My 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

When thinking about the Hall of Fame every year I struggle with this question: What does it mean to be a Hall of Famer?

The reasoning behind my frustration and confusion because by saying someone is a “Hall of Famer” it brings upon certain elite criteria and preconceived notions about how dominate said player has to be in order to get into the Hall of Fame. What also happens is people start comparing the player you bring up with the best of the best in the Hall of Fame. The type of players that make it impossible to finish the conversation. However, that conversation needs to be had because what I think is missing thanks to some of the writers and majority of the veteran’s committee is a solid baseline to make sure the player about to walk into the doors of immortality stack up with the rest of the men already invited into the party. Last year in my 2019 ballot I created what I thought to be the new baseline for the Hall of Fame. I selected five players: Andy Pettitte, Roy Holiday, Jeff Kent, Sammy Sosa, and Larry Walker.

I realized when making this year’s selection for continuing the baseline and voting on who I wanted to represent baseball in Cooperstown in June that by selecting Sammy Sosa to be on my baseline I was being hypocritical. In the same ballot column, I denounced my support for steroid users like Bonds and Clemmons, but put Sosa on my baseline.  So, for first time ever on my ballot I’m putting Bonds and Clemmons on my ballot to represent the baseline of the Hall of Fame. Even typing that I’m tight roping around steroids and the two faces of that era but the context here for me is that looking at their respective careers for both Bonds and Clemmons I cannot hid in the dark anymore and not say they at least deserve some recognition for their contributions to the game even with steroids adding to their mark. With that said, here is the adjusted baseline for the Hall of Fame class for 2020:

Barry Bonds

Looking at Bonds numbers, he mocks the word “statistic.” For instance, his 162.8 career WAR must have made the shredder machine that crunches WAR must have broken in half. He was 65 hits away from 3,000 (which in hindsight he probably should have stuck around another year to accomplish that feat), his 182 career OPS+ is third to only Ted Williams and Babe Ruth, he was four RBI’s away from 2,000, and yes of course, he “holds” the career home run record with 762 career bombs. His 2,558 walks is the most ever, and you get the point! You could go on for hours about how the back of Bonds baseball card is one of the most impressive ever. He is on the short list of best players of all-time, but he will forever be stained by leaning on the juice. Still his mark on the game needs to be recognized and putting an asterisk on his plaque for me is another.

Roger Clemmons

The same could be said about Clemmons. He was the most dominate pitcher of his generation, he only trails Walter Johnson and Cy Young for career WAR by a pitcher with a 139.2 career WAR, 16^th in innings pitched all-time (4,916.2) and 9^th in career wins (354). Clemmons like Bonds need to be in the Hall from a historical perspective because even though he did cheat it is part of the game. It needs to be highlighted and for me in particular to be blind to that fact is wrong, so I am correcting that.

Omar Vizquel

Besides from being a top two defensive shortstop of all-time, Vizquel also had 2,877 hits, 404 stolen bases, a career batting average of .272, and is 9^th all-time in defensive WAR (29.5). Other than his defensive WAR, Vizquel’s advanced stats don’t stack up against other Hall of Famers in the past, but for a guy like Vizquel the old eye test is all you need to understand the type of value only true ballplayers bring.

Jeff Kent

For some reason I have a soft spot in my heart for Jeff Kent. I didn’t witness majority of his career, but there is something about the quality of his career that makes him a staple for the Hall of Fame Baseline as long as he is on the ballot. In my opinion he had seven quality seasons out of 17 and in those seven years he was a top 20 player in the game. His numbers as a whole won’t pop off the page, but the longer you sit with the numbers and realize how solid they are, you just can’t get away from them. 2,461 career hits is still great, 1,320 runs scored for a guy who only went to two postseasons is telling in regards to how much support he had around him during his career, and a 123 career OPS+ for someone who for the majority of his career played second base is remarkable. Jeff Kent is the player in my mind that you must be better than in order to get into the Hall and I don’t think there should be any debate about that.

Andy Pettitte

Pettitte around baseball gets slack because he is regarded as a postseason guy only (even that is a dumb prerequisite in itself because you have to win in order to get to the playoffs), but he did win 103 more games than he lost, is top 100 in innings pitched (although that stat should be adjusted for live ball era by now), and has 2,448 career punch outs. Pettitte recorded 10 wins or more in every season but two injury shorten stints, so add all of that with his record setting postseason numbers and you have a guy who should be on the baseline. He was one of the premiere pitchers on one of the best teams while he was playing and shouldn’t get penalized because he showed up when it mattered the most.

With the baseline set, here is my ballot for the guys that are Hall of Famers in my mind and go well beyond the baseline:       

Derek Jeter

I don’t think I have to say more than DUH! When I wrote about Marino last year it took me 338 words to complete his case. For Jeter really it should only take that one DUH remark, but just in case a 20-year career and 72.4 career WAR didn’t convince you, maybe I can. He was the captain on five World Series winning teams, making it to seven World Series, was top ten in MVP voting eight times (top 15 in 10 seasons), has 3,465 career hits, a career .310 batting average and an OPS+ of 115 as a shortstop who never truly hit for power.  Jeter is a rookie of the year winner, a 14-time All-Star (out of 20 seasons), and a five-time gold glove winner.

Jeter was the gold standard for baseball his entire career and anything less than unanimous Hall of Fame is a slap in the face to one of the greatest to every touch a baseball field.

Larry Walker

My second and final Hall of Famer for the class of 2020 is Larry Walker. Walker was a baseline guy last year but with the ballot turning over in a real bleak class he gets to shine as a bright spot. Even with the injury concerns throughout his career, when he played, he was undoubtedly one of the best to play the game. He recorded a 72.7 career WAR, had a 141 career OPS+, and had a .313 career batting average with 2,180 career hits. Walker played most of his career in right field his 230 career stolen bases jump off the page. He had a rifle for a right arm and was top 20 MVP Finisher seven times. As a five-time All-Star one could only guess who great his career would have been if he was able to stay on the field more, however, that shouldn’t take away from how great he was when he was on it.      

Love it or hate it, I have seven members on my 2020 ballot with five of them acting as the baseline for Cooperstown. Yet another year for me that I have a small Hall of Fame class because I am still a believer in the Baseball Hall of Fame being the Hall of FAME not the Hall of Very Good.