Maddux, Glavine, Thomas elected to Baseball Hall of Fame; Biggio just misses

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

These threads are a simple reflection of the trollery being done by the Bill Maddens and Tim Marchmans in the national dialogue.
Always thus.

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

Click the "Profile" button. Then hover over "Modify Profile" and click "Edit Buddies/Ignore List."

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

It's definitely a small sample size, but Maddux and Glavine have been on every ballot. And the small sample size right now says there's at least six guys in play to get elected, which makes last year look even worse.

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

Fabulous. Thank you.

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

Hall of Fame expert Bill Deane predict Greg Maddux and no one else:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/16/hall-of-fame-voting-expert-greg-maddux-makes-it-no-one-else-does/

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

If that's true, it is even more of a joke than nobody getting in last year.

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

At this point, I think the 10-player maximum is a bigger problem than the BBWAA voters themselves. Get rid of that limit, and you'll see the floodgates open. I don't think you'll necessarily see undeserving candidates get in. No more so than Andre Dawson and Jim Rice, at least. But you won't have your Biggios and your Sandbergs and, potentially, your Thomases and Glavines having to wait. (And, for the record, again, I don't find the wait to be the catastrophe that others do.)

Oop gets apopleptic about his breakfast cereal, but this is something that particularly seems to bother him. Here's the problem, though. The ballot doesn't say you're supposed to elect the 10 worthiest players. Just 10 worthy players:

B. Electors may vote for as few as zero (0) and as many as ten (10) eligible candidates deemed worthy of election. Write-in votes are not permitted.

I don't even think that worthiest is implied. I think that the rules may have been set up to permit or even encourage strategic voting.

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

I think he's going to be low on a lot of those picks. He has some guys losing 10 percent and I don't see it. I'll give my percentages on these guys:

Maddux -- 97 percent
Glavine -- 86 percent
Thomas -- 79 percent
Biggio -- 74 percent
Morris -- 72 percent
Piazza -- 67 percent
Bagwell -- 55 percent

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

So far, based on last year's ballot total, with just over two percent reporting:

100 % Greg Maddux
100 % Tom Glavine
84.6 % Jack Morris
84.6 % Craig Biggio
76.9 % Mike Piazza
76.9 % Frank Thomas
53.4 % Jeff Bagwell
46.1 % Curt Schilling
46.1 % Barry Bonds
46.1 % Roger Clemens
38.4 % Mike Mussina
38.4 % Tim Raines
38.4 % Lee Smith
23.0 % Edgar Martinez
23.0 % Fred McGriff
15.3 % Rafael Palmeiro
15.3 % Alan Trammell
15.3 % Jeff Kent
7.6 % Sammy Sosa

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

Interesting note:

During that big election with Brett, Yount, and Ryan, every returning member of the ballot lost at least 4% and the average loss was 7%.

I wonder if any of those dynamics are still in play. I wonder what that means for Morris and Biggio, specifically.

 

Re: 2014 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released

Maybe you implied this, Dick. But to be clear: The ballot says you can vote for 10. It doesn't say you're supposed to elect 10 or even any, if that's how the final tally shakes out.

I'm assuming the vast majority of voters vote for fewer than 10 candidates. And the chance to be elected in subsequent years suggests that no deserving player is going to miss out because of the 10-player limit.