Tag / PEDs

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2025 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2025.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 21st, with induction taking place July 27th.  Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer were elected in last year’s voting and Gary Sheffield reached the ten-year maximum, leaving fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers next time.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 5
2024 Percentage: 14.8

A slight downward trend for Abreu, who has a long way to go and not a lot of time to do it.

Carlos Beltran
Years on ballot: 2
2024 Percentage: 57.1

A nice bump in his second go-around for Beltran means the Astros cheating scandal might just delay his entry to Cooperstown rather than derailing it outright.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 4
2024 Percentage: 8.3

Buehrle keeps bouncing up and down but lives to fight another day in his uphill climb to make it to Cooperstown.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 4
2024 Percentage: 7.3

Despite a small increase from the previous year, things do not look good for the long-term prospects of the former Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 7
2024 Percentage: 61.6

With just three elections left, Jones keeps trending in the right direction but doesn’t have all that much time left.

Andy Pettitte
Years on ballot: 6
2024 Percentage: 13.5

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Three Of A Kind

On a cold winter’s day, the attention of the baseball world turns to upstate New York and the hamlet of Cooperstown, where the votes were tallied, and the 2024 Hall of Fame class is now complete.  Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer join Jim Leyland, who was elected by the Veteran’s Committee last month, in obtaining baseball immortality.  Beltre, the former Dodger/Mariner/Ranger, and Mauer, the long-time Twin, make it on their first try.  Helton, the former Rockie first baseman, was on his sixth go-around.

Four others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Billy Wagner, who came just short at 73.8% and seems likely to make it next year, his final year on the ballot.  Gary Sheffield saw a not-insignificant jump in his final election, rising to 63.9%.  Andruw Jones rose to 61.6% with three more years to go.  In his second go-around, Carlos Beltran jumped up to 57.1%.

On the local front, Manny Ramirez, who spent a little more than a month with the White Sox at the tail end of his career, saw a small decrease in support, finishing with 32.5% of the vote thanks to his multiple PED suspensions.  The disgraced Omar Vizquel, accused of both sexual abuse of an autistic teen and spousal abuse since being added to the ballot, dropped again, going down to 17.7%.  Jimmy Rollins, who spent the final 41 games of his career on the south side, picked up 14.8% in his third go-around.  Mark Buehrle fell back again, dropping to 8.3% in his fourth time on the ballot, living to fight another day.  Former White Sox pitchers Bartolo Colon and James Shields nabbed five votes between them.

Eight players will fall off the ballot after failing to score 5% of the vote.

As for the newest Hall of Famers, I’ve seen Mauer play 42 times, Beltre 17 times, and Helton eleven times.  They will get their day in the sun on Sunday, July 21.

Joe Mauer’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

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2024 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

On Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023, with the results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 23rd, and induction taking place July 21st.  With Scott Rolen as the sole electee last year, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with twelve newcomers.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who see may be thankful come January.

Jose Bautista

The long-time Blue Jays slugger will likely get enough consideration to stick around on the ballot, but has no real chance at induction.

Adrián Beltré

Beltré finished his career with 3166 hits, 477 home runs, and 5 Gold Gloves at third base.  He is the closest thing to a shoo-in we’ve seen in years.

Bartolo Colon

The all-time wins leader, with 247, among Latin American pitchers, Colon will end up on the outside looking in, thanks to a 4.12 career ERA and a PED suspension in 2012.

Adrián González

The first overall pick of the 2000 draft, González put together a very fine career.  Just not one that will get him to Cooperstown.

Matt Holliday

Again, Holliday had a very fine career, although he will get dinged for part of that career taking place in Colorado, but I don’t see him getting in.

Victor Martinez

If he spent his entire career playing against the White Sox, he would be a first ballot, all-time great.  Unfortunately, he had to play against the other teams as well, which means he has to “settle” for having a very good career, but not a Hall of Fame career.

Joe Mauer

One MVP award, three Gold Gloves, and three batting titles, as a catcher, make me think Mauer will eventually find his way to Cooperstown, but he may need to wait a while.

Brandon Phillips Continue reading →

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2024 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Monday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2024.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place July 21st.  Scott Rolen was elected in last year’s voting and Jeff Kent fell off the ballot after reaching the ten-year limit, leaving fourteen holdovers along with twelve newcomers.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers tomorrow.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 4
2023 Percentage: 15.4

After falling off the year before, Abreu starts moving in the right direction again, but has a long way to go.

Carlos Beltran
Years on ballot: 1
2023 Percentage: 46.5

A decent debut for Beltran, which may have been even better had he not been tainted by the Astros cheating scandal.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 3
2023 Percentage: 10.8

After nearly falling off the ballot in his second go-around, Buehrle bounced back last year but faces an uphill climb if he is to make it to Cooperstown.

Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 5
2023 Percentage: 72.2

After falling just a few votes short last year, Helton should be a lock for election this year.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 3
2023 Percentage: 6.9

Despite a small increase from the previous year, Hunter once again had the lowest percentage of the vote while remaining on the ballot.  Things do not look good for the long-term prospects of the former Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 6
2023 Percentage: 58.1

If voters were to stick to his first eleven seasons, Jones looks like a shoo-in for the Hall.  His last seven seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  After crossing the 50% plateau last year, he is trending in the right direction, but doesn’t have all that much time left.

Andy Pettitte
Years on ballot: 5
2023 Percentage: 17.0

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Party Of One

The baseball world had turned its attention to snowy hamlet of Cooperstown in upstate New York, where the votes were tallied and the 2023 Hall of Fame class is now complete with one additional member.  Former Phillies and Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen scored 76.3% of the vote to earn enshrinement in his sixth election.

Four others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Todd Helton, who jumped up to 72.2% and seems like a lock to be elected next year.  Billy Wagner came in with 68.1% and has two more attempts to make it over 75%.  Andruw Jones got a big lift, jumping up to 58.1%.  Finally, Gary Sheffield, with just one election left, rises to 55% and looks unlikely to make that final jump in his last year.

On the local front, Manny Ramirez, who spent a little more than a month with the White Sox, saw a small increase in support, finishing with 33.2% of the vote thanks to his multiple PED suspensions.  The disgraced Omar Vizquel, accused of both sexual abuse of an autistic teen and spousal abuse since being added to the ballot, dropped even more, down to 19.5%.  Jimmy Rollins, who spent the final 41 games of his career on the south side, picked up 12.9% in his second go-around.  Mark Buehrle jumped back up to 10.8% in his third time on the ballot, living to fight another day.  Former Cub pitcher John Lackey nabs a single vote.

Thirteen players will fall off the ballot after failing to score 5% of the vote.

As for the newest Hall of Famer, I’ve seen Rolen play 18 times.  He joins Fred McGriff, who was elected by the veteran’s committees in December, in the class of 2023.  They will both get their day in the sun on Sunday, July 23.

Scott Rolen’s numbers in games I’ve attended were:

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2023 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Yesterday, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2023.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place July 23rd.  David Ortiz was elected in last year’s voting and notable PED suspects Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa fell off the ballot after reaching their ten-year limit, the new ballot contains fourteen holdovers along with another fourteen newcomers.  For the first time in a decade, the logjam caused by a combination of BBWAA rules limiting the number of votes on one ballot to ten and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs has come to an end.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers tomorrow.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 3
2022 Percentage: 8.6

A miniscule decrease for Abreu last year means he is trending in the wrong direction.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 2
2022 Percentage: 5.8

A big drop left the former White Sox hurler on the precipice of getting dropped off the ballot.  With the logjam removed and spaces open on ballots that were full last year, we’ll see if he regains some support.

Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 4
2022 Percentage: 52.0

Helton seems to be moving on the right track, getting over 50% for the first time, but I don’t think this will be his year.  He should make it eventually though.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 2
2022 Percentage: 5.3

Hunter had the lowest percentage of the vote while remaining on the ballot from last year’s election.  Things do not look good for the long time Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 5
2022 Percentage: 41.4

If voters were to stick to his first 11 seasons, Jones looks like a shoe-in for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  Despite another big increase in votes, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 9
2022 Percentage: 32.7

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By The Numbers – 21

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #21.  69 different players have donned #21 while playing in Chicago, 26 for the White Sox and 43 for the Cubs.

Near the end of the spring training in 1992, Sammy Sosa, along with Ken Patterson, was acquired from the White Sox for a fading George Bell.  Wearing #21, Sosa blossomed with the Cubs, going from 8 home runs and 25 RBIs in his first season to 33 home runs and 93 RBIs in his second, becoming the first 30-30 player in Cubs history.  Sosa continued to hit for power and speed in 1994, but he also upped his batting average to .300 for the first time.  Sosa was named to his first All-Star team in 1995, on his way to 36 home runs and 119 RBIs.  In 1996, Sosa continued his success, hitting .273 with 40 home runs and 100 RBIs.  1997, however, saw a decline in Sosa, who batted just .251 and posted a paltry .300 on-base percentage while leading the league with 174 strikeouts, despite hitting 36 home runs and driving in 119 runs.

A bulked-up Sammy Sosa arrived in camp in 1998, looking to turn things around, and turn them around he did.  While the surprising Cubs were in contention for the first time in nearly a decade, Sosa put on a home run barrage of historic proportions.  In the month of June, Sosa launched 20 home runs, drove in 47, and slugged .842 while pulling himself into the home run chase with Mark McGwire.  Sosa hit his 62nd home run on September 13, passing Roger Maris, and finished the season with 66, 4 behind McGwire’s then-record 70.  Sosa replicated that performance in 1999, hitting 63 home runs, again trailing McGwire, who hit 65.  Sosa finally led the league in home runs in 2000, though with “only” 50.  He managed another season for the ages in 2001, as he hit 64 home runs, becoming the first player to hit 60 or more home runs three times, and setting career highs in runs scored, RBIs, walks, OBP, slugging percentage, and batting average.  He notched his second career home run crown in 2002, adding 49 to his ledger.

Things started to turn for Sosa in 2003, despite the Cubs driving towards their first division title since 1989.  He went on the disabled list for the first time since 1996 in May and, when he returned, he was ejected, and ultimately suspended, for using a corked bat in the June 3 game against the Devil Rays.  He finished the season with 40 home runs, his lowest total since 1997, as the Cubs famously blew a 3-1 lead in the NLCS despite being 5 outs away from the pennant in Game 6.  The following May, he landed on the disabled list again following a violent sneeze at PETCO Park.  After returning from the DL, Sosa struck out 98 times the rest of the way, while hitting .238 and posting an OPS of .749.  For the entire year, Sosa hit .253, his worst average since 1997, with only 35 home runs and 80 RBIs, his lowest total since 1994.  When the Cubs fell out of contention for the NL Central title after losing 7 of their final 9 games, Sosa was given the day off for the final game of the season.  Unfortunately, he was spotted leaving Wrigley Field before the game even started while his teammates took out their frustrations with their “leader” my smashing his boombox with their bats.  That January, with the declined performance and the growing suspicion of PED use on their minds along with the end of the 2004 season, the Cubs decided to move on, trading Sosa to the Orioles for Jerry Hairston Jr. and Mike Fontenot.

On the South Side, Todd Frazier wore #21 after being acquired from the Reds in a three-team deal prior to the 2016 season.  On July 11, Frazier placed second in the Home Run Derby, losing to Giancarlo Stanton in the final round.  Frazier finished the year with career highs in home runs, runs batted in and walks despite hitting a career low .225 batting average in 158 games.  With the White Sox throwing in the towel and entering a full-fledged rebuild in 2017, Frazier was traded to the Yankees at the deadline.

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A Class Of One

With the unneeded lockout still in full effect, the baseball world had nothing to distract it yesterday from the small hamlet of Cooperstown in upstate New York, where the votes were tallied, and the 2021 Hall of Fame class completed with one additional member.  Former Red Sox DH David Ortiz scored 77.9% of the vote to earn enshrinement in his first election.

Six others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Barry Bonds, who jumped up to 66% in his final go around on the ballot.  Roger Clemens was right behind him at 65.2% and will also leave his fate to the veteran’s committee.  Scott Rolen saw another big jump, rising to 63.2% and looks like he’s on track to eventually make it.  Curt Schilling, who threw a temper tantrum after not getting elected last year, saw a bit drop and ended his 10-year run with 58.6% of the vote.  Todd Helton and Billy Wagner continued to make strides, coming in at 52% and 51%, respectively, though Helton has more time on his side to make a good run towards induction.

On the local front, former White Sox outfielder Andruw Jones saw a large increase, going up to 41.1%.  Manny Ramirez, who spent a little more than a month with the White Sox, stayed about even, finishing with 28.9% of the vote thanks to his multiple PED suspensions.  The disgraced Omar Vizquel, who added sexual abuse of an autistic teen to the spousal abuse charges that had popped up the previous year, dropped even further, to 23.9%.  In his last go-around, former Cub superstar Sammy Sosa saw a small increase to 18.5%.  Jimmy Rollins, who spent the final 41 games of his career on the south side, picked up 9.4% in his first go-around.  Mark Buehrle saw his percentage cut in half, to 5.8%. but lives to fight another day.  Justin Morneau, who spent the final 58 games of his career with the White Sox, picked up 5 votes.  A.J. Pierzynski scored 2, while his former battery mate Jake Peavy was tossed a shutout.

Fifteen players will fall off the ballot, either due to reaching 10 years or failing to score 5% of the vote.

As for the newest Hall of Famer, I’ve seen Ortiz play 24 times, including the 2005 ALDS.  He joins Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva and Buck O’Neil, who were elected by the veteran’s committees in December, in the class of 2022.  They will all get their day in the sun on Sunday, July 24.

David Ortiz’s numbers in games I’ve attended were: Continue reading →

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2022 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

The BBWAA recently released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2022, with the results of the vote due to be revealed on January 25th with induction returning to its usual July weekend, July 24th to be precise.  With nobody elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 13 newcomers.

Last week, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Carl Crawford

He was never able to come close to the success he enjoyed as a Ray during the second part of his career.  I would doubt he makes it to a second election.

Prince Fielder

A neck injury ended his career prematurely, which didn’t give him enough of a chance to pile up the numbers that he would have needed for induction.

Ryan Howard

A late start to his career, winning the Rookie of the Year award in his age 25 season, will likely leave the longtime Phillie on the outside looking in.

Tim Lincecum

Lincecum had a 4 year peak that would stack up against anyone, but his career only lasted 10 years and those 6 non-peak years were middling at best and ugly at worst.

Justin Morneau

I mean, he had a nice career and all, with 1600 hits and 247 home runs, but no.

Joe Nathan

He is 8th on the all time saves list, but I don’t think that, or the World Series ring he got for 3 appearances with the 2016 Cubs at the end of his career, will put him over the top.

David Ortiz

OK, now things start to get interesting.  His 541 home runs would normally be a surefire ticket to entry, but there is a slight taint of PED use, right or wrong, to his career.  Will the writers, who have kept Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, amongst others, out put Ortiz in?  My guess is yes.

Jonathan Papelbon

Yeah, that’s going to be a no.

Jake Peavy

Peavy ended up having a pretty nice career, but nice career’s do not get you to Cooperstown.

A.J. Pierzynski

At first glance, the easy answer is to say no.  But, his 19 year career behind the plate, where his most similar comparison is to Yadier Molina, who most people assume will get in easily once he is eligible, makes you wonder if he will get more support than you would initially think.

Alex Rodriguez

Yet another 10 year referendum on PEDs that we have to look forward to.  If I had to guess, and that is what I am doing here, I’m going to say he never gets in.

Jimmy Rollins

Rollins had a great career, but not enough to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Mark Teixeira

He’s kind of borderline, but I don’t think he makes it.

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2022 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

Earlier this week, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2022.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 25th, with induction taking place July 24th.  After nobody was elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 13 newcomers.  With this being the last go-around for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, all of whom are tainted by PEDs, and Curt Schilling, who is an ass, we may see the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules, which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots, come to an end.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 2
2021 Percentage: 8.7

A small 3.2% increase for Abreu, but I wouldn’t be making any travel plans to Cooperstown if I were him.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 9
2021 Percentage: 61.8

I just can’t see the all time home run champion getting the increase he will need in his final shot with the baseball writers.

Mark Buehrle
Years on ballot: 1
2021 Percentage: 11.0

The former White Sox hurler picked up a surprisingly healthy amount of support in his first go-around.  I don’t expect he’ll make it, but I feel better about his chances to stay on the ballot than I did last year.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 9
2021 Percentage: 61.6

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, is likely to join Bonds on the outside looking in after his last run through this particular gauntlet.  Especially since, after many years of getting marginally more support than Bonds, they flipped spots last year.

Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 3
2021 Percentage: 44.9

A big 15.7% increase has Helton moving on the right track, as voters remember that it isn’t his fault he played in Colorado.

Tim Hudson
Years on ballot: 1
2021 Percentage: 5.2

The lowest vote getter to return for another shot, I imagine he’ll get a little more support, but not much.

Torii Hunter
Years on ballot: 1
2021 Percentage: 9.5

Things do not look good for the long time Twin and Angel.

Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 4
2021 Percentage: 33.9

If voters were to stick to his first 11 seasons, Jones looks like a shoe-in for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  Despite a 14.5% increase in votes, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 8
2021 Percentage: 32.4

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