Like in tax, there are a lot of acronyms in here. If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them. Team Taxman is my fantasy baseball team. Enjoy.
Our hotel is booked and Stacie and I have hall of fame weekend in Cooperstown planned and ready to go. We are going first and foremost to honour Tom Cheek, but also to revel in the spectacle that is hall of fame weekend.
There is no better weekend possible. The only question I have is will there be anyone there with us?
For the first time since 1996, there is a real possibility (especially if you read a blog that has tabulated approximately 31% of the voters) that nobody gets inducted – and I am not counting the likes of Deacon White or whatever pre-1900 ballplayer that nobody has ever heard of voted in by the veterans committee. This ballot is absolutely loaded. There are 17 legitimate candidates that I can see arguments for and in my mind 7 sure things. If nobody makes it in, I think the BBWAA should be relieved of their responsibilities as this will be a bigger crime against baseball than any performance enhancing, reserve clause, dead ball, segregation (well maybe not that one) has had in their history. It may be time to take the vote away from an arbitrary group of people who have simply the distinction of writing and reporting on their home team at some point in their lives but not necessarily anything else in baseball or anything in the last 10 years when some of these players were active in the prime of their career. Anyway, I will get off my soapbox and present my ballot and of course the reasoning behind each selection.
Many of these players played the prime of their entire careers throughout my lifetime and obsession with baseball (and baseball pools and baseball cards). I have included in parenthesis the “rookie card” sitting in my parents basement that I own for each one.
Craig Biggio (88 score traded):
Craig has the necessary stats to be a hall of famer. 3060 hits, .280 plus batting average, 1800 runs, 400+ steals in a twenty year career all with the Astros. I remember him being excellent defensively (4 gold gloves) and he led the NL in WAR (whatever that means) in 1995. He was what I think about when I think NL second basemen in this era. As comparison, I think of him as a better all-around player than Barry Larkin. However, like Larkin, I believe he gets the first year snub and lines up nicely for induction next year. As per Baseball-reference similarity scores, of the 10 closest in similarity, Yount is the closest with 7 of the others already in the hall of fame. He is an easy choice for induction.
Jeff Bagwell (91 stadium club/upper deck)
Jeff is another Astro-lifer and another one who has amazing statistics. In his career he amassed over 1500 runs and rbi, 1 homer shy of 450 and stole 200+ bases. He also batted a career .297. The only thing preventing Bagwell from entering the hall of fame is that he fails the eye test. Wait, what? We are now excluding players who are guilty because they played in the same era of steroids? Add in an MVP, a ROY and a gold glove and you have your textbook hall of fame candidate. According to Baseball-reference his most similar player is Carlos Delgado (who will be an easy choice for me one day).
It would be kind of nice to see the two Astro teammates go in together. That would make for a good weekend story as I hang out in Cooperstown with Alan Ashby and remind him what he’s missing going back to the Astros.
Barry Bonds (87 fleer) /Roger Clemens (85 Donruss)
I am not even going to waste my typing fingers constructing an argument. These guys are first ballot, top 5 all-time players.
Mike Piazza (93 Donruss)
It would be cool to see him and Clemens go in together. We can then have Matty Getzler re-enact the bat throwing scene and get us back on television again. Here is another guy who put up stats as a catcher that we have not seen in our lifetime. Drafted as a favour to Tommy Lasorda, this guy was Mr. Everything. He also was a late draft snag in 1993 by a young Team Taxman who ran away with his fantasy title that year, but that of course is a story for another day. If I am not mistaken he is the career leader in home runs by a catcher….and it’s not close. He compares to Johnny Bench. Enough said. He is also in the G.O.A.T discussion for his position. Piazza is another no-brainer inductee but another guy who is projecting to fail the “eye test”.
Tim Raines ( I don’t have his rookie card)
He’s an expo, he’s now a Jay, he’s clearly the second greatest lead-off man of all-time. I admit I did not follow his career from the start, but followed enough to appreciate his greatness. Yes, he is one of those guys that benefits from longevity, but 1500+ runs, 800 steals and a .297 career average speaks for itself. I’ve seen his numbers compared quite favourably to Tony Gwynn. He is most similar to Lou Brock and if he truly slid head first all the time because he was protecting a vial of cocaine in his back-pocket….wow. If he is listed in the company of those great men, his plaque should surely be on the wall next to them as well.
Curt Schilling (89 Donruss)
Curt never won the Cy Young award, but won me over after Game 5 of the 1993 world series. What a dominant pitcher in an era of great pitching. Notwithstanding, the 3116 strikeouts are an automatic ticket in my books. I believe he is also one of three pitchers who has registered for than 300 strikeouts three times. Curt easily has the credentials for the hall of fame.
Mark McGwire (85 Topps Traded – US Olympic team)
I am not wavering. He has and always will be a hall of famer to me. Forget the argument on how he desecrated the game, how about how he brought the fans back to the game with that magical 1998 season. Doesn’t making baseball viable again deserve some hall of fame consideration? He also single-handedly got me through my studies that summer as team Taxman watched in delight what he did to a baseball (and a return to the Triumph podium). Someone will probably argue to me that he was one-dimensional and may have the lowest batting average of anyone in the Hall. Maybe. But, that one-dimension was pretty nuts. Forget the stats, when he came to the plate, I assumed the ball was leaving the yard. Before Mark, there was nobody I can say that about. And, let’s not forget the incredible scrutiny and pressure that he excelled under to accomplish those magical feats. Steroids or no steroids, the mental capacity needed to challenge the Babe and Roger must have been incredible.
Larry Walker (90 Upper deck)
I never really thought of him as a hall of famer until I started reading and digging into the stats. Maybe that should have been enough for me to pause. I loved him as an Expo, and loved him even more as a Rockie. How can I look at Walker’s stats favourably and ignore Sosa’s and Palmeiro’s…hmmm….great question. But, I will. Walker has the all-around package and did more than those two. He hit enough home runs, had a career .312 batting average, enough runs, rbi and steals. Let’s throw in 7 gold gloves, three batting titles and an awesome arm. He was your proto-typical five-tool player. I know many will argue that his stats were skewed for playing in Colorado, but my question is whether that should really be a thing? Maybe the Rockies just built their teams with great hitters those years. How come that argument has pretty much gone away for recent Rockie hitters? Yes, his home stats are slanted, but so were Ryne Sandberg’s, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice and they are all enshrined.
If you don’t think of him as a hall of famer, think harder. Plus, I am not going to be able to ignore the heritage. Go Canada.
Fred McGriff (87 Donruss)
The final spot on my ballot goes to the crime dog who makes a return to my ballot after a 1 year absence (not sure why that is). I guess 500 isn’t the magical number it once was (I’ve left a 600 guy off my list and a 569), but those 493 homers are pretty darn impressive especially considering he led the league twice with totals in the 30s. Plus, he doesn’t fail the eye test! Come on voters, what’s the problem with this one? His numbers compare favourably to a couple Willie’s (McCovey and Stargell, both of which are in the Hall). His numbers are arguably even better than Eddie Murray’s (yes I read the Posnanski article). I admit this is a bit of a sentimental vote, but I am allowed 1 and it’s not as crazy as the voter who only votes only for Yankees. So, if Mike Stanton gets a vote, you’ll know who it was.
Off the list
I have run out of slots, but notably off the list are Palmeiro, Sosa, Trammell and Jack Morris. I simply ran out of room for Sosa, never really liked Palmeiro (I admit to playing the double standard), I don’t understand all the arguments I read about the third and the fourth has lost his chance and I’ve changed my mind. I mean, how can I vote for Jack within two weeks of re-watching the 1992 World Series. I also am going to start buying into the fact that winningest pitcher of the 80s is a “crap” stat. Ron Guidry had the most wins from 77-86 and Frank Viola from 84-93 and they certainly aren’t hall worthy. So as they say, the 80s is just an arbitrary 10 year period. This is Jack’s second last year on the ballot and given the names coming up I don’t like his chances of Blylevening.
The ballot is going to get awfully crowded with much better pitching next year (Maddux, Glavine and Mussina) and not to mention guys like Jeff Kent and Frank Thomas will join the fun. Just wait till 2015 when we have Pedro and Randy!
This is going to be a mess….