If I Had A Hall of Fame Ballot

It's time for my annual Hall of Fame post.  Feel free to argue at the bottom of the post, no name calling.  I really liked the format I used last year, so I am keeping it this year.  Voters can pick up to ten players on their ballots out of a total of 32 retired players.  There are ten players on this year's ballot that I would vote for, so lets start out by getting rid of the 23 players I would not support, or need a little more time to ponder. 

Go. 

1. Heath Bell 
2. Jose Valverde 
3. J.J. Putz 
4. Adam Dunn 

I am going to give Adam Dunn a baseball card on my list.  He was a fun player who either hit a home run, struck out, or walked on the majority of his career at-bats.  Sure, that describes a lot of players in baseball today, but back in the early 2000s it was far less common.   Sorry, can't have Adam Dunn in the Hall of Fame. 

5. Raul Ibanez 
6. Brad Penny 
7. Chone Figgins
8. Carlos Pena 

Is there a Hall of Fame for really cool autographs?  If there was, I would vote for Carlos Pena in my Top 10.  Unfortunately, there is no such Hall of Fame.  Carlos Pena was also in the Moneyball book.  Billy Beane trades him to the Detroit Tigers to force Art Howe to play Scott Hatteberg at first base.  Sorry Carlos, there is no place for you in Cooperstown.  Don't buy his 2002 Bowman autograph like I did. 

9. Brian Roberts 
10. Josh Beckett 
11. Omar Vizquel 

I cannot believe that there are people who think Omar Vizquel is a Hall of Famer.  Last year, I did not give him a card, just a stock photo of a clown.  This year, I am not giving him a card, just a stock photo of a clown. 

12. Eric Chavez 
13. Rafael Furcal 

Rafael Furcal won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2011, so he gets a card in this post. I appreciate his efforts in getting the Cardinals their 11th World Series Championship.  In particular, he hit a lead off triple against Roy Halladay in the first inning of Game 5 of the NLDS, and ended up scoring the only run of the game. Still not a Hall of Famer though.

14. Cliff Lee 
15. Andy Pettitte 
16. Paul Konerko 

I liked watching Paul Konerko.  Not a Hall of Famer, though there are probably a few White Sox fans who think he should be in Cooperstown.  Just a really good player.  Worthy of a baseball card. 

17. Jason Giambi 
18. Jeff Kent 
19. Alfonso Soriano 
20. Billy Wagner 

I am not a big fan of putting relief pitchers into the Hall of Fame.  If I could restart the Hall of Fame, take people out, there are several relievers who would get the heave ho.  However, nobody is going to let me restart the Hall of Fame, so let me just say that I like Billy Wagner more than I like a few of the more recent elected closers.  Specifically Lee Smith and Trevor Hoffman.  I have some good Lee Smith blown save stories for a different post.  I would not vote for Billy Wagner, but I am sure there will likely be a day where he gets into Cooperstown. 

21. Bobby Abreu 

I really like Bobby Abreu. I am not sure that many people realize how good his career numbers are, or how good he was during his career.  If you like WAR, WAR7, JAWS, and some of those other metrics to measure careers, than Bobby Abreu is in line with Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield.  I also like that he has almost 600 career doubles, and also 400 stolen bases.  I am putting Bobby Abreu outside of my top 10, but he's a player who at a minimum deserves a little bit more dialogue. 

22. Gary Sheffield

I like numbers.  I do not always like to rely on my opinions of players during their career as a barometer of whether they are Hall worthy or not.  Gary Sheffield is in that same neighborhood as Bobby Abreu.  There are some numbers that are really good, like he has more than 500 home runs.  He's also one player, my opinion from watching him play, who feels like he should have better numbers.  Plus, that bat waggle was sort of scary as a Cardinals fan.  I would not have a problem with Sheffield being in the Hall, but I have 10 players I like more. 

That brings me to my Top 10 players I would vote for if I had a Hall of Fame ballot.  Each of them gets a blurb. 


10. Derek Jeter 

I would vote for Derek Jeter.  I think he's a Hall of Famer.  I also don't think he is as good as Ozzie Smith or Cal Ripken.  Does ARod count as a shortstop, because he was not as good as him either.  Also Robin Yount.  Yep, Derek Jeter is a Hall of Famer.  Probably a good thing he was on the Yankees, otherwise he would be sitting around for the next two decades like Alan Trammell. 

9.  Sammy Sosa 

I do not really care about steroids.  There were a lot of players who took them, and it did not guarantee players success.  You still had to be talented enough to actually hit the ball.  See Adam Piatt.  Sammy hit 600 home runs, which included three seasons with more than 60 home runs.  He should probably get a "Thank You" card from Major League Baseball for the whole 1998 home run race.  Baseball was very good to Sammy, let's do a little better.  Put him in the Hall. 

8. Andruw Jones 

Let me tell you about modern centerfielders from the 1990s and 2000s.  Kenny Lofton should be in the Hall of Fame, but he was off the ballot in a year.  Jim Edmonds should be in the Hall of Fame, but he was off the ballot in a year.  Andruw Jones has done better.  I know there are many people who do not like Andruw Jones.  There are two halves of his career.  The Braves half was Hall of Fame worthy.  The Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees half was not.  In conclusion, Jim Edmonds and Kenny Lofton should be in the Hall of Fame. 

7. Manny Ramirez 

I am a big fan of Manny.  He has 555 home runs, 2,500 hits, 1,800 RBIs, a .585 slugging percentage, and a .996 career OPS.  Manny also helped the Red Sox win two World Series championships.  Have I ever mentioned that his rookie cards were photographed at Duke?  I know the answer is yes.  Pretty cool local connection. 

6.  Scott Rolen 

Rolen does not have the counting numbers that are essential for many Hall of Fame voters, but I still think he is worthy of a place in Cooperstown.  Even without great counting numbers, there are many metrics that place him amongst the top dozen or so third baseman.  Rolen's peak years with the Phillies and Cardinals were very good, in line with many of the already enshrined at his position.  I do not really care if ended up getting traded out of every city he played, put him in. 

5. Todd Helton 

I had Helton outside my 10 players last year on my Hall of Fame post last year.  Yes, there are some problematic numbers with Helton, especially his home and road splits.  However, I am not going to penalize him for playing half of his career in Coors.  Many players have been on the Rockies, but few are Hall of Fame worthy.  He only had 369 home runs, which might seem low with a long career at Coors, but he also had almost 600 doubles.  Throw in a batting title, along with a great career slashline, and I am fine with Helton being in the Hall. 

4. Curt Schilling 

I have a lot of problems with Curt Schilling the person.  There are plenty of other players in the Hall that have said and done plenty of questionable things.  Curt Schilling the baseball player is Hall of Fame worthy.  Great Postseason player. 

3. Larry Walker 

I have posted a lot about Larry Walker in the past.  I feel like it's all been covered.  I also feel like he is going to make it into the Hall this year.  Just a feeling. 

2.  Roger Clemens 

Clemens has 350 wins and more than 4,500 strikeouts.  He's the greatest right-handed pitcher that I have seen in person.  Yes, he was on steroids.  No, I do not care. 

1.  Barry Bonds 

Barry Bonds is a Hall of Famer.  That's the blurb. 

A Venerable Old Card Part 37

I usually put up some sort of Hall of Fame post around this time of year advocating for the players that I believe should be voted into Cooperstown.  I plan on still doing that here in the next two weeks, but for the moment I am going to just focus on one of the players on the ballot.

The ballot has gotten crowded in recent years and there are a lot of different voters who are playing moral police about who should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame based on whether or not they have been linked to steroids or not.  In some cases, like Bagwell and Piazza, just the mere suspicion has been enough to keep them outside of the Hall.

It's the final year that former Expos outfielder Tim Raines can make Hall via the regular writers ballot.  If I had a ballot I would vote for him in a second.  I will go over some of the reasons a little further down the page, but first lets look at a Raines card from long ago.....

the often ignored 1981 Topps Expos Future Stars card.  These have always sort of been a staple in Topps sets, I know they aren't in at the moment, but have taken on many different forms over the years.  The 1980s ones always seemed to have some decent/noteworthy player on the card along with two players who were completely missable.  See the Cal Ripken rookie card.  

Both Ramos and Pate played less than 100 games in the Majors.  I did not try to find either player to ask them their feelings about this card, but I am guessing they think it's pretty cool to have a card with a great player.  

I found it interesting that Raines was listed as a second baseman on this card.  I actually found it on his other rookie cards too. After a little researching on Baseball Reference it appears that Raines played second base throughout his Minor League career, but was placed in the outfield in favor of Doug Flynn and Rodney Scott when he reached the Majors.  

Maybe the only part of this card that I am not thrilled about is.....

is the back.  Sure, there is that cool vintage Topps logo next to each of the players names, but they could have done more with this space outside of just putting down the players vitals.  Still, I like this look better than some of the more modern prospect cards that are overly busy on the back.  

Now, about Raines being in the Hall.  

Two biggest things that Raines had going against him during his career were:

1.  He spent his best years playing on the Expos

2.  He played at the same time as Rickey Henderson who was a better similar player.  

Now the positives.  Raines is rated the seventh best left fielder in baseball history according to Jay Jaffe.  His WAR is 69.1 which is higher than modern Hall of Famers/Hall of Fame candidates such as Jim Rice, Lou Brock, Billy Williams, and 0.1 lower than Manny Ramirez.  If you use his WAR7, best seven seasons, he is 2 WAR ahead of Manny and 2 WAR below Pete Rose.  Pretty good company.  

Looking at counting numbers, it true that Raines never reached 3,000 hits, but his on-base percentage is .385, with 6 seasons above .400.  He has four hundred more walks than strikeouts over his 23 year career.  Raines also has more than 400 doubles and 800 stolen bases.  The stolen base mark places him fifth on the all-time list.  

In summation, I have no problem saying that Tim Raines was not the best lead off hitter of his generation.  That distinction easily goes to Rickey Henderson.  However, I would argue that Raines was the second greatest lead off hitter of his generation and rates better than other speedster in the Hall such as Lou Brock.  I'd vote Raines into the Hall if I had a vote, and hopefully this year enough baseball writers will finally agree with the numbers and put him in Cooperstown.    

Friday Five (Really Eight): Cardinals on the Hall of Fame Ballot

The results of the Hall of Fame balloting are a ways away, but it's one of the funniest things to debate as a baseball fan.  Sure, there are always a few slam dunks and a few obvious duds.  It's the middle ground where the fun debates take place.  I will do a post later on about the players on the ballot I would vote for if I were allowed to vote, but for this blog post I am going to focus on the eight players who appeared in a Cardinals uniform.  I will go over a few key stats and give you my take on whether or not they deserve any consideration.

Players are listed in alphabetical order, not by their actual chances of making it into the Hall.

David Eckstein (2005-2007)

Pros: Eckstein won two World Series rings, one with the Angels in 2002 and another with the Cardinals in 2006.  This diminutive shortstop played with a lot of effort and made up for some of the physical gifts that he lacked.  His biggest accomplishment was winning the 2006 World Series MVP.

Cons: Eckstein only played 10 years and had a career slash line of .280/.345/.355 with an OPS+ of 87.  His career WAR is 25.8, not close to Hall of Fame standards.  Surprisingly, his dWAR was in the positive in spite of the fact that he had to shot put the ball to first base.  JAWS rates him as the 112th best shortstop of all-time sandwiched in between Ozzie Guillen and Jeff Blauser

Chances of Hall of Fame:  (0.01%) Thank you for the 2006 World Series and that cool stretching routine you did in front of the dugout before games.  Enjoy your retirement.

Jim Edmonds (2000-2007)

Pros: Edmonds helped the Cardinals win the 2006 World Series and the 2004 National League Championship.  He was the premier defensive centerfielder in the National League for almost a decade.  Overall, Jimmy Ballgame won 8 Gold Gloves manning center for the Cardinals.  His career slash line of .284/.376/.527 is fairly impressive when added to his 393 home runs and 437 doubles.  His career 132 OPS+ and 60.3 WAR show that Edmonds had a very good career.  JAWS rates him as the 14th best center fielder of all-time.  He is really hurt by the fact that he was very good during his peak years.

Cons: The biggest knock against Edmonds is his longevity in the game.  If he had just a few more years at, or close to, his peak production numbers I think he is a slam dunk Hall of Famer.  He rates on the outer edge of the Hall of Fame center fielders in the JAWS rankings and is also below the mark in all of the Hall of Fame Statisical measures such as Grey Ink, Hall of Fame Monitor, and Hall of Fame Standards.

Chances of Hall of Fame: (50%) It should be much higher than that number, but I do not think that certain factions of Hall of Fame voters will ever get past the fact that Edmonds does not have a single Hall of Fame 'benchmark" and some of his counting numbers, like he's under 2000 career hits, and I am not sure he will ever pass.  If I had a vote I would put him in, but I think Edmonds sits on the ballot for awhile.

Troy Glaus (2008-2009)

Pros: Glaus had some really nice years while he was with the Angels.  His best moment was easily the 2002 World Series where he was named the Series MVP and helped finish off a huge rally for the Halos in Game 6.  His lone full season in St. Louis was actually pretty decent with 27 home runs, 99 RBIS, 33 doubles, and a slash line of .270/.372/.483.  

Cons: There is not much bad to say about Glaus, but he was just simply a nice player during his 13 year career.  He was a decent third baseman and had some pop.  Nothing wrong with a third baseman that can hit 30 home runs and give you a slugging percentage around .500.  Thirteen years of above average is still not good enough for the Hall.  Sorry Troy.  

Chances of the Hall: (5%) There are innovators in the Hall of Fame.  I am pretty sure that Troy Glaus was the first player to ever get equestrian fees for his spouse covered in their baseball contract.  If that's not Hall worthy than Troy is likely going to be off the ballot after this vote.  

Mark Grudzielanek (2005)

 

Pros: One of my Friday Five posts needs to rank the players from the Cardinals revolving door era at second base.  Mark Grudzielanek had a name that Harry Carey could not pronounce, he once led the National League in doubles with 54 in 1997, and he played for the Cardinals for one summer.  He had a long name....I got nothing.

Cons: His career OPS+ is 90 and his career WAR is 26.3.  JAWS ranks him as the 76th best second baseman of all-time slightly ahead of my favorite Pirates second baseman Johnny Ray.  He's just behind Steve Sax and Bret Boone.  

Chances of the Hall: (0%) Next.  

Mark McGwire (1997-2001) 

Pros: Home Runs and Home Run Records.

Cons: Steroids with a side of strikeouts.

Chances of the Hall: (Sigh)

Lee Smith (1990-1993) 

Pros: Lee Smith record 478 career saves.  Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times was originally one of the biggest proponents of Smith being in Hall called him the best one inning pitcher in the history of the game.  He had several great seasons as a closer.  Most notably his 193 season with the Cubs when he posted an ERA+ of 229 and a WAR of 4.8, and his 1990 season when he split time between the Cardinals and Red Sox.  There were other good years in there where he recorded a lot of saves, but that was his real dominate statistic.  He did strikeout almost a batter per inning during his career.

Cons: So much to put here, but I am going to be nice.  One of my biggest problems with Lee Smith was the latter years of his career.  I hate to rely on anecdotal observations on a post dealing with Hall of Fame credentials, but I am going to good ahead and do it.  I was a sixteen year old high school kid in 1993.  It was lean times to be a Cardinals fan.  I used to go to games with my dad every Sunday.  It didn't matter if the Cardinals got the lead in the game, you know Lee Smith was going to find a way to blow it.  The most painful I recall was a game against the Dodgers where Rene Arocha, imagine his name dropped in a post about the Hall of Fame, pitched a great game.  Smith came in walked a few people, threw a few wild pitches, and the Cardinals lost.  It was actually pretty common at the end of his career.  JAWS rates him as the 14th best relief pitcher of all-time.  He's behind Greg Swindell and Kerry Wood.

Chances of Hall of Fame: (No) Let me fix that since this is a nice post.  (Please, not Lee Smith)

Larry Walker (2004-2005)

Pros: There are many things to like about Larry Walker's candidacy for the Hall of Fame.  His career slash line of .313/.400/.565, an OPS+ of 141, and a career WAR of 72.6 merit consideration.  JAWS has him rated as the 10th best right fielder of all-time and two of the Hall of Fame Statisitics, the Monitor and Standards both score him above their likely to average Hall of Famer.  Black and Grey Ink have him just short.  Comparing him to some of his right field peers, he has a WAR and an OPS+ in the neighborhood of Al Kaline and Reggie Jackson.  He's slightly ahead of those two in OPS+, but behind them slightly in WAR.  He ranks higher than Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, and Ichiro in both statistics.   Walker also won a National League MVP in 1997 along with seven Gold Gloves, and three Silver Sluggers.

Cons: Some of the arguments against Larry Walker are similar to Jim Edmonds.  He played 17 years, but had several seasons where he missed half of the year.  When you compare his counting numbers against his right field peers he doesn't have a benchmark number to grab a certain group of Hall voters.  There are not 500 home runs or 3000 hits.  He played in almost a 1000 games less than both Jackson and Kaline who both reached one of the old-school "automatic" numbers.  Then there is Coors Field.  His home away slash line at home for his career is .348/.431/.637 versus a road slash line of .278/.370/.495.  That's a pretty big gap.

Chances of Hall of Fame: (50%) I would put Larry Walker into the Hall of Fame, but I am doubtful that certain voters will go for a player without a benchmark number who played a large number of games in Coors Field.  He definitely ranks favorably amongst Hall of Fame right fielders.

Randy Winn (2010) 

Pros: He was once traded for Lou Pinella and he was also on the Durham Bulls for awhile.

Cons: Why was Randy Winn on the Cardinals again?

Chances of the Hall: (0.00001%) He did hit for the cycle once.