2024 Baseball Hall of Fame thread

Billy Wagner dropping this year would be fascinating. Joel Sherman makes a good point re: the peer pressure that got Larry Walker & Edgar Martinez from fringe candidates at best to the HOF in a few years times. Wagner was certainly on that track and it would be interesting if there's a reversal there.

 

Billy Wagner's an interesting case. I saw him pitch a lot. He was definitely great. I'm not sure I thought I was watching a Hall of Famer at the time.

Purely on numbers, seems like he should be in.

 

Unless it's a mercy vote, I don't understand how a voter would take a vote away. If you thought the player was a Hall of Famer, how is he not a year later? It's not like 8 studs were added to the ballot and there is no longer room.

 

he was/is too far away for this time but I think a nice jump was expected.

Helton’s a little more worrisome at this point. I think he’s going to make it over the line but this hasn’t been encouring

 

From today's Twins Almanac:

Joe Mauer and first-ballot Hall of Famer Paul Molitor have identical .306 career batting averages.
Mauer and first-ballot Hall of Famer Dave Winfield have an identical .827 career OPS.

Not saying it means anything, but weird for three dudes from St. Paul.

 

An arrangement of those numbers or the players jersey numbers did not hit in the Minnesota state lottery. Just so you know.

 

Happy 88th birthday to Sandy Koufax. One of the classiest players in MLB history.

 

He and Pedro are the best pitchers I eve saw.

 

Milestone ballot update:



Gonna be a coin flip on Helton -- first-time voters may carry him over the line

Wagner's going to be just short.

Mauer's in a good spot for 2026 induction. He's doing better than a lot of people thought. Next year will be tough as Ichiro and Sabathia enter the ballot and Wagner will be in his last try but he's on track for the year after when there are no first-year candidates beyond Ryan Braun that will garner anything.

Obvious that Beltran was being punished for Astros scandal -- he's added nine votes and I think will be pushing 60 percent in final total.

Utley's starting out as a 50-50 yes, which is good for him down the line.

Sheffield's getting the typical last-year bump but it won't matter.

 

I'll be surprised if Wagner falls short. He gained 17% last year and only needs another seven percent bump to get in. I think Helton (72%+ last year) gets in but wouldn't be shocked if he just misses b/c people are loading up their Wagner (ninth year) and Sheffield (10th year) votes. Sheffield won't get in but props to him for continuing to remind us all of all the dumb shit he said and did as a player, which will surely help his cause w/the era committees!