Each year members of the Base Ball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) are given a hall of fame ballot with the names of the players eligible for consideration of enshrinement in Cooperstown. They are instructed to vote for as many as 10 of the players on the ballot. This years ballot contains 30 players so the writers can vote for up to 1/3 of players on the ballot. If a player receives 75% of the writers votes they are admitted into the Hall of Fame. If they receive under 75% but more than 5% they are retained on the ballot for the next year. The players have up to 10 years on the ballot to earn the 75% needed for enshrinement.
I am not a member of the BBWAA and I do not have a vote but to again paraphrase Rob Lowe as the Grinder "What if I were? and What if I did?"
I ask myself that question about this time each year. Here is what I've come up with for 2022.
First of all a little about my process. Each year I imagine what would happen if I was a member of the BBWAA and was asked to vote for a certain number of players and only that number, no more, no less. Than I imagine that I was asked to vote for one less than that original number, than one less than one less, until I was asked to just vote for one player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. By imagining a world like this I add a ranking component that the BBWAA lacks and I am able to shed a little light onto what players achievements I value more than others.
I also imagine a world where I am able to vote for as many players as I feel worthy of enshrinement. When I hit that number, which is 6 this year, I call that my Official Unofficial Ballot or OUB for short.
If I had 12 votes ...
Yes, I know that I just said that each BBWAA voter gets as many as 10 votes. But I also said, I am not a member. As a non member in good standing, I reserve the right to modify their rules whenever I please.
My 12th vote would go to Barry Bonds .
My yearly prognostication into all things Cooperstown started a few years before Bonds was on the ballot. In the nine previous years he has been on the ballot, the all time leader in home runs has never made my list before. The reason is very simple, I would never vote for him if I was given a real ballot. I have also never talked about why I would not vote for him. I just made my list and went on with my life.
So, why am I adding him this year? Well first of all, I am not adding him to mu OUB, I am not even adding him to the list of 10 players (the maximum BBWAA voters can choose), But that doesn't really answer the question as to why after 9 years of ignoring him am I putting him on my list this year? The answer is quite simple, even with all the reasons I would never vote for him the truth is had he not participated in that chapter of his life, he would have been a certain Hall of Famer. He may not have bypassed Aaron for the home Run record or even Broke McGwire's single season record, but he would have certainly been in the Hall of Fame by now and possibly on the first ballot. So in honor of his contributions to baseball that are not in question and because this is his last year on the ballot, one way or the other, I choose him 12th.
If I had only 11 votes, my 11th vote would go to Roger Clemens.
The 2 paragraphs I just wrote about Bonds could as easily have been written about the Rocket. I think the only difference is Roger Clemens would have been a certain first ballot Hall of Famer if his name wasn't so linked to the scandal that I endeavor so hard not to mention by name
If I had only 10 votes, my 10th vote would go to Jeff Kent.
I voted for Jeff Kent 6th last year here is what I said then:
He's like my poster child for outside looking in. Even thinking about it here, I'm tempted to have Jones and Rolen leap frog him.
Last year, I did not yield to my temptation of voting for Jones and Rolen before Kent. This year, I did (more on those players a little later). As Kent is listed as what certainly seems to be his penultimate appearance on the BBWAA ballot, I have decided that in my mind and in my vote Kent is just not Hall of Fame material.
If I had to vote for exactly 9 players this year my 9th vote would go to Scott Rolen.
I voted for Rolen 7th last year and here is what I said then:
Not only would I pick Rolen 7th, 7 is also the number of his gold gloves and all star appearances for this former Rookie of the Year. I have not picked him in the past but a closer look this year shows me he's right on the cusp of making my OUB.
This year, I am still pondering whether Rolen will ever make my OUB. It will have to be in the future as I'm still not 100% convinced he belongs there.
If I had to vote for exactly 8 player this year my 8th vote would go to Andruw Jones.
I voted for Jones 8th last year and here is what I said then:
If Jones retired in 2007 when he left Atlanta or if He had Atlantaesque numbers in his final 5 seasons of baseball He'd have a better chance of making Cooperstown than he does now.
The truth is that I'm not sure that Andruw Jones taking a giant step down in his performance in his final 5 years is as much of a detriment to voting for him as I've made it me. His star is definitely on the rise and I can imagine a time when my evaluation of him would increase to the point where I'd vote for his place in the hall.
If I was told that I had to vote for exactly 7 players on the 2022 BBWAA ballot the 7th vote would go to Omar Vizquel.
I voted for Omar Vizquel 2nd among 4 players on my OUB last year, and hers is what I said then:\
Vizquel is one of those players for whom advanced metrics can't tell the full story of. He played the game at an extremely high level for many years. Some say his defense is over rated, I disagree. He is a Hall of Fame caliber defender and worthy of Cooperstown.
I have not stepped away from any of those opinions in the year since I last voted. I still think he's a hall of fame type player. However, some of the controversy that has swirled around his nomination has made me decide to put a pause on voting for him this year and look at him with new eyes next year.
If I was told that I could vote for a many players as I wanted to this year for the Hall of Fame but they all had to be candidates that I was 100% certain I wanted in the Hall the number of players would be 6.
These 6 players would be the ones who adorned my official unofficial ballot for 2022.
The 6th of these players would be A.J. Pierzynski.
I know, it seems like I'm making a joke. Let me assure you that I am not. I take my role as an imaginary arbiter of Hall of Fame worthiness very seriously. As such, I think one of my responsibilites as a fictitious voter is to champion local players and keep the discussion going so their exploits can be celebrated (and debated) for more than one single season. At first sight Pierzynski, does not scream out Cooperstown. But I will say I have hated A.J. Pierzynski (during his 6 years with the Twins) and loved A.J. Pierzyski (starting with his 8 years for the White Sox and enduring throughout his playing career until now) for basically the same reasons, He plays to win and does his very best night in and night out to give his team the edge. Yes he is a ferocious competitor but he is also a beloved teammate. I think his playing days being the embodiment of those qualities make him very worth of continued Hall of Fame conversation.
If I was told that I could vote for only 5 players on my 2022 ballot my 5th vote would be for Curt Schilling.
Last year Schilling broke onto my OUB and was ranked in 4th place. Here is what I said about him then:
I have not been advocating Schilling as a candidate for Cooperstown until very recently. In 2020 I would have put Schilling 8th on my list and not in my OUB. He never got a mention from me in his first 7 years on the ballot. This year as I did my research many of my earlier qualms about his candidacy seemed to disappear into the vapor. He definitely has the resume for it ...
Last year Schilling received more votes than any other player and only missed enshrinement by 3.9 % of the vote. He then in the Curt Schilling caricature that he has portrayed himself over the course of his candidacy he asked for his name to be removed form consideration during his final year on the ballot. The Hall of Fame did not remove his name but I am certain that kind of request will bring down his percentage and eliminate any chance of him getting to Cooperstown via the writer's ballot. That doesn't change the way he played the game which is the only reason he has my vote this year.
If I was told I could vote for only 4players on my 2022 ballot my 4th vote would be for Todd Helton
Last year I voted for Todd Helton on my OUB and he was ranked third. Here is what I said about him last year:
... I eventually didn't hold it against Edgar Martinez that he played most of his career as a designated hitter, I don't begrudge Helton for playing his entire career for the Rockies.
The more I think about it the more I see Helton in the Hall. I hope that his numbers trend up this year and that a few years from now we can be celebrating his getting in.
If I was told I could only vote for 3 players this year my 3rd vote would be for David Ortiz.
I have a hard time voting for players for the Hall of Fame based on a certain issue. This year I am putting that aside and voting for Big Papi on my OUB. Years ago his name was leaked for failing a ped test that was supposed to be voluntary and confidential. The players who volunteered for this test proved to be the catalyst for the mandated testing that came in it's aftermath. The test resutls were never published so it's still unknown what he tetsted positive for. The facts remain that he never failed a mandated test and that he's always maintained his innocence. In this one case I let his numbers which are prodigious speak for themselves and gladly vote for his induction.
If I was told could only vote for 2 players this year my 2nd vote would be for Mark Buehrle.
Last year I voted for Mark Buerhle on mY OUB and I ranked him first above all other players. Here is what I said about him then:
He is a pitcher from another era, that's for sure, but those players of his caliber from that era are already in the hall of fame.
Last year 11% of the voters agreed with me and he's up for consideration on his 2nd year on the ballot. Smart money would say his 2nd and final year on the ballot as it doesn't look like hill get the 5% of the vote needed in this years proceedings, I would certainly vote for him only time will tell at this point.
If I could vote for only 1 player on my Official Unofficial 2022 Hall of Fame ballot that player would be a write-in candidate. I would write in the name of the player not in the hall of fame who most deserves to be there and that player is Dick Allen.
Last year I wrote Dick Allen's name on my ballot and ranked him 5th just shy of my OUB. Here is what I said about him then:
Allen who passed away late last year should already be a hall of famer. I think he will probably make it to the next time the veterans committee of his era re-convene. If not then he may be revisiting this list in the years to come.
Allen came up one vote shy on the veteran's committee for the 2nd time in a row. The battle against performance enhancing drugs was an important battle for MLB to engage in. It is not more important than the battle against racism and it's racism pure and simple that kept Allen out of the Hall of Fame. His numbers are there. I have written much about this in the past and I will continue to do so. Allen will be up for reexamination bty the Golden Era committee in 5 years until then expect to see Allen's name at the top of my subsequent OUB's.
Now a quick prediction.
I think that only one player's name will be announced later today and that player will be David Ortiz. Of the remaing players on my OUB I believe Pierzynski will get no where near the 5% needed to be on the 2023 ballot. Schilling will have his lowest voting percentage in the last 3 elections and will have no one to blame but himself. Todd Helton will probably climb 10 percentage points this year poised to make a run for enshrinement in the next couple of years. Buehrle will not get near the 11 percent form last year and miss or make the 5% cutoff by 3 votes or less. Dick Allen is not on the ballot, so he probably won't make it this year.
This was fun. It is every year. I'll be back in a few days with a follow up piece.
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