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2016 BJOL HOF Ballot

By Dave Fleming
November 19, 2015
 
Hi. Welcome to our eighth annual BJOL HOF vote.
 
For any newcomers to the site, we’ve been running a parallel vote to the BBWAA ballot for a bunch of years. Everyone gets a vote: you just post the players you’d vote for in the comments section below, and we’ll tally them at the end of the year, right as the BBWAA announces their electees. Like the BBWAA ballot, you can list up to ten players on your ballot. Any player who ends up on 75% of the ballots is ‘elected’, and anyone who falls under 5% slips off the list.
 
The most important thing to note is that our ballot is different than the BBWAA ballot. Every year we’ll get a few ballots in the comments section that have Jeff Bagwell or Tim Raines listed, or a few readers wondering why Barry Bonds isn’t eligible. Those guys aren’t on our ballot because we've already elected them.
 
Which gets to the point of this little exercise: when I started running this, I was hoping to create a space for BJOL readers to have a different conversation than the one that the BBWAA ballot would force on us every year. I knew that most of our readers thought of Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell as HOF’ers, and I didn’t want to spend every year debating their candidacy because the BBWAA kept ignoring them.
 
That’s the big reason I started this: to give us a frame for the conversations interesting to us, to our little sub-community.
 
The other reason I started doing this is because it’s fun. I like voting on the HOF every year, and I think a few of you like it, too. So we keep it going.
 
Aside from the names, there are a few other differences between our election and the BBWAA one. One is that we’ve been adding players: everyone who submits a ballot can add a write-in candidate: any player they’d like to see on the ballot next year. Whichever player receives the most write-in votes will be added to the ballot. We added Lou Whitaker a few years ago, and promptly elected him. Dewey Evans was added last year, and Angels second baseman Bobby Grich joins our ballot this year.
 
So please include a write-in candidate with your ballots.
 
Another difference is transparency: everyone gets to see your ballot. We get to learn everyone’s voting tendencies, and preferences. We all know, for instance, that Bob (rgregory) has a policy of passing over any steroid-era player on their first year of eligibility…that’s no first-year vote for Barry Bonds, and no first-year vote for Greg Maddux. I like his policy, incidentally: it’s strikes me as a lot more reasonable than the ‘eyeball test’ that’s currently keeping Bagwell and Piazza out.
 
A third difference is that we haven’t yet subtracted candidates. I like the ten-year rule on eligibility, so we’ll start applying that. Players will fall off the ballot if they aren’t elected in ten years. No one is in their final year of eligibility, of course…Lee Smith and Andre Dawson and Dale Murphy are each two years away. Fred McGriff might be, too.  
 
Before we get to this year’s ballot, here’s a year-by-year breakdown of who the BJOL readers have elected so far:
 
Year
BJOL HOF Entrants
2009
Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, Bert Blyleven, Alan Trammell
2010
Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin, Mark McGwire
2011
Jeff Bagwell
2012
Edgar Martinez
2013
Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens
2014
Greg Maddux, F. Thomas, Tom Glavine, Mike Mussina, L. Whittaker
2015
Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling
 
Here’s how the BJOL-elected players compare with the players selected by the BBWAA:
 
Elected by BJOL
Elected by Both
Elected  by BBWAA
Tim Raines
Rickey Henderson
Jim Rice
Alan Trammell
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Mark McGwire
Roberto Alomar
Jeff Bagwell
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Greg Maddux
Mike Piazza
Frank Thomas
Barry Bonds
Tom Glavine
Roger Clemens
Pedro Martinez
Mike Mussina
Randy Johnson
Lou Whittaker
John Smoltz
Curt Schilling
Craig Biggio
 
Frankly, I like our Hall better. Jim Rice and Andre Dawson were fine players, but I think I’ll take the guys in our column.
 
And I’ll take our ballot over the current BBWAA one. I have no idea how anyone with a BBWAA vote can process a ballot as crowded as the current BBWAA one, and I’m grateful that we have a slightly easier list to slog through. So let’s get into it
 
 
2016 BJOL HOF BALLOT
 
Name
Win Shares
rWAR
% of Prev. BJOL Vote
Gary Sheffield
430
60.2
50.6%
Ken Griffey, Jr.
403
83.6
--
Rafael Palmeiro
394
66.0
19.1%
Andre Dawson
340
57.0
31.5%
Jeff Kent
339
55.2
33.7%
Bobby Grich*
329
70.9
--
Fred McGriff
326
50.5
33.7%
Dwight Evans*
323
66.9
53.9%
Sammy Sosa
321
54.8
14.6%
Bernie Williams
312
47.3
9.0%
Larry Walker
308
67.3
49.4%
Jim Edmonds
301
60.3
--
Kenny Lofton
287
64.9
23.6%
Jason Kendall
245
41.5
--
Kevin Brown
242
64.0
19.1%
Dale Murphy
230
44.2
9.0%
Garret Anderson
230
25.6
--
Luis Castillo
201
28.9
--
Lee Smith
198
29.7
12.4%
Troy Glaus
189
37.9
--
Trevor Hoffman
188
28.4
--
Mark Grudzielanek
186
26.3
--
Mike Lowell
185
24.8
--
BillyWagner
182
28.1
--
Randy Winn
171
27.5
--
Brad Ausmus
169
16.4
--
Mike Sweeney
162
24.7
--
Mike Hampton
144
29.0
--
David Eckstein
143
20.8
--
 
Get your votes in. Or take your time. Feel free to start arguments on the Reader’s Comments section of our site, or in the comments section here.
 
 
*             *             *
 
I always like the break down the ballot a little bit. When you’re staring at a list of thirty players, it helps me to group the players up into manageable subsections. So we have:
 
The One Guy Everyone Will Vote For (Except Bob)
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Ken Griffey Jr.
403
83.6
Never heard of him. And the Hall is about 'Fame', right?
 
Easily most popular player of the 1990’s, and certainly the most popular player of my lifetime, Griffey is part of the Jimmie Foxx/Eddie Mathews family of Kid Superstars who hit a wall in their early 30’s. Junior’s popularity is all the more remarkable for a player who a) came up with Seattle, and b) never played ina World Series. A wonderful player. 
 
 
Three Steroid-Era Guys Who Swatted Dingers
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Gary Sheffield
430
60.2
The most terrifying hitter of his generation. Traded a lot.
Rafael Palmeiro
394
66.0
The guy who swapped places with Will Clark a bunch of times.
Sammy Sosa
321
54.8
Hit some dingers. Made baseball a lot of fun in 1998.
 
All three players have cases to be made for them, and reasons for skepticism. Every year I have to consider Raffy over again: I’ve had years when I’ve voted for him and years when I’ve passed on him. I have no idea, really, how to judge him. Or Sosa.
 
 
The Crime Dog
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Fred McGriff
326
50.5
A power-hitting 1B, reduced by context.
 
Surprisingly, Fred McGriff is all alone this year: the BJOL voters have elected the over-qualified 1B’s (Bagwell, Mac), and we’ve let the borderline 1B candidates (John Olerud, Carlos Delgado) fall off the ballot. He’ll get company next year, but for 2016 he’s all alone.
 
He’s a hard candidate to judge, because his career splits two eras. Judged by the standards of the 1980’s, he was an elite power hitter: had his career started five years earlier I suspect that he’d be in the Hall of Fame right now. Unfortunately, McGriff’s career slipped into the high-offense 1990’s, and his name lingered on the ballot long enough to show up alongside power hitters like Raffy and Mac and Sosa and Bagwell. Tough case.
 
 
Great Defensive OF’s Who Could Rake
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Bernie Williams
312
47.3
He could play the guitar just like ringin' a bell.
Larry Walker
308
67.3
An elite hitter and a terrific defensive RF, helped by Coors.
Jim Edmonds
301
60.3
The best defensive CF on our ballot. Which is saying something.
Kenny Lofton
287
64.9
The historical descendant of Rickey and Raines.
 
Here’s a weird thing: according to Win Shares, Bernie Williams is the best of these four players, but Baseball-Reference’s version of WAR has him as the worst of the bunch, by a considerable margin.
 
We know why, of course. Win Shares are connected to team wins, and Bernie Williams played on some very good teams. WAR is an adjustment against the positional average, and Bernie had some fine centerfielders to compete with. One of the reasons I like using both metrics to consider a candidate is because I honestly don’t know which is the better ‘check’ of player performance; whether the better measure is a player’s contribution to his team’s success, or a player’s contributions as it compared to the league averages.
 
 
Stars of the Reagan Era
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Andre Dawson
340
57.0
80's version of L.Walker, complete with mid-career park bonus.
Bobby Grich*
329
70.9
1981 AL HR Co-champ, and a favorite of us saber-types.
Dwight Evans*
323
66.9
1981 AL HR Co-champ, and a favorite of me.
Dale Murphy
230
44.2
Two-time NL MVP, and a pretty good guy.
 
One thing’s for sure: BJOL readers have a soft spot for stars of the 1980’s: in our write-in campaigns, we’ve added Lou Whitaker, Dewey Evans, and Bobby Grich to our ballot. So there’s still hope for an aggressive reconsidering of Bob Horner’s career.
 
 
Guys I Couldn’t Really Sort
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Kevin Brown
242
64.0
A good pitcher mostly ignored as a serious HOF candidate.
Jeff Kent
339
55.2
The all-time leader in homers by a 2B.
Jason Kendall
245
41.5
A poor man's version of Mickey Cochrane.
 
Kevin Brown is the last good starter left, after the BJOL readers voted in an impressive seven starters over the last two years. I wouldn’t put Brown ahead of any of the guys elected in those two years (Pedro, Unit,  Maddux, Mussina, Schilling, Smoltz, and Glavine).  I suppose I could have put Kent with Grich…maybe next year, if Bobby sticks around. 
 
I almost put Kendall in with the last tier, but there’s actually some case to be made that he’s a bubble HOF candidate. He is probably the fourth-best catcher of his era, behind Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, but ahead of everyone else. WAR tends to underrate catchers: a career WAR of 40 as a catcher is pretty comparable to an outfielder with a 60 fWAR. He ranks 22nd in career WAR by a catcher, which isn’t anything to sneeze at. The 22nd best CF by fWAR is Larry Doby. The 22nd best first baseman by fWAR is Hank Greenberg.
 
Putting it another way: the metric credits Kendall as being about equal to Yadier Molina, if you adjust their career totals to a ratio to adjust for playing time. I don’t think of Molina as an absurd candidate for the Hall-of-Fame. I think Posada, who rates a bit ahead of Kendall, as a very good candidate for the Hall, but I recognize I’m in the majority there.
 
Anyway…Kendall is likely going to fall off our ballot, and that’s probably the right call. But he had a fine career, and we might look back in thirty years and realize we missed something.
 
 
The What-The-Hell-Do-We-Do-About-Closers? Closers
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
 
Notes
Lee Smith
198
29.7
1289 IP, 132 ERA+, 1251 K's, 478 Saves
Trevor Hoffman
188
28.4
1089 IP, 141 ERA+, 1133 K's, 601 Saves
Billy Wagner
182
28.1
903 IP, 187 ERA+, 1196 K, 422 Saves
 
I don’t know what to do with closers.
 
Billy Wagner was, inning-for-inning, a better pitcher than Trevor Hoffman. A lot better. But Hoffman tossed 200 extra innings, so maybe those makes him more valuable.
 
But if you follow that train of thought, don’t you have to elect Lee Smith? Trevor Hoffman was, inning-for-inning, a better pitcher than Lee Smith. Not a lot better…a little better. And Smith tossed 200 more innings, which makes him more valuable.
 
I think the consensus opinion is that Trevor Hoffman is a Hall-of-Famer, that Smith might be, and that Wagner isn’t. But they seem pretty interchangeable to me: I don’t see any real way to pick one of ‘em and not vote for the other guys. 601 saves is a lot, but saves were different for Lee Smith than they were for Hoffman and Wagner: if we adjust for contexts, it’s likely that Lee’s 478 saves is more impressive than Hoffman’s 601, in the same way that Fred McGriff’s 493 homers is more impressive than the 606 that Sammy Sosa hit.
 
Anyway, I have no idea what to do with closers, and I’d love it if someone postulated a reasonable way forward.
 
 
Guys You Probably Won't Vote For, Unless You’re Related To Them
 
 
Name
 
Win Shares
 
rWAR
Garret Anderson
230
25.6
Luis Castillo
201
28.9
Troy Glaus
189
37.9
Mark Gurdzlnk
186
26.3
Mike Lowell
185
24.8
Randy Winn
171
27.5
Brad Ausmus
169
16.4
Mike Sweeney
162
24.7
Mike Hampton
144
29.0
David Eckstein
143
20.8
 
It wouldn’t surprise me if one of these men makes it to the Hall someday. The smart money is on Ausmus, though Lowell and Grudzielanek are coaching/managing somewhere. Grudzielanek might’ve been a HOF candidate if his career started earlier, but he didn’t sign with the Mets in 1989, and took a bit too long to get to the majors. Like Teixeira and Tulo, he’s a headache to write about. And there’s always a chance that FanGraphs will invent a game-changing metric that estimates a player’s GAR (Grit Above Replacement). Then it’s just a matter of time before David Eckstein gets the call. 
 
Get your ballots in. And remember your write-in-candidates for the 2017 election!
 
Dave Fleming is a writer living in Wellington, New Zealand. He welcomes comments, questions, and suggestions here and at dfleming1986@yahoo.com.  
 
 

COMMENTS (133 Comments, most recent shown first)

DaveFleming
Griffey
Sheffield
Evans
Grich
Dawson
Raffy
Bernie
Walker
Edmonds
Lofton

Write-in: Pete Rose, just 'cause.
3:26 PM Jan 2nd
 
chuck
Ken Griffey Jr
Bobby Grich
Dwight Evans
Larry Walker
Jim Edmonds
Kenny Lofton
Kevin Brown
Gary Sheffield
Andre Dawson
Bernie Williams

Write-in: Bill Dahlen
6:21 PM Dec 29th
 
jimmybart
My only comment is that I love using the advanced stats and those stats don't favor Sammy Sosa...but I voted for him anyway. I think the home run chase of 1998 was a big event that merits extra points. Yeah, he was just a homers guy, but he sure hit a lot of them.
3:40 PM Dec 29th
 
jimmybart
Ken Griffey Jr.
Gary Sheffield
Andre Dawson
Bobby Grich
Sammy Sosa
Larry Walker
Jim Edmonds

Write-in: Minnie Minoso
3:37 PM Dec 29th
 
MattD1
Gary Sheffield
Ken Griffey JR
Sammy Sosa
R Palmeiro
Bobby Grich
Dwight Evans
Larry Walker
Kenny Lofton
Fred McGriff
Andre Dawson
11:15 AM Dec 22nd
 
FreeKresge
Dwight Evans
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Jeff Kent
Larry Walker

Write in: Ted Simmons​
11:03 PM Dec 8th
 
mrvino
My choices, in no particular order:

Sheffield
Griffey
Lofton
Kent
McGriff
Edmonds
Williams
Hoffman
Wagner
Lee Smith


Write in: Will Clark

3:06 PM Dec 5th
 
Tubbs44
Thank you, Dave. I look forward to reading it!
4:42 AM Dec 5th
 
DaveFleming
To Tubbs' question...it's coming. I really hope I can get it done this year. Maybe by Christmas? It will be long.
1:45 AM Dec 5th
 
articmike
Gary Sheffield
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Andre Dawson
Bobby Grich
Fred McGriff
Bernie Williams
Jim Edmonds
Lee Smith
Trevor Hoffman
Billy Wagner

write-in: Ted Simmons
2:05 AM Dec 4th
 
Tubbs44
Griffey
Dawson
Grich
Mcgriff
Evans
Walker
Edmonds
Lofton
Murphy
Hoffman

Write in : keith hernandez

Dave, thanks for putting this together. Last year you had said that you planned on writing a long article about Dwight Evans, I was wondering if you still were planning on doing that
10:59 AM Dec 2nd
 
MarisFan61
Hardtack: Not to worry -- he's talked about plenty.
Unfortunately, on this site it's usually sort of pejoratively ....although he does have his defenders. At least one anyway. :-)
Almost all sabermetric analysis says he wasn't as great as most people think he was.
I'm more with "most people."
2:03 AM Dec 2nd
 
hardtack
Griffey
Sheffield
Walker
Rose
Grich
Kent
10:30 PM Dec 1st
 
hardtack
I would like to make a case for Jack Morris. Not even mentioned on this page. A top performer all his years and really stepped up in the post season. His legendary outings in the post season are still talked about with amazement. I just don't get that his name is not even talked about anymore. What gives?​
10:24 PM Dec 1st
 
lporschen
Sheffield
Griffey
Palmeiro
Dawson
Lee Smith

10:23 PM Dec 1st
 
Detroiter
Griffey
Grich

Were Wagner, Hoffman, and Lee Smith better than Sparky Lyle, John Hiller, Dan Quisenberry, Dave Righetti, and Kent Tekulve? Or just used differently? Had the latter group been used like the former, I suspect they would have achieved similar results. If I had to pick one from the first group, I'd go with Wagner, but I can't see much separation between any of these relievers.

Write in:

Ted Simmons
6:55 AM Dec 1st
 
MarisFan61
What an interesting and good list of write-ins.
We could get two full darn good teams out of it.

Dick Allen
Minnie Minoso
Paul O'Neill
Will Clark
Ted Simmons
Willie Randolph
Vada Pinson
George Wright
Reggie Smith
Stan Hack
Pete Rose
Keith Hernandez
Eric Davis
Graig Nettles
Jose Cruz
Thurman Munson
Bill Dahlen
Steve Rogers
John Olerud
Rick Reuschel
Pete Browning (sort of -- he was part of an 'illegal' split vote)
8:04 PM Nov 30th
 
dbutler69
Ken Griffey
Bobby Grich
Larry Walker
Jim Edmonds
Kevin Brown
Gary Sheffield
Dwight Evans
Andre Dawson
Rafael Palmeiro
Jeff Kent

(apologies to Kenny Lofton, who would be next on my list)

write-in: Dick Allen
3:14 PM Nov 30th
 
mekl77
Griffey, Sheffield, Kent
Write-in: Minoso
11:42 AM Nov 30th
 
vschleich
Larry Walker
Ken Griffey Jr.
Sammy Sosa
Trevor Hoffman
Billy Wagner
Lee Smith
Gary Sheffield
Rafael Palmiero
9:51 PM Nov 29th
 
evanecurb
Bernie Williams, attitude-wise, (no, that's not a real word, at least not in English), was an Ernie Banks or Cal Ripken type. Always ready to play. Always loved playing. I remember a story told by a pitcher who was with the Yankees briefly, and didn't know any of the players particularly well. Middle of the season, getaway day in Chicago, they play three innings, it rains, and they're stuck in the clubhouse for over two hours in a delay. About two hours into the delay, Bernie Williams walks through with a big smile on his face: "I just heard the news! We're going to get to play some more tonight!"

He was a ten+ year veteran at the time.

I voted for him.
11:03 PM Nov 28th
 
MarisFan61
Dave -- It doesn't seem that any of the data in that post relate at all to whether a player deserves 'extra credit' for the team's perennial success. Looks like you think that somehow the amount of 'extra credit' is related to how much calculable credit they have. I don't see how that applies in the least. (How does it?)
10:57 PM Nov 28th
 
DaveFleming
Well..sure. You'd have to credit a lot of guys extra credit for team success.

But....Tino Martinez has a career WAR of 28. He showed up on two MVP ballots, and has a 112 OPS+. I have no idea what his Win Shares are, but I doubt he's over 300, or close to it.

O'Neill has a career WAR of 39. That's impressive, but he had a long career. His WAR/162 is 3.06. He showed up on five MVP ballots, mostly as a lower candidate. He had a 120 OPS+ and 281 homers as a rightfielder. I don't think he's a borderline candidate for the Hall.

Bernie Williams has a career WAR of 49.4....his WAR/162 is 3.87, and that's the mertic that views him the least favorably. He has more Win Shares than Larry Walker, Jim Edmonds, or Kenny Lofton, all of whom are reasonable candidates for the Hall. He is a good defensive centerfielder who posted a career OPS+ of 125. He played with one team for the duration of his career.

I don't think that the great success of the Yankees should push a non-candidate to borderline, but I think that when we're looking at a borderline candidate who the advanced metrics are split on, it's reasonable to give that candidate extra credit for his team's success.
7:06 PM Nov 28th
 
MarisFan61
About whether Bernie deserves such kudos for the Yanks' record when he played: My problem about it is, if we look at it that way wouldn't it apply to a bunch of other players too? The phrase that pops to mind is a thing that Bill said (about a totally different thing): It's not that it isn't true, it's that it's true about way too many guys. Wouldn't we get much the same if we looked at Tino Martinez, or Jorge Posada, or Paul O'Neill....

Again, I'm not wishing to talk anyone out of thinking Bernie is a Hall of Famer and giving him credit for anything you think he deserves credit for. I'm for it, because I'm for him. I just don't see it myself.
11:52 AM Nov 28th
 
thegue
Griffey
Kent
5:24 AM Nov 28th
 
DaveFleming
I do, however, love the line: "Being born on third isn't the same as hitting a triple." That's brilliant.
12:46 AM Nov 28th
 
DaveFleming
Well, the Dodgers spent $236 million in payroll in 2014, $257 in 2015, and somewhere in the vicinity of $280 this year. If advancing in the playoffs and winning championships was as easy as spending the most money, you'd thing the Dodgers would have more to show for their spending over those three years than two LDS loses and one LCS loss.

Looking for reasons to discount the success of the Yankees seems to miss the point: they won the games. If Mike Trout was the best-paid player in the game, we wouldn't say this keeps him out of the running as the game's best player. The Yankees were well-compensated, but they were also tremendously good at winning baseball games. I don't think it's unreasonable to credit their best players for that success.
12:45 AM Nov 28th
 
ventboys
Of course I'm a rabid Yankee-hater, so don't mind me.
6:34 PM Nov 27th
 
ventboys
Crediting a player for playing for the Yankees during one of their financially dominant periods, Dave, is insulting to every player who didn't get to play his entire career for a team that was printing money while the rest of the league forced the cancellation of the freaking World Series in an attempt to get them to share. Nothing against Bernie, but being born on third is not the same thing as hitting a triple. Please don't try to pass it off as if it is.
6:01 PM Nov 27th
 
MarisFan61
P.P.S. What the heck, I looked a little more into Spooney.
The reason he never pitched again in the ML is (no surprise) injury. He pitched just briefly in two scattered minor league season after that. He had Tommy John surgery -- in fact he had 2 Tommy John surgeries, because he developed problems after the first one, and apparently never came around well enough.
2:29 PM Nov 27th
 
MarisFan61
P.S. Sorry, I have to do a clarification again (dam, we need an edit function!):
In the post below, the thing I said about the ratio being better than Rivera's as well as anyone else's: It probably looks like I mean Gagne's ratio; actually I mean Spoonybarger's. (It's true about Gagne too, but that wasn't the point.)
11:42 PM Nov 26th
 
MarisFan61
There's something very unusual about the guy (who I never heard of before). As far as I know it might be unique, or at least fairly unique (with apologies to any English teachers out there, who I'm sure are ready to tell me that you can't qualify the word "unique," not to mention that I said 'who' instead of 'whom' before).

First of all, let it be known, the guy was a pitcher, so it wasn't too bad that he always just struck out when he batted (4 times).
But more to the point:

He gave up incredibly few hits for a pitcher who didn't strike out that many. I don't recall ever seeing anything close to this, for any pitcher of recent decades.

He pitched 3 years, 2001-2003, total of 88 games, all in relief, total of 97.1 innings. He struck out 68, which was a decent K rate but not at all high. (It was below average for that period.)

He gave up only 70 hits in those 97.1 innings, which of course was hugely better than average. His ratio may have been better than the ratio of any of the leading starters of that period. In fact it may also have been better than any of the leading relievers of that period except Eric Gagne, who was a reliever in two of those seasons and had a ridiculously great ratio. (It was much better than Mariano Rivera's ratio, and better than anyone else's that I noticed.)

BTW, the year that he pitched the most (2002, the middle year), he gave up too many walks. The next year (his last), he didn't -- just 11 in 42 innings. Also he gave up just 1 home run. It certainly isn't obvious from his record why he never pitched again in the majors.
11:38 PM Nov 26th
 
DaveFleming
Tim Spooneybarger: one of the rare players to strike out in every one of his major league plate appearances.
6:06 PM Nov 26th
 
JohnPontoon
Lee Smith
Jeff Kent
Rafael Palmeiro
Ken Griffey II

Write-in: Tim Spooneybarger.​
4:53 PM Nov 26th
 
MarisFan61
I love how Bernie is getting support, even though I'm more with JimPertierra. I find myself having a strange cognitive dissonance on it: I would love for him to make the Hall of Fame, but I don't see him as a Hall of Famer myself.

Considering the basic kind of player he was, to me he would have had to be an "A+" defensive center fielder to be a Hall of Famer. Bill's "Win Shares" book says he was (that's Bernie's 'letter grade'). While I have great regard for that system -- higher than for any other, including (especially!) on fielding -- I think in this case it gives the guy too much credit. I see him more as somewhere between B- and A- as a defensive center fielder: A- in his prime, B- toward the end; something like that. If I saw him as an A+ defensive center fielder, then he'd have my vote. But I rejoice at every vote for him that I see, because I 'love' him, including for his music. (I've gone to a couple of his performances.)
3:19 PM Nov 26th
 
DaveFleming
Here's a serious question: how many MLB players have played on twelve playoff teams?

Bernie had 14 seasons when he played 100+ games. His team made the playoffs in 12 of those 14 seasons. When he played, his teams had a winning percentage of .584....which is a 95-win season. That's was the average: 95 wins.

We can say that he got lucky with his teammates (and certainly he did), but Bernie's W-L record is one of the most successful in baseball history: he was a hugely important cog in the first great dynasty of the Wild Card era. I'm of the mind that he should get a considerable share of the credit for that team's success.
1:48 PM Nov 26th
 
JimPertierra
Happy to vote again...

1. Gary Sheffield
2. Ken Griffey Jr
3. Dwight Evans
4. Trevor Hoffman
5. Larry Walker

I would love to vote for Bernie, but, even as a Yankee fan, I never thought of him as a Hall of Famer

But I will write in Paul O'Neill

Best/Jim
7:17 AM Nov 26th
 
MarisFan61
(sorry -- that first sentence was supposed to be ".....nor a Vet Comm ballot."
Sorry!)
9:28 PM Nov 25th
 
MarisFan61
I see it as neither a BBWAA-type ballot more a Vet Comm ballot, just a BJOL ballot. It's hard for me to see it as either of those things because the preference tendencies are so distinctly different from either one -- and if anything, more clearly different from the BBWAA ballot, because of the very-far-lesser concern about the PED factor. Of course the BJOL ballot differs from both of them in being more oriented toward sabermetric stuff and less influenced by traditional stuff, but more like the BBWAA in that the bar is (generally) higher than in the Vet Comm. If it weren't for the huge difference on the PED factor, I suppose our vote would be more like the BBWAA than the Vet, but I think still not particularly like either one.
9:27 PM Nov 25th
 
ventboys
My ballot:

Ken Griffey Jr.
Andre Dawson

Write-in: Will Clark

The other candidates are Veteran's Committee types; as I read it this is more of a BBWAA type of ballot. Hell, Clark ain't a BBWAA guy either, and Dawson is borderline.
9:20 PM Nov 25th
 
MarisFan61
The Posnanski article is very good (and very amusing), except for this one thing, on which you can put a big "IMO" if you'd like although I suspect the opinion is shared by others, although not necessarily here: Griffey doesn't belong in the discussion with those other players that are mentioned, because of his era and the near-necessary suspicion of players who put up historic HR numbers in that era.

Let me put it this way: Every other player of that era who put up historic HR numbers is either pretty much known to have used PED's (and presumably benefited significantly from them) or highly suspected and close-to-assumed by many. Griffey is thought by most to be apart from that group. He may very well be -- but I do not see how someone would fail to understand (as Posnanski apparently fails to) that some might be circumspect regarding voting for a player like Griffey. It pretty much requires being willing to assume that Griffey is a singular exception.
2:01 PM Nov 25th
 
DaveFleming
I think what Joe misses every time he writes that article about unanimous votes is that some percentage of voters are leaving obvious guys off because they'd rather use their votes to keep other guys ON the ballot.

The BBWAA is going to elect Griffey. If I had a vote, I would at least consider leaving Griffey off my ballot so that I could keep a guy like Walker (11%), Sheffield (11%) or Nomar (5%) on.

Phrased differently, a vote for a low-percentage candidate has more weight than a vote for a high-percentage candidate. Assuming 500 voters, each 'yea' is worth exactly .2% of the vote. That .2% matters more to a guy that is trying to stay ON the ballot than it does to the guy who is looking to get unanimously elected. Your vote counts the same, but it has more influence when it's used for down-ballot candidates.

1:54 PM Nov 25th
 
steve161
For amusement and edification a Joe Posnanski column on Griffey and unanimity:

sportsworld.nbcsports.com/ken-griffey-hall-of-fame/

and another that following links led me to, on the Small Hall, from 2011:

joeposnanski.com/the-willie-mays-hall-of-fame/
1:39 PM Nov 25th
 
cderosa
K Griffey Jr
G Sheffield
B Williams
S Sosa
R Palmeiro
A Dawson
J Kent
B Grich
F McGriff
J Edmonds

+ Will Clark

Thanks for keeping the project going!
1:28 PM Nov 25th
 
DaveFleming
Welcome on board, Astros34. Your handle is one of the all-time great jerseys. So famous that Kanye West even referenced it in a song.
3:09 AM Nov 25th
 
Gfletch
Bobby Grich
Dale Murphy
Dwight Evans
Gary Sheffield
Jim Edmonds
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Larry Walker
Andre Dawson
Bernie Williams
Fred McGriff


11:57 PM Nov 24th
 
astros34

Ken Griffey, Jr.
Jeff Kent
Bobby Grich Heck yes
Dwight Evans Hecker yes! DEWEY!
Bernie Williams
Larry Walker

Write-in: Ted Simmons

My first post as a member, and what fun! I've been a fan of Bill's since the first nationally published Abstracts (1983?)
9:24 PM Nov 24th
 
sdbunting
Brown
Evans
Grich
Griffey Jr.
Palmeiro
Sheffield
Walker

Writing in Willie Wilson, pride of Summit NJ.
1:17 PM Nov 24th
 
mickandyogi
Ken Griffey Jr.
Andre Dawson
Bobby Grich
Bernie Williams
Larry Walker

Write-in: Willie Randolph
10:13 AM Nov 24th
 
Sinark
Griffey
Sheffield
Dwight Evans
McGriff
Grich
Bernie Williams
Kent
Walker
Edmonds
Dawson
7:32 AM Nov 24th
 
hdhartig
Bobby Grich
Fred McGriff
Dwight Evans
Kenny Lofton
Kevin Brown
Dale Murphy
Lee Smith

Write-in: Minnie Minoso
10:31 PM Nov 23rd
 
hansjn
Trevor Hoffman
Lee Smith
Kenny Lofton
Kevin Brown
Ken Griffey Jr.
Billy Wagner
Jeff Kent


8:32 PM Nov 23rd
 
MarisFan61
Dave: re "we need to list the players by something, and alphabetical is a little dull" -- It looks like you just want to do more than just a list. :-)
I don't think we need to be entertained or inspired by selected data. Any data that are presented reflect an opinion on what's important -- and isn't the purpose of this to get the voters' opinions?

But no big deal, of course. I don't think the presented data harms anything. I just think it's a slight waste of space, and a little silly. I'd think it made more sense if the audience here didn't know much of anything and needed some hints, but obviously that's not how it is.
11:05 AM Nov 23rd
 
rfleming
Griffey Jr.
Walker
7:32 AM Nov 23rd
 
johnvgps
Alphabetically:

Bobby Grich
Ken Griffey Jr.
Kenny Lofton
Fred McGriff
Rafael Palmeiro
Lee Smith

Write In:

Vada Pinson
5:48 AM Nov 23rd
 
Brock Hanke
Dave - Thanks for the clarification. I knew something had to be off, or you'd still be getting the Jimmy Foxxes off the ballot. But the comment said that write-ins could be from any time. What you said cleared up that a gap. Now, all I have to do is figure out who the best player is in baseball history who is not in the Hall of Fame, and also not in this hall or on its ballot already. That's probably PARISIAN BOB CARUTHERS, but defending him is an essay involving, among other things, the question of who and when started the practice of having an actual pitching rotation, instead of an "Ace plus" approach. If I don't amend my vote in a later post, go with Parisian Bob. I won't have to write the essay until next year. I also assume that you have to play in MLB for ten years to be eligible, and the National Association does count as a major league, but the Union Association does not. If that's not correct, please let me know.
3:45 AM Nov 23rd
 
DaveFleming
To clarify a few things...the write-ins are for any players NOT currently in the real Hall of Fame. So no need to write-in for Babe Ruth, but Reggie Smith is a fine write-in candidate. So is someone like Jack Glasscock.

I keep it to one write-in for simplicity. The more layers you add, the more complicated the process, the less fun it is. We don't need a multi-stage runoff election to pick our write-in....whomever the plurality chooses is a good choice.

You can go two ways with your write-in: pick the guy you care about, or jump on the bandwagon of whatever candidate seems to be gaining traction.

As for metrics...we need to list the players by something, and alphabetical is a little dull. We listed the players by bWAR last year, and by Win Shares this year. Maybe next year we'll list 'em by JAWS or wRC+ or career RBI's. I trust you're all smart enough not to be too unduly influenced by whatever metric shows up next to each player's name.

Phrased differently: if I was getting a bunch of ballots in which voters went down the WAR/Win Shares list 1-10, I'd be worried about those numbers swaying things too much. That isn't really happening.

And I don't think it'll be too tough a job to seperate out the Griffey Jr. voters from the extensive Griffey-Sr. write-in campaign currently underway. No hanging chads.
3:24 AM Nov 23rd
 
tkoegel
Griffey
Dawson

Write in: Will Clark
12:17 AM Nov 23rd
 
Brock Hanke
Here's the ballot:

Ken Griffey, Jr.
Jim Edmonds
Gary Sheffield
Bobby Grich (noticeably better, IMO, than Jeff Kent, because of the glove)
Dwight Evans
Lee Smith
Billy Wagner

Write-in: If what RWeddell wrote is true, then the best player I could write in would be Babe Ruth. Instead of just going by historical greatness, I decided to list the earliest player who is clearly an inner-circle Hall guy. That's GEORGE WRIGHT. When the National Association got started in 1871, the common consensus (virtually unanimous in the sources I have found) was that Wright was the best position player in the game. His stats don't exactly belie that; he probably was the best at that time. If that is not what this project really wants people to do with write-ins, and I doubt it is because, if it really is, we're going to spend the next decade electing the all-time greats, then I think I'd join the REGGIE SMITH bandwagon.I consider Smith to be very very similar in value to Larry Doby.

On Larry Walker - It's not just that Coors was a hitters' park. It's that it was at its worst adding value to right-handed power hitters. Like Larry Walker. So, I take a larger deduction on Larry than most people do, because I believe very seriously that you have to deal with lefty/righty ballpark adjustments.
11:50 PM Nov 22nd
 
DaveNJnews
Would like to vote for:

Ken Griffey Jr.
Jeff Kent
Trevor Hoffman
Dwight Evans

-dave
8:56 PM Nov 22nd
 
MarisFan61
Thanks, Jajajaun.
It doesn't seem to me that "vote-counting" is really on obstacle on this. I think the vote-counting is a bit hard anyway, especially because people don't all indicate a player the same way: Like, some say Griffey, some might say Junior, some might say Ken, and at least one said Griffen. :-)
That means Dave can't just look down the page dazedly (which is how I'd like to be able to do it if I were doing it) and tally them up; it takes some deep thought.
I don't think allowing more than one write-in would make it particularly harder. I do realize that there could well be other reasons to limit it to just 1.
8:33 PM Nov 22nd
 
jajajaun
I vote for the following:

Ken Griffey, Jr.
Gary Sheffield
Dwight Evans
Larry Walker
Jeff Kent
Andre Dawson
Rafael Palmeiro
Kevin Brown
Jim Edmonds​
4:35 PM Nov 22nd
 
MWeddell
Brock -- you can write-in for any past player no matter how long ago he retired. I voted for Bill Dahlen for example.

MarisFan61 -- my recollection is that the write-in vote grew generically from the comments about three years ago. It was the year before we voted in Lou Whitaker (because that first year Whitaker won the write-in vote to be listed on the ballot). So many folks were commenting on a write-in vote that Dave Fleming decided to institutionalize it. Seems to me that limiting it to just one write-in is a practical concession to make Dave's vote counting easier, but your mileage may vary.
3:55 PM Nov 22nd
 
78sman
Dave,
My votes are for

Ken Griffey, Jr.
Gary Sheffield
Dewey Evans
Jim Edmonds


Write-in: Reggie Smith, who was a better ball player than Sheffield, Evans, or Edmonds. Smitty had the misfortune to play much of his career in the deadball era of the 1960's and early 1970's so his hitting is not as obvious as someone such as Sheffield, but their OPS+ is similar, and Smitty was a solid CF.
1:06 PM Nov 22nd
 
MarisFan61
(btw, if there were an edit function, the comment below would have been heavily edited. I assume y'all who read it will be able to sort your way through the seeming non-sequiturs.)
10:19 AM Nov 22nd
 
MarisFan61
I think adding a few extra stats or metrics would unnecessarily clutter it, and actually if anything I'd rather see NO stats or metrics given. Any data that are presented would reflect a choice, because it's impossible to give everything and I think most of us have pretty ready access to whatever stats or metrics we think is important. If it is to be more, then WHICH more? Probably none of us would agree on exactly what.

That said, I must say I would have the same concern as you do when only career total metrics are presented -- "would," because as it is, I don't really have the concern because I just ignore the presented information because of how incomplete a picture it gives. And, likewise like you, I also love the way Bill did it in the New Historical Abstract.

But I think the best would be just to indicate the candidates and the guidelines, and forget any data. We don't need supposed qualifications to be stated for us.
10:15 AM Nov 22nd
 
Brock Hanke
Hi. I'm a newbie here, and I have 2 questions: 1) Is it safe to assume that, each year, we are only considering players who have been retired for between 5 and 15 years? Because otherwise, I'd write in George Wright or Buck Ewing. 2) Is there any way you could list the players with a more complete stat than just career Win Shares or WAR? The New Historical system still laps the field, as far as I know, because it doesn't just rank by accumulated WS over the career. It considered peak, prime and WS per 162 games. Since the NHA has been out for 15 years, it isn't going to have a complete rank for anyone in the current time frame. A balanced rank like that is much more useful than just accumulation.​
8:41 AM Nov 22nd
 
Jack
I'm a big-Hall guy, so I'll almost always use all ten slots on the ballot:

Sheffield (terrifyingly great hitter)
Griffey Jr.
Dawson
Kent
Grich
McGriff
DEWEY Evans
Trevor Hoffman
Palmeiro (holding my nose)
Sosa (still holding my nose)

Larry Walker just misses the cut.

I really cannot offer any rational defense for voting for Hoffman over Wagner and/or Lee Smith. Trevor just *feels* like a Hall of Famer to me.

As time goes by, I'm finding myself loosening up vis-a-vis the PED users, to the point where I'm voting for Sosa and Palmeiro. Do I contradict myself? I contain multitudes.

- Jack
4:21 PM Nov 21st
 
tigerlily
An all center fielder ballot;

Ken Griffey Jr
Andre Dawson
Bernie Williams

My write-in candidate is Stan Hack
1:27 PM Nov 21st
 
agcohen
Ken Griffey Jr
Gary Sheffield
Rafael Palmeiro
Bobby Grich
Fred McGriff
Dwight Evans
Sammy Sosa
Kenny Lofton
Lee Smith
Trevor Hoffman

Write In: Pete Rose

This is a frustrating exercise. I could have easily voted for several others.
11:28 AM Nov 21st
 
Sparky133
Brown
Grich
Griffey
Kent
Walker
9:08 AM Nov 21st
 
jeffsol
Griffey
Evans
Grich
Walker
Sheffield
Lofton

Write in: Keith Hernandez

8:39 AM Nov 21st
 
3for3
Griffey
Sheffield
McGriff
Edmonds
Evans
Hoffman

Write in: Eric Davis
7:58 AM Nov 21st
 
kgh
Jeff Kent
Larry Walker
Dwight Evans
Kevin Brown
Gary Sheffield
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Bobby Grich

Write-in: Graig Nettles

10:23 PM Nov 20th
 
gejerz
Dawson
Evans
Grich
Griffey, Jr.
Hoffman (my last, and most iffy selection)
Kent
Sheffield
Smith

Minoso write-in - Like Aasif Mandvi, Minnie played in No Man's Land. Caught between cultures, and supports. Wonder what his talent would have produced in stats would he have had a clear shot to play MLB throughout his prime. Life isn't fair, and so we don't know. I would like to see his name in lights.

9:47 PM Nov 20th
 
MarisFan61
Note to Dave: I have a basic question

Why is just 1 write-in to be added, and why are we supposed to vote for just 1? I don't know the history of how this whole system developed, and I suppose the answer is somewhere in there; maybe it's felt to be critical, or maybe it was just arbitrary.....​
9:20 PM Nov 20th
 
mubigben
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Bobby Grich
Larry Walker
Kenny Lofton
Kevin Brown

write-in - Ted Simmons, although I'm also on board for Graig Nettles
9:12 PM Nov 20th
 
therevverend
Edgar is all speculation. I am not trying to start a debate about him because there is no evidence. And I love the guy. Watching him play over the years and the way he changed as a hitter I would imagine there is a high probability he was using at some point. But I have zero evidence and I hope I am not very convincing to people who's opinions of Edgar would change. He is a great guy who belongs in the hall of fame.
Griffey, there is no doubt in my mind. The guy's muscle mass was the same at nineteen as it was at 35. He never put on muscle, never changed. He was always the same hitter, his career took the same trajectory as players of nonsteroid eras. Basically finished by 34.
Of course we can never be "sure" about anything. Maybe you or I are using heroin right now. It is speculation. But there needs to be some evidence. I see zero evidence, or need, for Griffey to use steroids. I watched him play when he was 17 in Bellingham. He looked the same 15 years later.
Most of the steroid stars put on lots of muscle mass. The muscle mass thing, massive upper body muscles, and strong power numbers through a players late thirties are red flag indicators.
9:00 PM Nov 20th
 
MarisFan61
(And I'll gladly switch my write-in from Munson to either Minoso, Nettles, or Randolph, if any of them wind up being in the running, and if we're allowed to game the system like this.) :ha:
8:27 PM Nov 20th
 
voxpoptart
I really do prefer this site's HoF selections. Enough that I'm only using seven votes, instead of the dozen-plus I'd need for the real-life ballot. My choices this time:

Griffey
Edmonds
Walker
Grich
Evans
Brown
Lofton

Write-in: Minnie Minoso. Unless (I haven't checked) there's a push already going for Graig Nettles, in which case him.
8:16 PM Nov 20th
 
MarisFan61
Regarding the below post, which I enjoyed: :-)
I don't think you can be as sure as you're saying about either thing -- either than Griffey didn't use, or that Edgar did.

Y'know, I don't know what people mean any more when they say they're "sure." What does "sure" mean? What probability level do people require for it?

I plead guilty too. I've been caught here my share (or more) saying I was 'pretty sure' about something that was very wrong. But, how sure can we possibly be that we know a player didn't use PED's? Or, that he did, in the absence of any blaring indication? BTW, some of the things that many people think are blaring indications, I'd say they aren't necessarily. And on the other hand, there are some 'soft' indicators that maybe don't hit most people's radar, which I think are suggestive. And then there's the Clemens thing, where some people (including apparently Bill) seem convinced that he didn't 'knowingly' use PED's, (which to me is beside the point in judging "greatness," although it certainly does matter at least for some other things). I don't think I've ever seen them explain why they're so convinced of it, and I'd be very interested to see the basis.
7:20 PM Nov 20th
 
therevverend
I don't like getting into these discussions but I am certain Griffey Jr. never used steroids. Not because he had some higher moral code or was some kind of saint. Griffey Jr. was very lazy.
I have been a Mariner fan since I was seven years old Griffey is maybe my second or third player ever. I love the guy. Booed him the last time I saw him hit but that's a different story.
They had one of those shows where a tv crew goes to some rich guy's house, shows the opulent luxury he lives in. Griffey had a set of weights and workout equipment. It was covered in dust. He never used it.
He was never interested in getting stronger or bigger he had the same body type his entire career. Was washed up by his early thirties when most steroid users are entering their prime. He wasn't interested in getting better, he believed he was already great.
It worked when he was 26 but when he was 40 and fat his last year here in Seattle it was ugly.
My favorite player ever is Edgar Martinez. I am certain he used steroids the last several years of his career and I thank god there is no evidence or rumors. Look at his stats, he kept getting better through his thirties. And the shape of his body.
I am not denouncing him I think he is a hall of famer and I hope the media never gets this idea. Boone his teammate was a blown up cartoon mass of muscle. There is no evidence and I thank god for that and I don't want this to become an Edgar witch hunt but he is far more likely than Jr.
7:09 PM Nov 20th
 
therevverend
Griffey Jr.
Grich
Sheffield
Palmeiro
Kent
Lee Smith
Hoffman
McGriff
Lofton
Sosa
6:55 PM Nov 20th
 
metsfan17
Write in: Keith of course.
6:53 PM Nov 20th
 
metsfan17
Griffey and Sheffield

So many very, very good ballplayers. I loved Bernie and Edmonds but are they Hall of Famers. Grich? I'm just not sure. Terrific ballplayers though.

I'm think saves is such a joke stat and the modern closer role is such a joke job that it is impossible for me to vote for any modern closer. I think you can use a starter on his day off and get 3 outs before he gives up 1, 2 or 3 runs with nobody on base virtually all of the time. I think any failed starter can do this job.

6:53 PM Nov 20th
 
bjbrown
Write in HOF 2016 Vote

Pete Rose
6:14 PM Nov 20th
 
bjbrown
2016 HOF vote

Griffey Jr.
6:12 PM Nov 20th
 
madkinson
Ken Griffey Jr
Larry Walker
Bobby Grich
Dwight Evans
Bernie Williams
Jeff Kent (never liked him)
Billy Wagner
Lee Smith
Andre Dawson


Write-In - Jose Cruz
Never got the respect he deserved playing his peak years in the Dome.
6:07 PM Nov 20th
 
doncoffin
I think this is the first time I have not voted for 10. And four pitchers...

Griffey
Dawson (a surprise for me)
Grich
Evans
K. Brown
Hoffman
Wagner
Smith

Despite Palmeiro's numbers--which, to me, suggest a yes vote--I never thought he was all that good. Sheffield--whoever commented "Who'd want him on your team" nails why I'm not voting for him (NOT whatever drug use there may or may not have been). Hoffman, Wagner, and Smith are (in my mind) as worthy as the relief pitchers who are in the real HoF, so they all three get my vote. Dawson is borderline, but I finally decided he falls on the "yes" side of the border.

My position on drug use allegations is that *before* there was testing, I ignore them, and *since* there has been testing, I consider it, but it's not an automatic "no."
4:54 PM Nov 20th
 
rpeltz
Griffey
Sheffield
Palmeiro
Sosa
Brown
Hoffman
Wagner
McGriff
Murphy
Kent

4:48 PM Nov 20th
 
rlk123
Griffey
McGriff
Sheffield
Kent
Grich

Write-in: T. Simmons
4:00 PM Nov 20th
 
Michael
Griffey
Dawson
Grich
Palmeiro
3:43 PM Nov 20th
 
lazer
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Rafael Palmeiro
Jeff Kent
Bobby Grich
Gary Sheffield
Andre Dawson
Dwight Evans
Trevor Hoffman
Sammy Sosa
Kevin Brown

WRITE IN: Ted Simmons

3:30 PM Nov 20th
 
DMBBHF
My bad in the write-in. I misread. I'll modify mine to just Munson.
2:31 PM Nov 20th
 
wwiyw
Griffey
Sheffield
Grich
McGriff
Evans
Edmonds
Williams
Kent​
2:19 PM Nov 20th
 
jkarp01
Griffey
Kent
McGriff
Evans
Edmonds
Smith
Dawson
Walker
Grich

Write in: Ted Simmons
2:08 PM Nov 20th
 
steve161
Griffey
Walker
Edmonds
McGriff
Sheffield
Hoffman Wagner Smith (either all three or none, so: all)

Write-in: Hernandez by a whisker over Ted Simmons
1:32 PM Nov 20th
 
MarisFan61
(Are we really allowed more than 1 write-in?
If so, I'd add a couple more as 'seconds' to some of yours.)
1:26 PM Nov 20th
 
tiller88
Griffey
Grich
Evans
Edmonds

12:12 PM Nov 20th
 
DMBBHF
Griffey
Grich
McGriff
Lofton
Hoffman
Wagner

Write in 3 catchers - I like MarisFan's mention of Munson. I'll second that and also write in Bill Freehan and Ted Simmons.
11:54 AM Nov 20th
 
bearbyz
Griffey
Sheffield
Dawson
Grich
Lofton
Hoffman
11:14 AM Nov 20th
 
DavidHeflin
Sheffield, Griffey (Jr.), Grich, McGriff, Brown, Hoffman, Wagner, Kent,
11:14 AM Nov 20th
 
pbspelly

Gary Sheffield
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Andre Dawson
Bobby Grich
Dwight Evans
Sammy Sosa

write in Keith Hernandez
11:12 AM Nov 20th
 
Riceman1974
Griffen
Kent
Dewey
Write in: Dahlen and Pete Browning
10:43 AM Nov 20th
 
bobburpee
Griffey
Kent
Grich
Evans
Walker
Brown

Write-in Reggie Smith​
10:29 AM Nov 20th
 
Davidg32
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Dwight Evans
Larry Walker
9:57 AM Nov 20th
 
taosjohn
Write in: Dahlen
9:19 AM Nov 20th
 
taosjohn
Ken Griffey Jr.
Gary Sheffield
Rafael Palmeiro
Jeff Kent
Bobby Grich*
Sammy Sosa
Kenny Lofton
Lee Smith
Trevor Hoffman

Unlike Bob, I feel fine about voting for steroid era players. It was an era, the players involved were trying to win, and we'll never know for sure who all of them were.

But I'll support him to the extent of pointing out what I have before-- that I have no idea where the confidence that Junior was clean comes from. Like Barry, he was around the league long before he was in it, and the world is full of juicing high school athletes-- there's no particular reason to think there'd be any "forensic signature" on his professional stats if he were using, because it would have happened in his early teens if it did. So we are left with his demeanor and that he never got outed if he did; and his head always looked larger than life to me :-P

9:17 AM Nov 20th
 
StatsGuru
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Bobby Grich
Trevor Hoffman
9:02 AM Nov 20th
 
Edward
Almost forgot my write-in: Graig Nettles
8:30 AM Nov 20th
 
Edward
Ken Griffey, Jr
Trevor Hoffman
Lee Smith
Larry Walker
Kenny Lofton
Gary Sheffield

Voting for Hoffman and Smith so we can start to have a real conversation about what it means to be a Hall of Fame reliever. I mean, who are these guys?
8:29 AM Nov 20th
 
MWeddell
Griffey, Walker, Edmonds, Dawson, Grich, Evans, Brown, Sheffield, Sosa, McGriff
Write-in candidate is Bill Dahlen.

I'd consider Lofton and Kent but I ran out of room on my ballot. I don't vote for Palmeiro as a protest against those who used steroids after they were clearly outlawed by MLB.
7:32 AM Nov 20th
 
rstattler1
Griffey, Bernie Williams, Jim Edmonds, Dwight Evans, Grich.

One strong qualification for the Hall is to be the best player on a great team. In the late 1990s, Bernie was quite possibly the best player on the best team of his generation, more than Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Pettite, Sojo, and the rest. I think he was regarded that way at the time, and he was also the best by Win Shares.

Write-in, Willie Randolph.

No, I am not a Yankee fan...
7:10 AM Nov 20th
 
sansho1
Griffey
Grich
Evans
Sosa
Murphy
Kent
Sheffield
Lofton
7:08 AM Nov 20th
 
rtallia
Griffey
Grich
Evans

I consider Grich and Evans to be the last of the "passed-over Sabermetric Kings" that we need to elect. As for Sheffield....who, exactly, would want this guy on their team?
6:52 AM Nov 20th
 
joedimino
Sheffield, Griffey, Palmeiro, Dawson, Sosa, Bernie, Walker, Grich, Dw.Evans, Kendall.

I'd vote yes for Brown too, but I only get 10 spots.

I'll go with Willie Randolph for the write-in.
12:46 AM Nov 20th
 
OwenH
Griffey
Sheffield
Grich
Evans
K. Brown
Dawson
Walker
McGriff
Hoffman
Kent

Write-in: Will Clark
12:10 AM Nov 20th
 
kingferris
I'll be a son of a bitch
and only pick
Griffey &
Grich.
10:56 PM Nov 19th
 
DaveFleming
Whoops....I just realized that MarisFan was refering to Don Zimmer's army helmet, not Olerud's batting helmet.
10:44 PM Nov 19th
 
DaveFleming
I got the Olerud nod. And I'm pretty sure he wore the helmet in college, because of a brain aneurysm.
10:43 PM Nov 19th
 
ghoulama
Griffey
Dawson

10:16 PM Nov 19th
 
MarisFan61
Write-in: Thurman Munson

BTW, to Chill: I wouldn't have known who your Helmet Guy was. I would have asked.
All I could think of was Don Zimmer. :-)
(I was at the game where he got hit by a foul ball and first donned that crash helmet.)
10:12 PM Nov 19th
 
MarisFan61
Well, at least one of your predictions/thoughts will turn out not quite right.

My ballot:

Andre Dawson
Lee Smith
Trevor Hoffman

That's it.

BTW, I'd rather have used my ballot to give negative votes to some of the candidates. I feel much more strongly about Palmeiro and Sosa not getting in than about any of the above-listed guys getting in, because I'm quite well convinced that their apparent 'greatness' was total bull$hit. Some of the other guys -- i.e. the ones who seem like obvious 'ins' -- I'm just not sure, And, since there's no mechanism for ever taking people out of the Hall of Fame, either the actual one or BJOL -- we need to be pretty sure if we're going to vote 'yes' on someone.
10:05 PM Nov 19th
 
rgregory1956

Yeah, I might be the only one who doesn't vote for Junior. Hopefully, enough will vote for Hoffman and Wagner this year, so I can vote for them next year. Other than those three, I'm not sure I see anyone else I think of as overly HOFish. I'm still going to vote for a few, mind you, but none that I'd actively campaign for. Alphabetically:
Kevin Brown, Fred McGriff, Lee Smith and Bernie Williams


9:51 PM Nov 19th
 
a2colin
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Andre Dawson
Dwight Evans
Lee Smith
BillyWagner

9:06 PM Nov 19th
 
evanecurb
Griffey
Sosa
Brown
Grich
Bernie Williams
Sheffield
Murphy
Wagner
Hoffman
McGriff

8:51 PM Nov 19th
 
evanecurb
Dear Friends at BJOL,

Thank you for including me on your ballot for the BJOL Hall of Fame. I promise that, if elected, I will do my utmost to set an example for others to follow, in order to help preserve the traditions of this great American Game.

Sincerely,

Garret Anderson
8:49 PM Nov 19th
 
chill
* I meant Olerud, but you knew that.
8:29 PM Nov 19th
 
chill
Sheffield
Griffey
Grich
Evans
Walker
Edmonds
Wagner
Smith
Kent
McGriff

Write-in: Helmet guy. I think we gave up on him too soon, and his defense was more important than he gets credit for.
8:28 PM Nov 19th
 
mrbryan
Oops - write in - Rick Reuschel
8:07 PM Nov 19th
 
mrbryan
Bobby Grich
Rafael Palmeiro
Gary Sheffield
Ken Griffey Jr
8:02 PM Nov 19th
 
bdhopkin
Sheffield, griffey, grich, kent, mcgriff, lofton.
Write in- will clark.

7:58 PM Nov 19th
 
RangeFactor
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Andre Dawson
Bobby Grich
Dale Murphy
Trevor Hoffman
7:06 PM Nov 19th
 
 
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