2009 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

[Bored 0]

Holdovers

 

Harold Baines

Bert Blyleven

Andre Dawson

Tommy John (final year)

Don Mattingly

Mark McGwire

Jack Morris

Dale Murphy

Dave Parker

Tim Raines

Jim Rice (final year)

Lee Smith

Alan Trammell

 

Newcomers

 

Jay Bell

David Cone

Ron Gant

Mark Grace

Rickey Henderson

Jesse Orosco

Dan Plesac

Greg Vaughn

Mo Vaughn

Matt Williams

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Rickey going to the hall. Can't wait for the speech.

[CanadianChris 0]

I don't think any first-timer besides RICKEY has a chance at the Hall.

 

I do think Rice gets in this year as well.

[Slayer 0]

Rickey's plaque will have to be as tall as Rickey himself to list all those teams

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Rickey is without a doubt a 1st ballot... I think the voters will get Jim Rice in there out of pity.

[Guest Czecherbear]

Rickey is in. Trammell should be in.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

I'd put David Cone in. I like David Cone.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Rickey Henderson

Tim Raines

Bert Blyleven

Mark McGwire

Alan Trammell

Andre Dawson

 

Henderson is obvious. Raines was a great, great player. Blyleven I'm sure we've discussed a dozen times. McGwire is deserving based on the numbers. I choose not to led the PEDs influence his worthiness, but the other argument is perfectly. reasonable. Trammell contributed more across the board than most power hitters. Dawson I think deserves induction based on being a power-hitting, gold glove center fielder in his prime.

 

Since this is the Hall of Fame thread, I can not emphasize enough how bad a selection Jim Rice would be. He put up big numbers in a couple of seasons as a right handed hitter in Fenway Park. His stats have been cherry picked to make him look more impressive. On the whole, he was no better than Greg Luzinski, George Foster, or a bunch of other contemporary power hitters nowhere near the Hall.

[Darthtiki 0]

I hope Matt Williams and Mark Grace get in, but I think only one of them has a chance at 1st Ballot

[Guest Czecherbear]

Oh, Matt Williams is not one of the greatest ever to play the game of baseball, is he? No to Gracie as well.

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Worth noting that next Monday the Veteran's Committee results will be announced. It's split into two categories, Post-1943 and Pre-1943.

 

Post-1943

 

Dick Allen

Gil Hodges

Jim Kaat

Tony Oliva

Al Oliver

Vada Pinson

Ron Santo

Luis Tiant

Joe Torre (career as a player only)

Maury Wills

 

Pre-1943

 

Bill Dahlen

Wes Ferrell

Joe Gordon

Sherry Magee

Carl Mays

Allie Reynolds

Vern Stephens

Mickey Vernon

Bucky Walters

Deacon White

[RepoMan 0]

How long do pepole think the writers are going to blackball McGwire?

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

He's in trouble because he's the first legit HOF to come up that did it. Once Clemens goes in...they'll break for everyone else.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Re: Veterans Committee. I think Santo is going to miss out once again. Apparently the HOFers can vote for four players out of a ballot of ten. Six of those players have arguments as at least borderline Hall of Famers. When all the players are of similar quality, it is hard for a group to reach a consensus. This process really needs a runoff.

 

As far as the pre-1943 group goes, I have a feeling that Joe Gordon gets elected.

[phoenixrising 0]

I want Henderson, Dawson, Raines and Blyleven to make it in on the writer's ballot. I'm guessing it's going to be Henderson and Rice.

 

I'm also curious to know who makes it off the Veteran's Committee ballots.

Pre-1943...Stephens and Reynolds would be my picks.

Post-1943...I really hope Santo makes it. I don't really think Hodges is worthy, but as a Dodger fan it would be nice to see him get in. Torre will be in sooner or later.

 

What's the deal with Santo? I know a little bit...there was some drama in his final season with the White Sox but I don't know any specifics. IIRC, he was not one of the most talkative players in the world towards the media...but what did he do that dropped him off the ballot so quickly? How was he considered when he played? Most analyses I have seen have him better than Brooks Robinson. Santo definitely was better with the bat, but how was his fielding? I know he won 4 Gold Gloves but wasn't the defensive wizard Brooks was. Why is he not in? Is it the short career? Media issues? People unwilling to put a 4th HOFer (Banks, Williams, Jenkins) from a team that never won anything? Collapsing down the stretch in 1969 with the rest of the Cubs? Numbers don't look that great because he played in the 60's? He was one of the best players of the 60's, definitely the 2nd best if not the best third basemen in that time, probably top 10 of all time...all this while dealing with freaking diabetes...I just don't see how he's still out.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Ron Gant and The Vaughn Bros. hopefully get a decent amount of votes... like those guys.

 

I see McGwire having having to wait another year or two.

 

Can't wait to see Rickey's speech, and hopefully Tommy John by some miracle makes it.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I don't understand why Dave Parker isn't in. No, he didn't hit 500 homers, but has a ton of hits, played great defense, and was a feared hitter during his era.

 

Blyleven should finally get in too...when he retired, he was third all time on the strike outs list.

[phoenixrising 0]

I don't understand why Dave Parker isn't in. No, he didn't hit 500 homers, but has a ton of hits, played great defense, and was a feared hitter during his era.

 

I like Parker for the Hall. But if you check his stats, there's a significant dropoff in his age 29-31 seasons...right in his prime. It turned out that Parker had got hooked on cocaine. It affected his health to the point where he began to have injuries that cost him many games over those three seasons. Prior to that he had two batting titles and an MVP. After that time frame he had a couple of big seasons with the Reds. If he had hit close to his glory years in Pittsburgh and the two seasons with the Reds, he might be a better candidate. He'd probably be in already.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dave_Parker

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

What's the deal with Santo? I know a little bit...there was some drama in his final season with the White Sox but I don't know any specifics. IIRC, he was not one of the most talkative players in the world towards the media...but what did he do that dropped him off the ballot so quickly? How was he considered when he played? Most analyses I have seen have him better than Brooks Robinson. Santo definitely was better with the bat, but how was his fielding? I know he won 4 Gold Gloves but wasn't the defensive wizard Brooks was. Why is he not in? Is it the short career? Media issues? People unwilling to put a 4th HOFer (Banks, Williams, Jenkins) from a team that never won anything? Collapsing down the stretch in 1969 with the rest of the Cubs? Numbers don't look that great because he played in the 60's? He was one of the best players of the 60's, definitely the 2nd best if not the best third basemen in that time, probably top 10 of all time...all this while dealing with freaking diabetes...I just don't see how he's still out.

 

I suspect the voters were simply not overwhelmed by Santo's counting statistics. Much Santo's value came from walks and defense. Neither skill is usually evaluated properly by the BBWAA.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I don't understand why Dave Parker isn't in. No, he didn't hit 500 homers, but has a ton of hits, played great defense, and was a feared hitter during his era.

 

He was my dads favorite baseball player. I use to hear stories about him all the time.

 

My dad would always tell me about his legendary arm, and how far he was able to throw.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Parker's borderline. Doesn't quite make my list, but he's close. He would certainly make a better choice than Jim Rice though.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I don't know if the Parker cocaine stuff has ever been proven. He claims he had leg injuries during that period. Wouldn't surprise me either way. Even with the drop off in the middle of his career, his numbers are still impressive.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Dave Parker should get in solely for wearing bad-ass stuff like this.

 

Yeah.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Dave Parker should get in solely for wearing bad-ass stuff like this.

 

Yeah.

 

And someone's trying to argue that this dude wasn't on coke?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Actually it turns out he admitted to using coke, so that's not in dispute.

 

Also not in dispute is that the hockey mask look was pretty bad ass.

[Vampiro69 0]

I hope that Jack Morris makes it to the HOF. I want to see Andre Dawson and Blyleven in there as well. I do think that Rice makes it out of pity like someone else mentioned.

 

Echoing the sentiments of everyone else, I also can't wait to hear Rickey's speech. What team would he go into the Hall with? Athletics or Yankees?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I hope as an Athletic. That's the team I always think of when I think of Rickey, personally.

 

And I really hope the writers finally do the right thing and put Blyleven in. It was kind of amusing...yesterday on MLB on XM, they were talking with Vida Blue, and Bert's name came up. When the hosts were reading Blyleven's accomplishments to Vida, it sounded like he was about falling out of his chair, about how this guy still isn't in the Hall.

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If the Hall of Fame decided to have RICKEY~ wear a Yankees cap on his plaque then I will have no other choice but to burn down Cooperstown. And I'm not just talking about the HOF, but the whole damn town! There's no chance he goes in with any other cap than the A's.

 

I've been sifting through some of RICKEY's~ best games and this game might be the ultimate RICKEY~ game. Four plate appearances, four walks, four runs, five stolen bases.

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Re: Veterans Committee. I think Santo is going to miss out once again. Apparently the HOFers can vote for four players out of a ballot of ten. Six of those players have arguments as at least borderline Hall of Famers. When all the players are of similar quality, it is hard for a group to reach a consensus. This process really needs a runoff.

 

As far as the pre-1943 group goes, I have a feeling that Joe Gordon gets elected.

You called it. Gordon was the only player elected from either ballot. Santo came closest on the post-'43 ballot but actually received fewer votes than he did in 2007.