2019 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Sigh.

 

This, to me, is the crux of the Baines outcry. Is some of it sabermetric naval-gazing? Sure. That's a crowd that doesn't like to be contradicted or ignored (a crowd to which I am at least tangentially connected.)

But the greater anguish here is the realization that the brazen backroom cronyism that many hoped had been expunged from the Hall decades ago instead lives on. Now we brace for the next Reinsdorf-LaRussa-whoever combo who can push through a candidate who no one outside of that circle would seriously consider.

I also think we "lose" something (in the aesthetic sense) if our favorite borderline cases now have an easier path to enshrinement because Baines has lowered the bar. Some of the charm here was having a nuanced argument as to why Tim Raines or whoever else belonged in based on comparing them to some of the best people already enshrined.

But the Baines pick doesn't open the floodgates for all of the Hall of Very Good guys, unless they also have the right mix of panelists voting that year.

 

Lennon: Baines' election changes how I vote for HOF

 

And LaRussa’s arrogant and egotistical defense of Baines only insures that LsRussa’s reputation for being a great manager is over shadowed by being a greater gaping asshole.
And LaRussa and company’s push for Baines is also a slap and a fuck you to Edgar Martinez, who was better than Baines. It’s a slap and a fuck you to a dozen players who were turned away with 50-70% of the writers vote who fell short.
And like everyone else, Baines was a very good player and while undeserving of being a HOFer for the time being, I hope this cements the larger baseball’s community opinion that Tony LaRussa is no longer someone whose opinion is worth listening to

 

came across this today. Don't know if Uecker was ever better. Kind of sad seeing the the faces of too many HoFers gone far too soon.

 

With 50 ballots recorded (there were 422 last year, so that is 11.8 percent of that total):

100 -- Rivera
90 -- Edgar (plus 7, was 20 votes shy), Halladay
82 -- Mussina (plus 6, was 49 votes shy)
74 -- Schilling (plus 2, was 101 votes shy)
72 -- Clemens (plus 1, was 75 votes shy)
70 -- Bonds (plus 1, was 79 votes shy)
68 -- Walker (plus 9)
42 -- Vizquel (plus 4)
30 -- McGriff (plus 6)
28 -- Helton
22 -- Rolen (plus 4)
16 -- Pettitte
Everyone else under 15 percent

The full-ballot voters are spreading around their extra two votes after putting in 4 last year and everyone essentially voting for Rivera / Halladay.

Mussina is going to be right on the border line if he stays at this pace.

If Walker keeps this up he is going to have an interesting final vote next year. He was 173 shot last year, so now 164 with what looks like plenty more to come and Jeter is the only lock in 2020.

That's a really good starting point for Helton if he can maintain it.

McGriff is getting a nice final year kiss.

 

There's something wrong with a system which allow for hundreds of voters to judge, then a mere 16 are allowed to review and overturn the results. There's also something askew about the makeup of the 16: 9 players, 4 executives and 3 media. The controversy over the Harold Baines and Lee Smith elections aside, the scary thing is that Lou Piniella missed by only one vote.

 

Why is that scary? He is, at worst, a borderline manager candidate

 

The hall baseball field needs some renovations and they hope Piniella gets elected so he can tear up some stuff for free.

 

Interesting take from the writers on what the committees do as opposed to say...Larussa, who shot flaming arrows in every direction.

 

Don't worry, he's not submitting a blank ballot like he normally would

Bill Ballou: Mariano Rivera not getting this writer's Hall of Fame vote