Who would you vote for on this year's HOF Ballot?

This year's Hall of Fame ballot was announced the other day. Here are the players on the ballot:

Brady Anderson
Harold Baines
Rod Beck
Bert Blyleven
Dave Concepcion
Andre Dawson
Shawon Dunston
Chuck Finley
Travis Fryman
Rich Gossage
Tommy John
David Justice
Chuck Knoblauch
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Robb Nen
Dave Parker
Tim Raines
Jim Rice
Jose Rijo
Lee Smith
Todd Stottlemyre
Alan Trammell

Who would you vote for?

My picks:

Tim Raines
Alan Trammell
Mark McGwire
Rich Gossage
Bert Blyleven

Tim Raines, Goose Gossage, Alan Trammell, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris.

Dave Concepcion
Mark McGwire
Jim Rice
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell

If I have five votes.....

Bert Blyleven
Jack Morris
Andre Dawson
Tim Raines
Dave Concepcion

--Pet

Blyleven
Gossage
Smith
Dawson
Raines
Murphy
Morris
Trammell

In no particular order:

Andre Dawson
Rich Gossage
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Dale Murphy

By the way, you're not limited to five votes. I just listed five players because those are the only 5 players I'd vote for. HOF voters can list up to 10 players on their ballot, so feel free to list up to 10 if you believe 10 players deserve to be in the Hall.

Why isn't Bert Byleven in the Hall of Fame? 4k innings 3700 strike outs...?

Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rich Gossage
Don Mattingly

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Originally Posted by Robert

Why isn't Bert Byleven in the Hall of Fame? 4k innings 3700 strike outs...?

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They look at his 287-250 lifetime record and figure that he must not be a good pitcher -- after all, it's close to a .500 record....

However, only nine pitchers in baseball history have more than the 250 losses that Blyleven has. Face it, if you have 250 lifetime losses, somebody must have thought you were a great pitcher or they wouldn't keep sending you to the mound.

Of those nine pitchers, eight are in the Hall of Fame. (Cy Young, Pud Galvin, Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, Eppa Rixey) The exception is Jack Powell, who had a 245-254 record and whose year to year stats indicate that Powell is what the uniformed think Blyleven is -- namely, an average pitcher with longevity.

--Pet

Good explanation, petrel.

Bert Blyleven
Rich Gossage
Tommy John
Mark McGwire
Jim Rice
Alan Trammell

Bert Blyleven
Rich Gossage
Mark McGwire
Jim Rice This guy is the best player not in the HOF, put him in!

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Originally Posted by Red Sox Fan 734

Jim Rice This guy is the best player not in the HOF, put him in!

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Regardless of your opinion on whether or not Rice is a Hall of Famer, I think that claiming he's the best player NOT in the Hall of Fame is quite the overstatement.

all except duncan and fryman:)

O_o lol

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

Regardless of your opinion on whether or not Rice is a Hall of Famer, I think that claiming he's the best player NOT in the Hall of Fame is quite the overstatement.

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Not saying your wrong, you have your opinion and i have mine. Just wondering though, who do you think is better then him and is not in the HOF?

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Originally Posted by Red Sox Fan 734

Not saying your wrong, you have your opinion and i have mine. Just wondering though, who do you think is better then him and is not in the HOF?

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Mark McGwire:D

Well its his 1st year on the ballot

Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Tommy John
Jack Morris
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell

A bit of a week year, IMO. Usually there are 12-15 guys that I think should be in, so I have to leave some candidates that I think are deserving off my ballot, but this year I don't see 10 guys that deserve the honor.

Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rich Gossage
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Tim Raines
Jim Rice
Lee Smith

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Originally Posted by Wassit3

Mark McGwire:D

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never. they played in different times.

rice had incredible numbers compared to his peers at that time he played.
big mac did not have numbers that blew his competition away like rice.

Mark McGwire
Brady Anderson

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Originally Posted by Red Sox Fan 734

Not saying your wrong, you have your opinion and i have mine. Just wondering though, who do you think is better then him and is not in the HOF?

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Well, I'll toss out Pete Rose and Joe Jackson for obvious reasons.

Of the eligible players (not counting 1st timers this year), here's just some I'd pick for the Hall over Rice...Dick Allen, Ron Santo, Mark McGwire, Bert Blyleven, Babe Herman, Albert Belle, Gavy Cravath, Jim Kaat, Alan Trammell, Rich Gossage, Ken Williams, Sherry Magee, Rice's own teammate Dwight Evans, Note, I don't think all these players belong in the Hall. Some of them, I do, but I do think that all these players are at least slightly more deserving than Rice.

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Originally Posted by dabruinss

never. they played in different times.

rice had incredible numbers compared to his peers at that time he played.
big mac did not have numbers that blew his competition away like rice.

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Yes, he did. OPS+ measures a player's OPS in comparison to his league, and adjusted for ballpark. McGwire's career OPS+ was 162. That means that over the course of his career, when it comes to getting on base and hitting for power, McGwire did so 62% better than average. His career high was 216.

Jim Rice's career OPS+ was 128. He was 28% better at getting on base and hitting for power than average. His career high was 157, less than McGwire's career all together.

Yes, McGwire played in a higher offensive era, but you fail to realize that McGwire was still heads and shoulders above his peers.

Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rich Gossage
Mark McGwire
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell
Jim Rice

I also think that Albert Belle belongs as well. He is the Jim Rice of the 90's.

I will be surprised if Raines doesn't make it in this year...btw: Isn't Henderson on for this year?

As for who should be in and not.......My opinion of how a HOF vote should go is that you look at how the player performed only comparing them to the era in which they played not previous or later eras. In that view Sparky Lyle should be in the HOF. He dominated during the 70's as a relief pitcher and even won the Cy Young award. He was a leading closer in an era when they did not get used like they do today.

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Originally Posted by boomboom

I will be surprised if Raines doesn't make it in this year...

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I won't. He's not going to make it. He doesn't have the counting numbers, and the voters are going to downgrade him because of his admitted cocaine usage while playing. They're not going to recognize how valuable Raines really was, because he wasn't an "RBI man" and for some reason, isn't recognized as a "guy who does the small things." I don't think he's going to get in, although he's beyond qualified.

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Originally Posted by boomboom

btw: Isn't Henderson on for this year?

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Nope, next year.

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Originally Posted by RickD

As for who should be in and not.......My opinion of how a HOF vote should go is that you look at how the player performed only comparing them to the era in which they played not previous or later eras. In that view Sparky Lyle should be in the HOF. He dominated during the 70's as a relief pitcher and even won the Cy Young award. He was a leading closer in an era when they did not get used like they do today.

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I can see the case for Sparky Lyle...too bad he's already off the ballot.

A very weak group - I wouldn't vote anyone in. There are a few players on that list that could get in and I wouldn't think it was wrong - but I would rather see the HOF restricted to only the very best. And none of the players on that list fit that category for me. Lots of good players - just nobody that was a dominant player.

So, in your opinion, the Hall is incredibly overcrowded with the majority of its players not belonging to it (again, in your opinion)?

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Originally Posted by dabruinss

never. they played in different times.

rice had incredible numbers compared to his peers at that time he played.
big mac did not have numbers that blew his competition away like rice.

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i beg to differ, the numbers say otherwise...

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Originally Posted by dps

Harold Baines
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Tommy John
Jack Morris
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell

A bit of a week year, IMO. Usually there are 12-15 guys that I think should be in, so I have to leave some candidates that I think are deserving off my ballot, but this year I don't see 10 guys that deserve the honor.

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Originally Posted by robinhoodnik

Mark McGwire
Brady Anderson

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I think Armageddon is upon us. robinhoodnik is voting for Big Mac and dps isn't...
:eek:

I was pretty sure Robin was joking.

Brady Anderson?

Andre Dawson
Tim Raines