“Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself standing in the Hall of Fame.” ~ The Script, An Irish rock band.
Today, Sunday, December 31, 2023, is the last day of voting for the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot. All eligible Members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America should have analyzed and voted on the listed 26 players by then. Their selections will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 7 p.m. E.T. The event will be covered live by the MLB Network. The induction will take place during the Hall of Fame Weekend on Sunday, the 21st of July 2024 at the Clark Sports Center, 124 County Highway 52, Cooperstown, NY 13326
As with all elections, there are rules:
An elector will vote for no more than ten (10) eligible candidates deemed worthy of election. Write-in votes are not permitted. Any candidate receiving votes of seventy-five percent (75%) of the ballots cast shall be elected to membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Cooperstown, N.Y. There are other rules to be followed for both electors and for the candidates; the one that is the most controversial is Rule 5: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which he played.
Candidates remain on the ballot for 10 years. If they receive less than 5% of the votes cast each year, they are dropped. Obviously if they receive the needed 75%, they are inducted and removed from the ballot.
It is only fair to tell you up front, I am NOT in the BBWAA and therefore I do not have a vote in this process, but as a blogger, I again felt compelled to write. Here is this year’s list and my humble comments on each:
Bobby Abreu - Received 8.7% in 2021, 8.6% 2022 and had 60 votes / 15.4% last year. This is his 5th on the ballot. My opinion hasn’t changed, he had a solid career, but not HoF worthy.
Jose Bautista - His first year on the ballot. Bautista played for 15 seasons posting a .247 batting average, 344 home runs and 975 runs batted in for his career. He was a dependable player, but I don’t feel he has the numbers to be in the HoF. He was amazing at the plate between 2010-15, but that is not a career. I could have done without his bat flips too, but that’s just my personal feelings.
Carlos Beltran – Received 181 votes / 46.5% last year. This is his 2nd year on the ballot. Beltran put up some very good numbers in his 20-year career; 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases, .279 batting average, 2,725 total hits with 1,587 RBIs. But I would not vote for him. He was identified as the alleged mastermind of the Houston Astro’s illegal sign stealing scheme of 2017. He had been named New York Mets manager but stepped down prior to managing a game. MLB handled the scandal poorly in my opinion. He did receive a good number of votes in his first year, but I still hope the writers hold him more accountable than MLD did.
Adrian Beltre - His first year on the ballot. Beltre played 21 seasons and put up some heavy numbers. Career .286 batting average, 3,166 hits, 477 home runs, 1,524 runs, 1,707 runs batted in, 636 doubles and played an excellent third base with a .960 fielding percentage. He may not go in on the first ballot, but he should go in. He gets my vote.
Mark Buehrle – Received 11% his first year, 2021 and 5.8% in 2022, last year he did better with 42 votes / 10.8%. This will be his 4th year on the ballot. As I’ve said in the past, “He was one of the best left-handed pitchers of his era. Not over-powering, but he knew how to pitch. I’d like to see him get in at some point, he’s right there. He gets my vote. Can’t have too many stand up guys in the Hall.” I still stick with that statement. Please CLICK HERE to read my son’s assessment in his guest blog. He is indeed a unique case in many ways as Mike pointed out. One perfect game, a no-hitter, 14 200-plus inning seasons (all consecutive 2001-14), 4-Gold Gloves, 5-All-Star Teams and 2-0 in the 2005 World Series Championship (1 win / 1 Save) over 4 games. He gets my vote again this year.
Bartolo Colon - His first year on the ballot. “Big Sexy” had a 21-season career, he amassed 247 career wins, 2,535 strikeouts, won a Cy Young Award and hit one dramatic home run. He was a fun and popular player, but he probably doesn’t have the credentials to be a Hall of Famer. Regrettably he doesn’t get my vote and probably won’t get much from the BBWAA either.
Adrian Gonzalez - His first year on the ballot. A solid player, for his career he had a .287 batting average, 2,050 hits, 317 home runs and 1,202 runs batting in, He also earned 4 Gold Gloves during his 15 years in the majors. He’ll get his share of votes, but I don’t see him going in right away. I probably wouldn’t give him my vote, very good, but I’m not convinced he’s a Hall of Famer.
Matt Holliday - His first year on the ballot. Holliday played for five teams over his 15-year career. He had a .299 batting average, 2,096 hits, 316 home runs and 1,220 runs batted in. He led the NL in both batting average and RBIs in 2007, won a World Series Championship in 2011 and was the NLCS MVP in 2007. Similar numbers as Adrian Gonzalez over the same amount of time, with a couple personal accolades. A solid career will garner him a good voting turnout from the writers, but again, I’m not convinced he’s a Hall of Famer.
Todd Helton - Received 44.9% in 2021, 52% in 2022, and 281 votes / 72.2%. This is his 6th year on the ballot. He was a great hitter but playing in Colorado probably hurts his chances. I still go back and forth with his worthiness, but probably wouldn’t vote for him. However, I think the writers will put Helton in this year.
Torii Hunter - Received 9.5% his first year and 5.3% in 2022, he went up slightly last year with 27 votes / 6.9%. This is his 4th year on the ballot. Solid career, but not HoF worthy. I don’t see him gain much momentum.
Andruw Jones - Received 19.4% in 2020, went up to 33.9% in 2021, 41.4 in 2022 and 226 voted / 58.1% last year. This will be his 7th year on the ballot. He surprised me by getting his vote percentage up again, but I personally couldn’t vote for him as I don’t see him as a Hall of Fame Player.
Victor Martinez - His first year on the ballot. Martinez split his career between catching (858 games), being a DH (869 games), and playing first base (214 games) over a 16-season career. He had a .295 batting average, 2,153 hits, 246 homes runs and 1,1,178 runs batted in. He won two Silver Slugger Awards. Victor had a solid career, but again in my mind, he’s just not a Hall of Fame player. It will be interesting to see how the writer’s vote.
Joe Mauer - His first year on the ballot. In Mauer’s 15-year career, he played catcher (921 games), first base (603 games), and DH (310). He finished with a .306 batting average, 2,123 hits, 143 home runs, 923 runs batted in. He played his whole career with the Minnesota Twins winning the AL MVP (2009), three AL Batting Championships (2006, 2008 and 2009), five Silver Sluggers (2006, 2008-10, and 2013), and three Gold Gloves (2008-10). I think the writers will vote him in as a first ballot guy. I have a soft spot for catchers, and he had solid numbers and awards, he gets my vote.
Andy Pettitte - Absolutely not, PEDs. Received 13.7% in 2021 and 10.7% in 2022 and 66 votes / 17% last year. This will be his 6th year on the ballot.
Brandon Phillips - His first year on the ballot. Phillips played 17 years with five different team. He had a .275 batting average, 2,029 hits, 211 and 951 batted in. Add his four Gold Gloves and one Silver Slugger awards to the resume. He was a good player, but not in my opinion Hall of Fame worthy.
Manny Ramírez - Absolutely not, PEDs. Received 28.2% two years in a row, then 28.9% in 2022, he went up again with 129 / 33.2% last year. This is his 8th year on the ballot.
Jose Reyes - His first year on the ballot. Reyes played 16 seasons. He had a .283 batting average, 2,138 hits, 145 home runs, 719 runs batted in and 517 stolen bases. He led MLB in triples (2005, 06, 08 and 2011) and led the NL in stolen bases (2005, 06 and 07). He also won the NL Batting Championship in 2011 and throw in a Silver Slugger in 2006. He’s got the numbers that put him in the running. But he did have a domestic violence arrest in October of 2015 for allegedly assaulting his wife in Hawaii. Allegedly he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her through a door. Hotel security called the police. She was taken to the ER with injuries to her side, neck, and wrist. MLB placed him on administrative leave in February of 2016. His case was dismissed when his wife refused to cooperate as a witness. In May, MLB suspended him without pay. Once the suspension ended, he was optioned to a minor league rehab assignment, but was eventually designated for assignment by the Rockies in June and finished his career back with the Mets. I feel the writers will take these events into consideration, how it will affect their votes is hard to tell, hopefully they take it seriously, but he doesn’t get mine.
Alex Rodriguez – Absolutely not, multiple PEDs. Received 34.3% in 2022 and had 139 votes / 35.7% last year. This will be his third year on the ballot.
Francisco Rodriguez – He received 42 votes / 10.8% in first year on the ballot. As I wrote last year, while having 437 career saves should be enough to garner enough votes, his integrity and character traits come into play. Rodriguez had some minor disputes, one in a 2009 blow up on the field after a dropped pop-up cost him a save. The next day he had to be physically separated from an opposing relief pitcher Brian Bruney who made a statement that his antics were getting old. In 2010 he was in a heated argument with his own bullpen coach prior to entering a game. Then in August 2011, the issues became more serios, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting the father of his then girlfriend. He was suspended initially by the NY Mets for two games without pay and the courts told him to stay away from both the father and his girlfriend. He did end up on the disabled list due to a torn ligament in this right (pitching hand) thumb, which probably occurred during the altercation. He was suspended by the Mets indefinitely without pay until he was able to physically play again. He then violated the order of protection and faced seven counts of criminal contempt by texting his girlfriend and wound up back in court. In September of 2012 he was charged with domestic violence for allegedly hitting and kicking the mother of his child. Charges were dropped when the woman and a housekeeper, who was the only witness went back to Venezuela. This is his 2nd year, the writers didn’t give him much support and I doubt that will change, and he wouldn’t get my vote.
Jimmy Rollins – Received 9.4% his first year and 50 votes / 12.9% last year. This is his third year on the ballot. Played 17 seasons with solid career numbers and a Roberto Clemente Award winner. A shortstop with a solid glove, is the only player that played over half their career at SS with at least 500 doubles, 200 home runs and 400 stolen bases. Jimmy gets my vote, but he sure didn’t get a lot of support from the writers and unfortunately, I don’t see that changing this year.
Gary Sheffield – Absolutely not PEDs which he admitted. Received 40.6% 2021, which was up from the previous year, but stayed at 40.6% in 2022. Last year he did receive 214 votes / 55%. This is his 10th and last year on the ballot and I doubt the writers are going to put him in.
James Shields - His first year on the ballot. Shields played for four teams in his 13-year career. He compiled a 145-139 win-loss record, 4.01 earned run average and 2,234 strikes over 2,616 innings. He was a workhorse for sure. Hall of Famer, no. He may be a one and done in my opinion.
Chase Utley - His first year on the ballot. Utley played 16 seasons for two teams, mostly the Phillies. His career numbers, a .275 batting average, 259 home runs and 1,025 runs batted in along with 154 stolen bases are a bit low for a second baseman. He was great over a five-year period (2005-09) winning 4 Silver Slugger Awards, and carried a career .982 fielding percentage as a second baseman. Tough call. The writers will show him some love, so it’ll be interesting to see their results. I’m a coin-flip, which means I wouldn’t vote for him.
Omar Vizquel - Received 52.6% 2020, 49.1% in 2021 and 23.9% in 2022. Last year he dropped again with 76 votes / 19.5%. This is his 8th year on the ballot. As I mentioned last year, I believe his percentage has dropped due to the domestic abuse allegations made by his wife in December of 2020 which MLB was investigating, and an August 2021 civil action which alleges sexual harassment of a Birmingham Barons, Class AA team’s bat boy with a disability which was filed in a federal district court in Alabama; a confidential settlement was reached in 2022. If I am not mistaken their divorce was finalized on December 22nd of last year, but I know of no new updates from MLB on the abuse or the sexual harassment suit. Between these two issues, I would imagine his support would continue to drop. While I said a few years ago, he had my vote, my mind changed with these allegations and I’m still of that mindset.
Billy Wagner - Received 46.4% in 2021, 51% in 2022, and went up again in 2023 with 265 votes / 68.1%. This is his 9th year on the ballot. Numbers aren’t quite there in my opinion, but he was a good one. He has moved up consistently and is within striking distance. But as I said, not in my mind.
David Wright - His first year on the ballot. He played 14 years, but due to injury and spinal stenosis diagnosis he played in only 77 games in his last three years. His early retirement will probably be reflected in the voting process. Wright had some solid years. But I don’t see him getting in and I wouldn’t vote for him.
I know I will take criticism for excluding some of these players for their PEDs usage. ‘It doesn’t help you hit the ball”, “there wasn’t a rule concerning it when some of the usage occurred”, “there are probably players in the HoF that used and never got caught”, “what about other generations that relied on amphetamines?” and “they were HoF players prior to their PED usage”. I’ve heard all these and so many more, but that’s my line in the sand, they used, no Hall. I stick with “integrity and character” as attributes that need to be present, my feeling is that their kind of cheating shows their lack in those categories.
So, I only voted for three. I included some stats this year, but again having seen all these players I gave my honest evaluation. Of course, I ‘d enjoy hearing from you and who would get your votes.
I’d like to offer my congrats to Jim Leyland who was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era on December 3rd with 93.75% of the votes. Also, to Gerry Fraley, winner of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award and Joe Castiglione who won the Ford C. Frick Award this year.
An aside; if you haven’t, get yourself out to Cooperstown and visit the Hall. Allow at least two days. It is a magical place where history comes alive.
Have a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year. Thanks for all your support!
Author’s Shoutout to Sandy Koufax, “the Left Arm of god” who was born on December 30, 1935. Happy 88th birthday, sir.
~ Coach Mike
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I really enjoyed the read🤗 I’m trying to understand how those players with domestic violence even got to be on the ballot🤷🏻♀️ I really enjoyed your assessment and knowledge of each player💯
Thanks for your opinion on this year's selections! Interesting facts amassed.