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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An Empty Class

All eyes turned towards the small hamlet of Cooperstown, New York last Tuesday, as the votes were tallied and, for the first time since 2013, the 2021 Hall of Fame class was found to have no members.  Curt Schilling led all vote getters with 71.1% of the vote, 3.9% shy of the 75% required for induction.

Three others tallied greater than 50% of the vote, led by Barry Bonds, who saw a slight increase up to 61.8%.  Roger Clemens was right behind him at 61.6% and, with only one more go around each, it seems unlikely that either will make it via the BBWAA.  Scott Rolen saw a big jump, rising to 52.9% and looks like he’s on track to eventually make it.

Omar Vizquel, who was on the upswing and looked to be on a good trajectory, dropped back down under 50% after allegations of spousal abuse popped up last year.

Mark Buehrle scored the highest amongst the newcomers, with 11%.  Torii Hunter and Tim Hudson are the other two newcomers who live to fight another day, surpassing the 5% cutoff.  Of the local contingent, former White Sox outfielder Andruw Jones jumped up to 33.9% while Manny Ramirez finished with the same 28.2% as last year.  Cub outcast Sammy Sosa garnered 17.0%, while his former teammates Aramis Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins pulled in 1% and 0.5% respectively.  Former White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher got no votes, which seems about right.

Schilling, in an effort to prove that he is the garbage human being that he shows to the world on social media, released a letter after the vote was announced asking to no longer be considered for the Hall.  “I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” he wrote, denigrating the BBWAA and the entire election process.  Personally, I hope they leave him on the ballot and that nobody votes for him.

While there is no class of 2021, there will still be an election ceremony this summer, as the class of 2020, Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller, get their day in the sun, corona virus willing, on Sunday, July 25.

2021 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers


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The BBWAA recently released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2021, with the results of the vote due to be revealed on January 26th.  Assuming the corona virus is under control by then, induction would take place July 25th.  With Derek Jeter and Larry Walker getting elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 11 newcomers, which may potentially continue 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.

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

Mark Buehrle

While he is one of only three pitchers, along with Cy Young and Sandy Koufax, to have a no-hitter, a perfect game, and win a World Series title with the same organization, I don’t see any way he will make it.  Hopefully he will get enough votes to remain on the ballot for another year.

A.J. Burnett

I don’t see him getting much in the way of support.

Michael Cuddyer

I wonder what it feels like to be placed on the ballot knowing that you won’t earn even a single vote.

Dan Haren

I can see him getting a vote or two, but not enough to stick around.

LaTroy Hawkins

I mean, he had a nice career and all, but no.

Tim Hudson

My initial reaction was no, but he was the first one to make me look up his numbers.  His predictive numbers are actually very similar to Buehrle’s, so I’m going to have to say no here as well.  It’ll be interesting to see how their vote totals match up considering how close their predictive scores are.

Torii Hunter

Probably the most interesting case out of the newcomers.  I can see him sticking around for the entire 10 year run, but I don’t see him getting in.

Aramis Ramirez

While a local favorite, I don’t see him getting a lot of support.

Nick Swisher

F this dude and anyone who votes for him.

Shane Victorino

No.

Barry Zito

The start of his career looked promising, but those later Giant years were brutal.