2019 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

So quite a few people are ashamed to admit they voted for Vizquel

 

As they should be.

 

He certainly wouldn’t have made my ballot of 10, but it’s not like he’s, I don’t know, Harold Baines...

 

Player A and Player B played the same position at almost exactly the same time.

Player A has a higher lifetime BA (.272-.262), a higher lifetime slugging percentage (.352-.328) , a higher OPS (.688-.666), three times as many HRs (80-28), many more RBIs (951-793), a higher postseason BA (.250-236), with twice as many postseason RBIs (20-10), and a higher lifetime fielding percentage (.9985-.978), despite playing much of his home career on grass, not turf, unlike player B. Player B did average about one-half more chance per game, but had 100 more errors in only 954 more lifetime chances. Player A participated in 144 more double plays.

Who should be the Hall of Famer?

 

Is the answer Jesus?

 

C) you were among the people who voted anonymously for vizquel.

Jk. The other guy is Ozzie, right? Different eras.

 

The "PED Guys" were always going to be Veterans Committee selections. Still too many holier-than-thou pearl clutchers in the BBWAA.

 

I don't have a HOF vote.

I guess it's OK to compare Harold Baines's stats to other HOF players when pointing out where he comes up short, but not OK to point out Omar Vizquel's clearly superior numbers to another HOF player.

 

Ozzie has significant leads in WAR, top-20 MVP finishes and steals, and played his entire career before the offensive explosion that occurred a few years into Vizquel's career.

Ozzie also leads in OPS+ and wRC+. You can compare them all you like. You'll just be wrong if you think they were close to the same player.

 

Actually, it makes sense. One complaint I've often heard is that the first player voted in unanimously would somehow then have a claim to being the greatest player in MLB history. All due respect to Rivera, but nobody is going to make that claim about a closer.

 

Smith's OPS+ is 87, Vizquel's is 82. Not a significant difference.

Smith's WAR is greatly inflated (+15) by ASG selections in 1994, 1995 and 1996, when he played in 98, 44 and 82 games, respectively, and clearly wasn't an all-star. St. Louis fans voted him in in three other years when he hit .248 or lower. Vizquel had the misfortune of playing the same position as Ripken, ARod and Jeter, who dominated the fan vote in that period and limited his ASG appearances.

I certainly think they were close enough to the same player not to dismiss OV out of hand. He was an elite shortstop for 15-plus seasons whose glove was unmatched in the American League.