My 2024 MLB HOF Ballot

 We have reached that point of year where it is time to dust off your Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame ballot. And while some voters are still afraid to give out theirs, I, as a non-voter, am unbashful and fear no one giving out my fake ballot.

If old school thinking was to take a victory lap and not allow anyone in, because those people only put Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron in the Hall, it would be this year, however, the following is an explanation as to why there are plenty of worthy candidates on the ballot this year that deserve to be immortalized in Cooperstown. I will do so by grouping these great baseball players into five groups. These groups are not ranking their greatness, but rather a way of opening the eyes of those who shut the doors of the Hall unless you are a slam dunk candidate.

 

The Only “Slam Dunk” Candidate

 

1. Adrian Beltre

Beltre is as close to Mantle, Mays, and Aaron as it gets with the 2024 class. The Dominican born third baseman recorded 3,166 hits, mashed 477 home runs, drove in 1,707 RBIs, and finished with a .286 batting average. He as old school as they come, although he is one of the few left that fight the “old school” mantra. The only milestone that Beltre is missing from his trophy case is a World Series ring. In his only trip to the Fall Classic, Beltre hit .300, swatted two home runs, and recorded a signature playoff moment hitting one of those long balls in the 7th inning of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series to give Texas the lead at the time. 

Belte also had five Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves.

The 21-year veteran also had six Top-10 MVP finishes.

Beltre’s advanced stats also hold up. A career 93.5 WAR, a 116 OPS+, 115 wCR+,  a .350 wOBA, and a total of 200 Defensive Runs Saved over his career.

Nobody matter which way you look at Adrian Beltre’s baseball life, he is one of the absolute best to play third base.

Time to Expand the Steroid Wing

2. Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez should be a Hall of Famer. Talent wise there might be two or three guys more gifted on the diamond than Rodriguez in the history of baseball, but there isn’t a guy more connected to steroids than A-Rod. Bonds, maybe, but the All-Time Home Run leader never tested positive and never served a suspension because of his alleged steroid use. Alex Rodriguez has done both. He did both on the biggest stage with the biggest team in the sport. He sued Major League Baseball for the way he was treated over steroids. And yet, there was and may never be anyone like Alex Rodriguez in baseball. He had everything!

Power, speed, defense, control of the strike zone, he could do no wrong in between the white lines. Also, like Bonds, A-Rod will most likely not get into the Hall because his off the field headlines. The steroids, popstars, biogenesis clinic, 60 Minutes, and even his time as an analyst for Fox Sports and ESPN. Rodriguez deserves the Hall but like Bonds, he will probably be shut out for his public persona and the PED’s he tested positive for.

3. Manny Ramirez

It might be just me, but I fear that Manny Ramirez might be forgotten in history in terms of just how great Ramirez was. Yes, steroids may have contributed to his greatness, but he was the most feared hitter in the game for a period of time. Sure, his career like many on this ballot has been put through a different lens because of a certain connection with steroids. But the bat-to-ball skills that Ramirez possessed is some of the greatest ever.

His numbers stack up with the greatest ever. He is on the short list of the best of the best when it comes to the 2000’s. If you were picking a team, you might take one or two guys of Manny, that’s it. A career average of .312, 555 home runs, 1,831 RBIs, 2,574 hits, 1,544 runs scored, two World Series rings, a World Series MVP, a batting title (when it meant something), 12 All-Star appearances, nine Top-10 MVP finishes, and eight of those IN A ROW. Ramirez career OPS is a sniff under 1.000 (.996) which is 11th all-time.

I don’t want to hear it, Manny Ramirez for all his antics, connection to PED’s, and drama is one of the greatest players to ever step onto a baseball field.

Greatness that doesn’t like to be Acknowledged

4. Andruw Jones 

Welcome to one of the many hills I will die on. Andruw Jones is the greatest defensive centerfielder to play the game. And defense matters! It wins championships. If you look at who has the most gold gloves at each position, seven of the nine are in the Hall of Fame. The only two that aren’t in the Hall are Keith Hernandez (which makes ZERO sense) and Barry Bonds (let’s not get into this again). Jones is second all-time in center with 10 (tied with Ken Griffey Jr, also in the Hall of Fame). But it should matter that when you hit a ball in center field, anywhere, Jones caught it. At the plate, hit 434 home runs, drove in 1,289 RBIs, and stole 152 bases. Andruw Jones was a good player on the bases and at the dish, but he was a great player in the field and greatness is what the Hall of Fame is all about.  

5. Andy Pettitte

Speaking of the greatest of all-time, Andy Pettitte is the greatest postseason starting pitcher to toe the rubber in October. If aliens came to earth and decided there would be a baseball game to decide the fate of the universe, I would select Pettitte to start the game. Pettitte was the winning pitcher in 19 postseason games, he has pitched 276.2 innings (50 more than anyone ever) and started more playoff games than anyone in history (44). Pettitte also had the most lethal pickoff move in history being the all-time leader with 92 pickoffs.

Winning matters and Andy Pettitte is the best when it actually matters and has a World Series ring for every finger on his pitching hand.

6. Billy Wagner

Billy Wagner is often forgotten when talking about the greatest closers of all-time because he pitched in the same era as Marino Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. Unlike both Rivera and Hoffman, it is Wagner that has the highest strike out per nine innings (11.92) of all-time. He also one of two guys who have 400 plus saves and a sub 2.50 ERA. Who is in Wagner’s company? Oh, just Mariano Rivera! Rivera has 652 saves and a 2.21 ERA—while Wagner has 422 saves and a 2.31 ERA. Wagner has waited through stacked Hall of Fame classes long enough, open the doors to one of the greatest to ever close games.  

Baseliners that have done enough

7. Gary Sheffield

I will admit I have come around on Gary Sheffield. I have had pinstriped colored glasses on when remembering Sheffield’s career because his time in the Bronx correlated with when I fell in love with the sport. Objectively, looking at Sheffield’s career from 10,000 feet he has done almost everything you would want in a baseball playing career. He has multiple all-star appearances (9), six Top-10 MVP finishes (three finishes in the top three), a World Series ring, a batting title (when it meant something), 509 home runs, a .292 career batting average, over 1,000 walks and 1,600 RBIs, and 250 stolen bases.

The only thing missing from his mantle is an MVP award and playing in an era of Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Vladimir Guerrero, and Albert Pujols he held his own. Let’s not let time drift Sheffield out to sea, because his career is worthy of having a plaque in Cooperstown, even if it is in the Steroid Wing.

8. Todd Helton

I never gave Todd Helton the credit he deserved because of where he played (Coors Field) until now.

Like Sheffield and Ramirez, Todd Helton won a batting title when it mattered. He finished with a .316 average, had three Top-10 MVP finishes, 2,519 hits, 1,175 RBIs, more walks than strike outs (1,335 walks to 1,175 strike outs), and .414 career On-Base Percentage. Because of where he played Helton never got the credit he deserved and was only discounted. However, if you put up those types of numbers for 17 years, that means something. Helton is one of the best first baseman of his generation and should get be in the Hall because of that.

Let’s Talk about Joe Mauer

Joe Mauer to me is a Hall of Famer. However, he did not do enough to me to warrant what comes along with being a first ballot Hall of Famer. There’s something special that comes with being a first ballot HOF’er. There shouldn’t be a question about whether or not a first balloter should be in. With Joe Mauer there are questions. Mauer is probably the greatest catcher of this generation and that should be highlighted. Sure, he isn’t Johnny Bench or Yogi Berra, but Mauer accomplished something that both Bench and Berra did, the Minnesota backstop won an MVP award. He also did something that Bench and Berra were unable to do, finish with a batting average above .300 (.317).

The Minnesota backstop had three batting titles, the most for any catcher in history. For me I do believe Mauer will be in the Hall at some point and should be, but not on the first go around.