2018 Net54 HOF Ballot

[Topnotchsy]

My Ballot (in no particular order)

1) Chipper Jones - No brainer

2) Vladimir Guerrero - I wasn't as sure about Guerrero as many. Wasn't a great defender, but man what a hitter

3) Edgar Martinez - For DH's, I believe that if their offense was good enough to warrant HOF consideration if they were a below-average fielder, they warrant election as a DH

4) Jim Thome - At no time in Thome's career did I feel like he was a HOF, but reviewing his stats, I feel like his career OBP of .402 along with the obvious power makes him worthy

5) Barry Bonds - Regarding steroids, I generally will allow any player who looks like they were probably an HOF without steroids (like Bonds) but not players who would be unlikely to have had HOF stats without steroids (Sosa)

6) Roger Clemens - My approach to players with steroids is mentioned above. Clemens is tricky because his initial peak was tremendous, and even though he looked like he was on the decline at around 30 and the second half of his career may have been steroid-induced, his initial peak was probably enough that a few mediocre seasons after 30 would have been enough to get in, even if he only had 200+ wins.

7) Andruw Jones - Maybe the best defensive center fielder of all-time and over 400+ homers. In my mind he played at a HOF level for 10 seasons. I'd rather have players like Andruw Jones in the Hall than probably 30% of guys currently in the Hall



Players I would not have voted for:

1) Manny Ramirez - Caught with steroids too many times. Hard to tell when he was started taking steroids.

2) Larry Walker - Interesting player. Great hitter and won a bunch of gold gloves, but playing in Colorado and not have the longevity and counting stats, it's just not enough

3) Omar Vizquel - OPS+ of 82. Great defender, and there are may be less worthy players in the Hall, but IMO he's not worthy.

4) Trevor Hoffman - Lifetime ERA of 2.87 as a closer just doesn't do it for me. I'm not a huge fan of closers making the Hall outside of guys like Mariano. (Hoffman had 2 seasons with an ERA under 2, Rivera had 11...)

5) Curt Schilling - The Playoff heroics are impressive, and he's far more worthy than Jack Morris but I don't think he's a HOF'er

6) Mike Mussina - Really solid pitcher, but at no time in his career did I view him as a HOF, and I don't think the career stats make a strong enough case.

7) Johan Santana - I'm a bigger fan of Santana than most, who should have won 3 straight Cy Young Awards, and was the singular best pitcher in baseball for half a decade. I value peak over longevity, but with under 150 wins, it's just not enough

8) Fred McGriff - Not enough IMO to make it as a HOF. May be underrated due to the era he played in, but I don't see him as a HOF

9) Jeff Kent - impressive offensive numbers as a 2nd baseman, but not enough IMO

10) Billy Wagner - I'd consider Wagner over Hoffman, but don't think either is worthy. Wagner was more dominant, but for a shorter time.

11) Gary Sheffield - Not sure what to make of him and how much of a role steroids played. I may change my mind in a year or two.

12) Scott Rolen - Great defender, but I don't think the offense is enough to warrant

13) Johnny Damon - OBP wasn't high enough for a lead-off hitter