The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2015 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 7th, with induction taking place next July. After Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 17 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem. The current BBWAA rules continue to limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates. To complicate things, the number of years of eligibility has been dropped from 15 to 10, with those who were between 10 and 15 grandfathered in. So, there will be too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots in a shorter amount of time. Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.
Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.
Jeff Bagwell
Years on ballot: 4
2014 Percentage: 54.3
Things have started to trend in the wrong direction for Bagwell, which may be due to the 10 vote limit. Given the qualified list of newcomers and the continued PED rumors, I expect he will continue to be waiting for that elusive call.
Craig Biggio
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 74.8
Narrowly missing election in last year’s vote, Biggio seems destined to make it on his third try, giving Astros fans something to look forward to next summer.
Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 34.7
The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage drop in his second year on the ballot. While the Giants may be softening on having Bonds involved with them, having him throw out a first pitch during this year’s NLCS, the writers voting for the Hall are unlikely to have done the same.
Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 35.4
Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself falling after his second run through the voting process. For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.
Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 1
2014 Percentage: 15.2
The 2000 NL MVP did not find much support in his first year of eligibility. With the number of candidates coming down the pike, the future does not look good for him.
Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 5
2014 Percentage: 25.2
The longtime DH for the Mariners has had plenty of support from the Internet but not as much from the BBWAA, as his percentage dropped by over 10 percentage points. His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.
Don Mattingly
Years on ballot: 14
2014 Percentage: 8.2
On his last go-around, the former Yankee star and current Dodger manager has no chance of being elected.
Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 5
2014 Percentage: 11.7
Another player with a steep drop in vote percentage from the year before, McGriff seems to be destined to be on the outside looking in, thanks to PED users, the 10 person vote limit, and his missing 7 home runs, leaving him short of 500 for his career.
Mark McGwire
Years on ballot: 8
2014 Percentage: 11.0
Another PED user who may be back in baseball’s good graces, McGwire continues to find himself punished by the writers. With the change to 10 years of eligibility, McGwire is all but guaranteed of not getting in to the Hall, at least until he becomes eligible for the veteran’s committee.
Mike Mussina
Years on ballot: 1
2014 Percentage: 20.3
Mussina, who retired with 270 wins, could have hung on for a few more years to reach 300 victories and a guaranteed election to Cooperstown. Instead, he will likely struggle to distinguish himself in the face of the other pitching talent about to come up for election.
Mike Piazza
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 62.2
Piazza got a slight increase in percentage last year, but still faces increasing competition, that will make a seemingly inevitable eventually seem slightly questionable.
Tim Raines
Years on ballot: 7
2014 Percentage: 46.1
Tim Raines continues to get the shaft and appears to be another one that will be hurt by the change to 10 years of eligibility.
Curt Schilling
Years on ballot: 2
2013 Percentage: 29.2
I certainly never thought of Schilling as an all-time great while he was still playing, but many people view him as an obvious Hall of Famer. His post-season success, with three different teams, certainly helps his case, although a vote percentage trending in the wrong direction does not bode well.
Lee Smith
Years on ballot: 12
2014 Percentage: 29.9
A 17 point drop in vote percentage, added together with a career save total that has become more pedestrian over time and his perception as a journeyman, will leave Smith outside of the Hall.
Sammy Sosa
Years on ballot: 2
2014 Percentage: 7.2
Sammy Sosa should view this election as a success if he manages to stay on the ballot for another year.
Alan Trammell
Years on ballot: 13
2014 Percentage: 20.8
Trammell’s vocal support seems to be increasing, though his vote totals are going in the wrong direction. He only has two shots left, and with the influx of new candidates, things do not look good for him.
Larry Walker
Years on ballot: 4
2013 Percentage: 10.2
Walker seems to get a lot of support in certain corners of the Internet, which is somewhat surprising to me given his years playing in the thin air of Colorado.