definitely a HOFer, but his decline was pretty steep. Probably Hall of Very Good, especially when Edmonds didn't even last a year, but if we're going to put Omar Vizquel in over him...

Fred McGriff - It's weird how these voters think. He's most likely never getting in and next year is his last on the ballot, but if he hit just 7 more HRs he'd be in already. I'd put him in but I'm a little biased because he was one of my favorites as a kid.

Manny Ramirez - I don't care about steroids, but voters do and he has a positive test. He's never getting in probably, on a less stacked ballot I'd vote for him though.

Scott Rolen - He's one of those guys on the borderline, does his defense put him over it? It's pretty terrible that Omar Vizquel might get a higher percentage of the vote than him.


Others of note:

Trevor Hoffman - See my post above about him vs. Wagner, but he's definitely getting in. Probably this year, if not, then definitely next.

Jeff Kent/Gary Sheffield - Hall of Very Good to me, Kent probably has the edge if you take position into account. I'm sure there's some who will argue that they were better than some of the guys I listed above and that's fine.

Johan Santana - peak was just too short due to injuries.

Sammy Sosa - A lot like McGwire where he's basically all HRs. He's never getting in and might fall off the ballot within the next two years.

Omar Vizquel - Elite defensively and played forever but the bat wasn't there and there's so many better players who aren't in. But he seems to be a darling of the voters. Voting for him over the likes of Andruw and Rolen would be a joke.

 

[Voight]

Joe Morgan goes after steroid users in letter to Hall voters

Hall of Fame second baseman and Hall vice chairman Joe Morgan sent an impassioned emailed letter through the Hall to every eligible voter from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday, the day after the 2018 ballot was released, imploring them that “steroid users don’t belong” in Cooperstown.

 

[Terry Yake]

yeah i never got why mcgriff didn't get more HOF attention considering how close he came to 500

i guess nothing really sticks out about his resume

 

[Neutrinos]

Johan Santana won 2 Cy Young awards and definitely should've won a 3rd in '05

He has 3 ERA titles, 3 strikeout titles, and was a 4x leader in WHIP

To put that in perspective, Smoltz, Glavine, Halladay, Mussina and Schilling have 0 ERA titles,
4 strikeout titles, and 3 WHIP titles between them

At some point longevity has to take a backseat to excellence

 

[bluesfan94]

curious what will happen to scott rolen. one could craft an argument that he might be the best defensive third baseman currently retired.

also wonder what kind of support andruw jones will get. i wouldn't put him in but he checks a lot of boxes for a lot of people and was an absolute force defensively.

Jones was worse than Edmonds

 

[Terry Yake]

Johan Santana won 2 Cy Young awards and definitely should've won a 3rd in '05

He has 3 ERA titles, 3 strikeout titles, and was a 4x leader in WHIP

To put that in perspective, Smoltz, Glavine, Halladay, Mussina and Schilling have 0 ERA titles,
4 strikeout titles, and 3 WHIP titles between them

At some point longevity has to take a backseat to excellence

i feel longevity matters more for pitchers than position players. santana has a case for sure but i think he falls short based off that

saying longevity should take a backseat to excellence is exactly how i feel in regards to albert belle. 100% think he should be in but he won't mainly because he just didn't play long enough (and because he was a complete d-bag)

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Bonds never used steroids. ...

Edited:

Court Documents Show Barry Bonds Tested Positive for 3 Types of Steroids
Published February 05, 2009
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO – Court documents show Barry Bonds tested positive for three types of steroids, and his personal trainer once told his business manager in the Giants' clubhouse how he injected the slugger with performance-enhancing drugs "all over the place."

Court Documents Show Barry Bonds Tested Positive for 3 Types of Steroids

Bonds' positive steroid test discovered among BALCO evidence
Nov 16, 2007 Mike FishESPN Senior Writer
The telling point from the indictment reads: "During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes."

Fish: Bonds' positive test didn't come from MLB

Unsealed Court Documents Show Bonds Tested Positive for Steroids
www.washingtonpost.com › Sports › Nationals & MLB Feb 5, 2009 - SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4 -- Court documents show Barry Bonds tested positive for three types of steroids, and his personal trainer once told his business manager in the Giants' clubhouse how he injected the slugger with performance-enhancing drugs "all over the place."

Unsealed Court Documents Show Bonds Tested Positive for Steroids

Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT FEB. 4, 2009
The government’s perjury case against Barry Bonds gained vivid detail on Wednesday when more than 200 pages of evidence were unsealed. The pages included documents tying Bonds to four positive tests for steroids, calendars that prosecutors described as doping schedules, and a transcript of a recorded conversation in which Bonds’s former trainer is quoted as saying that he injected Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs.

Unsealed Documents Include 4 Positive Drug Tests for Bonds

He tested positive for 3 types of steroids and failed 4 tests.

 

[Voight]

He tested positive for 3 types.

Proof?????????

yeah i never got why mcgriff didn't get more HOF attention considering how close he came to 500

i guess nothing really sticks out about his resume

Its amazing that he was what, 7 short, and that pretty much kills his name in any Cooperstown discussion.