Voting for the Hall of Fame for me means spending a day on Baseball-Reference.com. I study the numbers — from the old standards (home runs, RBI and average) to new age ones (WAR, OPS+, ERA+).
You compare with players already in the Hall of Fame.
I did that with everyone I voted for and didn’t vote for, except Ken Griffey Jr. He’s the only guy on the ballot I could vote for without a bit of research. Ken Griffey Jr., future Hall of Famer, becomes Ken Griffey Jr., Hall of Famer-elect today.
I did not vote for Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. They are too tainted by performance-enhancing drugs. I think I’d vote for both if they just admitted and came clean.
Here’s my ballot (you’re limited to voting for 10):
> Griffey: Hoping he’s unanimous or at least breaks Tom Seaver’s 98.8 percent mark.
> Jeff Bagwell: .408 career on-base, .948 on-base plus slugging. I saw him play a lot. A very dangerous hitter.
> Mike Mussina: He’s the Sabermetrics crowd’s cause these days. His WAR is virtually the same as Griffey’s.
> Edgar Martinez: A lot of people won’t vote for him because he was a DH. It’s part of the game. .312 hitter, two batting titles, .410 on base.
> Tim Raines: The second best pure leadoff hitter ever. Won a batting title. Led in steals four times.
> Curt Schilling: He gets points for postseason. But he also has a 80.7 WAR.
> Alan Trammel: His numbers are similar to Barry Larkin’s and offensively he blows away Ozzie Smith.
> Larry Walker: .313/.400/.565. He did everything well. Was the best player in the game for 3- or 4-year stretch.
> Mike Piazza: Best hitting catcher of all time. Steroid suspicion has hurt him. But the evidence is not nearly as overwhelming as it was in the cases of Bonds and Clemens. I think he and Griffey are only two who get in.
> Trevor Hoffman: Voted for him despite the low WAR. 601 saves.
Others I considered were Lee Smith, Jeff Kent, Jim Edmonds and Gary Sheffield. I may vote for them in the future, but I think the 10 I voted for are more deserving.
