2016 Hall of Fame Ballot, Who would you vote for?

[JCC]

Piazza
Bagwell
Schilling
Clemens
Bonds
Smith
McGwire
Sosa
Griffey
Hoffman

[Beatles Guy]

David Eckstein

[cardsfan73]

My ballot would be:

Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Ken Griffey
Tim Raines
Mike Piazza
Lee Smith
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa

My opinion of Jeff Kent constantly changes.. His offensive numbers as a second baseman are amazing. But truth of the matter is he was really a first baseman/third basemen playing second. His defense was pretty horrible at second and he really should have been playing first or third. When you put his offensive numbers up against other 1b/3b of the era I don't think they are Hall Of Fame numbers.

I also really think that Larry Walker was a great all around player but I am not sure if he is a Hall Of Famer. On one hand he spent all those years in a hitters park in Colorado, but by the same token he spent so many of his early years in the horrible hitters park that was Olympic Stadium. I was able to watch him finish up his career in St. Louis and although age and injuries had begun to slow him down he was still a pretty amazing player.

[packs]

I've always been a big fan of Larry Walker's. He was an incredible hitter. If not for Tony Gwynn batting 372 in 1997, he would have won 3 batting titles in a row and 4 in 5 years. As it stands, 3 titles in 4 seasons is still incredible and it's a peak that I think makes him just as good as anyone else in the Hall.

[Beatles Guy]

My ballot would be:

Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Ken Griffey
Tim Raines
Mike Piazza
Lee Smith
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa

Scott: No Bagwell? I really thought he would be a first ballot guy. I did not want to see him walking to the plate with runners on when he was playing the Cardinals.

[packs]

Juiced.

[Beatles Guy]

Originally Posted by packs

Juiced.

As were most of the players named.

[packs]

Those players won't get in. You asked about Bagwell, he's not in because he juiced.

[cardsfan73]

Originally Posted by Beatles Guy

Scott: No Bagwell? I really thought he would be a first ballot guy. I did not want to see him walking to the plate with runners on when he was playing the Cardinals.

Bagwell gets my vote next year? LOL

Did he ever actually get busted for PEDS or just accused?

Honestly for players from this era my feeling is that more of them were using PEDS than were not. So if you were among the best of PED users you were the best of your era and you can go in the Hall. I don't see it as a Hall Of Moral & Good guys. If we didn't allow players in who cheated or who took some form of performance enhancers the Hall would have a lot less members.

And also.. I didn't really intend this thread to be about who will get in, more about who YOU would vote for if you had a ballot.

[cardsfan73]

So you think/assume Bagwell to PED's so he doesn't get it? Let's go purge the hall of every guy from the 60's and 70's that were hyped up on speed & greenies too!

[cardsfan73]

Originally Posted by Beatles Guy

David Eckstein

Oh Jason!!! LOL

[KCRfan1]

I don't believe in holding it against a player based on the park they played in. Walker can't help MLB put a team in Colorado and he ended up playing there. We could make the same case for Ruth and that short porch in right for him to lob homers over, or just about any Red Sox player to hit the ball off the Monster. It's an endless of " what if " said player played elsewhere. The same can be said for pitchers and the parks they have pitched in.

[howard38]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

I don't believe in holding it against a player based on the park they played in. Walker can't help MLB put a team in Colorado and he ended up playing there. We could make the same case for Ruth and that short porch in right for him to lob homers over, or just about any Red Sox player to hit the ball off the Monster. It's an endless of " what if " said player played elsewhere. The same can be said for pitchers and the parks they have pitched in.

The difference between Ruth and Walker in this case is that Ruth's home and road numbers are almost indistinguishable while Walker's lifetime OPS at home is more than 200 points higher than his road OPS. I'd still vote for him though.

Btw, he could help that he ended up in Colorado as it was his decision to sign w/the Rockies a s free agent.

[KCRfan1]

Howard, there is a lot of appeal to Colorado besides the park. Perhaps I am in the minority in not holding anything against players for the park they play in. However, let's be fair that parks have helped many players careers besides Colorado. Any Yankee lefty was aided by Yankee Stadium.

[howard38]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

Howard, there is a lot of appeal to Colorado besides the park. Perhaps I am in the minority in not holding anything against players for the park they play in. However, let's be fair that parks have helped many players careers besides Colorado. Any Yankee lefty was aided by Yankee Stadium.

Sure there have been Yankee lefties aided by the short porch. Bill Dickey comes to mind but even his road OPS is only about 35 lower than his home OPS. Larry Walker's career OPS was over 200 points higher at home and the gap is even more dramatic if only his Colorado years are counted. Some of the Greatest Yankee lefties including Ruth, Gehrig and Reggie Jackson hit as well or better on the road as they did at the Yankee Stadium. I doubt that's the case for any of the Rockies best hitters.

[TAVG]

Piazza
bagwell
schilling
edgar martinez
mike mussina
mcgriff
walker
garciaparra
griffey
edmonds

[bnorth]

Roger Clemens
Fred McGriff
Barry Bonds
Ken Griffey Jr

[Topps206]

Griffey
Hoffman
Bagwell
Raines
Schilling
Piazza
Mussina
Kent
Trammell
McGriff

Honorable mentions to Billy Wagner and Larry Walker.

[kailes2872]

Ricky Henderson was my favorite player as a kid. With that being said, his power numbers peaked in his early '90 A's years. He was jacked and he stole a lot of bases which made his body take a beating. If Bagwell is out because he played with Camanetti, Clemens and Pettite, I am not sure how Henderson is not looked on with curiosity playing with Conseco and McGwire while having his best power numbers.

Griffey was a spindly guy who hit 50+ homers several times in the height of the steroid era and then his body broke down. I know that he had a nice smile and everyone liked his '89 UD card, but, I am always amazed at how he is somehow kept out of the conversation because people liked him.

Ripken played 2600+ consecutive games and hit with power in the heart of the steroid era. However, he did not have Bacne and people thought he was nice, therefore, he is innocent in court of public opinion...

I guess I am just saying that I am fatigued with how we and the writers have randomly decided who was guilty and who wasn't. I am not saying that the above are guilty - I am just saying that someone could probably build a case - but they won't because we "like" them.

Ortiz has proverbial blood on his hands - guilty explicitly - and then implicitly with his revival during the '13 WS run when he turned back the hands of father time. Yet, he is a fun loving and a Red Sock, so somehow, he will defy the odds and get into the hall in an era where writers decide by their gut instict and eye test who is guilty and who is innocent.

In my opinion - for what little it is worth - more were guilty than innocent during the era. The best of the era were Bonds and Clemens. Get them in and then let the rest get in relative to the best hitter and pitcher of the era... - both were A'holes and hard to like - but they could play ball.


OK, let the beatings begin....

[cardsfan73]

No beatings from me! I pretty much agree with you 100%!

[esd10]

if Clemens, bonds and McGwire get into the hof then joe Jackson and pete rose should be voted in.

[bigtrain]

Are we talking about the Gil Hodges who was an 8 time All-Star and drove in
100 or more runs 7 years in a row? That Gil Hodges? The Gil Hodges who got over
63 percent of the vote from the baseball writers when he was on their ballot as
opposed to Keith Hernandez who never got as much as 11%? Hmmm.

[Topps206]

Originally Posted by bigtrain

Are we talking about the Gil Hodges who was an 8 time All-Star and drove in
100 or more runs 7 years in a row? That Gil Hodges? The Gil Hodges who got over
63 percent of the vote from the baseball writers when he was on their ballot as
opposed to Keith Hernandez who never got as much as 11%? Hmmm.

I could also be talking about the Jack Morris who once got nearly 70% when Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina have yet to reach the election they deserve.

All Star games aren't as relevant as one would think.

[bigtrain]

You could. Both Mortis and Hodges should be in.