I find it very funny that I now have an actual following of this silly, once-a-year blog. For those of you who know me, or sort of know me, you know that I love baseball. I love the numbers. I love the history. I love the pageantry, even when it’s cheesy. I love the experience of live baseball and the weird sense of community. I get lost in all the clichés and I find nothing more relaxing sitting at the stadium, scoring a ballgame… well, it’s not always relaxing. I seem to recall a certain seventh inning of a certain game 5 – at the same time the best and worst baseball experience of my life! (Editor’s note: Whaaaaaaa? “Relaxing”? I have never seen you relaxed at a ball game. Never. Game 5 or no game 5. I think you do not know what this word means.)

But, no matter how much the game – more specifically, my team – frustrates me, I will always come back. The Hall of Fame is no different. There are so many things I despise about the Hall of Fame. I hate the process, the politics and the hypocrisy. I hate that writers, whose job might be to report history and not make history, are given the incredibly difficult task of determining which players are Cooperstown-worthy and which are not. If it wasn’t a hard enough job already, they get further restrained by player limits and morality clauses they are forced to interpret. It’s ridiculous that anyone should have to police morality in this way.

But then, there are many things that I love about it. Cooperstown is a wonderful town (Editor’s note: Straight out of a postcard!) and one that I need to get to every few years. Hall of Fame weekend is something I cherish. (Except for last year, when despite my telling the proprietor of our usual inn THREE times over the winter that we weren’t coming for Hall of Fame weekend, they called me at like 10 p.m. on the Thursday night saying they had a room reserved for us and wondering what time we would arrive. Oops!)

This is at least my ninth official-unofficial Hall of Fame ballot. (I’m sure there were even more that have been lost and forgotten.) After 10 years in the BBWAA you get an official Hall of Fame vote. It’s too bad that my years of service are meaningless! Regardless, I present to you my choices for the class of 2016.

Ken Griffey Jr:

If there ever was an obvious choice, this is it. Griffey was the premiere hitter of my late childhood. Debuting as a teenager and at the exact time I started collecting baseball cards, Griffey was the epitome of everything good about baseball. He played defense, and hit for power, average and speed. He had the purest, easiest looking swing I can remember. It was impossible not to be a fan. Impossible. I don’t know one person who disliked watching him play, or wasn’t a fan. Griffey has all the pre-requisite stats, ranks amongst the all-time leaders in home runs and was about as good a defensive center fielder that I can remember. The only question about Griffey’s nomination is whether he will break the all-time vote percentage held by Tom Seaver. There are zero reasons to leave him off your ballot. You don’t leave him off because you want to game the system for the maximum 10 votes, you don’t leave him off because of a silly personal rule that you never vote for first-timers. There was also zero suspicion of steroid use with him, for whatever that is worth.

Tim Raines:

“The Rock” is showing a steady increase in his vote totals. That makes me happy. It doesn’t make much sense to me that he isn’t enshrined in Cooperstown already. With 156 of the ballots known at the time of this writing, Raines is hovering at 78% of the vote. It’s too close and the historical trend with him has been that he has lost votes on the “non-public” ballots. Tough to say what happens with Raines. His public ballot total has risen from the 60% he had last year. But, he only had 47% on the non-public. He is going to need a significant push from a group of historical voters who many have not voted for him before. While many of those voters may have been pushed out with new rules limiting votes to actual writers who still cover baseball (imagine that?), I fear that Mr. Raines will fall short and enter his 10^th and final year of eligibility next year. It’s unbelievable that possibly the second best lead-off hitter of all-time lingers on the ballot for nine years. We have a guy whose stats compare favourably to Tony Gwynn and Rickey Henderson. Who, if instead of walking 1,000 times, got out 600 of those times and got hits in the other 400, would be a career .300 hitter with 3,000 hits (I didn’t cross-check the stats, but repeated what I read) and would be an automatic first-balloter. Now, I don’t know which stat is more difficult to achieve (the 400 hits/600 outs or 1,000 walks), but it sounds impressive. And, for those of you who read my column last year know that I promised to read Jonah Keri’s Expos book. Well, I didn’t and hopefully that doesn’t cost Raines. (Superstition prevails!)

 Roger Clemens/Barry Bonds:

The only thing stupider about these two “statistically” Hall-of-Fame caliber players than the fact that they aren’t in the Hall of Fame are the articles about them this year. I read a headline entitled “Why I finally voted for Bonds and Clemens.” This must be written by one of the most self-absorbed, narcissistic writers out there. I couldn’t even bring myself to read it. And, he wasn’t alone. There were many articles in this vein. Fortunately, because of this, Barry and Roger are trending upwards (up to 50% from 40% of public ballots) in voting. Maybe one day the writers will trend them all the way to 75%. Doubtful. What amazes me is that keeping these two guys on the ballot year after year after year actually extends the steroid debate and keep these arguments in the forefront. Maybe that’s the plan! Keep themselves relevant. There is nothing that can be written about these two players anymore. They are in the argument of G.O.A.T for their positions. They were Hall of Famers before they allegedly started using the same drug many other players were on – which FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY (WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH ONLY BASEBALL) WASN’T FRICKIN’ AGAINST THE RULES at the time. (Editor’s note: The emphasis and ranting are mine.) It is amazing that whenever a writer pulls the character clause as defense for his or her omission of Barry from the ballot, it is always about the steroids. Nothing about his spousal abuse charges. Can we please finally omit the character clause from consideration? Please? The clause was put in by Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis. It reads (and I paraphrase) that votes for induction to the Hall must be based not only on a player’s record and ability but also on integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.  As legend has it, the “character clause” was put in to allow the election of a war hero – but not much of a ballplayer – named Eddie Grant while excluding Shoeless Joe. Now, it serves as fodder that voters and the Hall use to smugly bar certain members of the baseball community – almost on a whim. It is ironic that the character clause was put in by a man who prolonged segregation in baseball. And this is the standard we are held to today!

Well, the good news is that I still have six years left to slam the process as we keep this rule alive and well. The better news is that when/if Barry and Roger fall off the ballot, it will probably be just in time for A-Rod to arrive. We can then continue this moronic debate well into the 2030s. Congratulations Hall of Fame for trying to rid yourself of the “stain” of steroids by keeping it in the forefront for at least another 16 years.

Mike Piazza:

It looks like this finally might be his year. Piazza is trending second with 86.5% of the public ballots, well above the 75% plateau required. While anything can still happen with the remaining ballots, it appears this should be really close and I am hoping enough people have either had their ballots taken away, or the steroid suspicion vote for Piazza has vanished. The greatest hitting catcher of all time deserves to get in. Five years is too long to wait because of suspected dermatology issues (steroids cause acne, you know). (Editor’s note: Does anyone else besides me want to see Piazza and Clemens be inducted in the same year, and have to smile and make nice and pretend to like each other all weekend?)

Jeff Bagwell:

It’s time people. It’s time. Are we really going to make Bagwell wait yet another year? This is his sixth year on the ballot and he is finally gaining the momentum he deserved four or five years ago. He is amongst the leaders in net +/- of returning voters. This means that his name is appearing on more ballots that he hasn’t appeared on in the past. This is a good thing! A jump from 55% last year to the 75% mark seems implausible, but let’s hope he can do it. Presently, he is just shy of the 80% mark, trending in the Tim Raines territory. Again, my fear is that Bagwell will fall just short. His career stats are there (450 homers, 1,500 RBI, 200 steals and a .297 average). His longevity with one team is there, his requisite hardware is there (Gold Gloves, All-Star appearances and Rookie of the Year). His acknowledgment as a Hall of Famer is not. He IS a Hall of Famer. Let’s do this!

Mike Mussina:

Like a Band-Aid, we need to start putting guys into the Hall in greater numbers. (Editor’s note: I’m really not sure what he’s attempting with that simile, so I’m not even gonna touch it.) Historically, I never used up my 10-name allowance, but now it’s almost impossible not to. Having said that, we are doing better clearing the logjam and I think one of those beneficiaries is Mike Mussina. As a Jays fan and long-time rival in the American League East, I am too well aware there wasn’t a more consistent, great pitcher in baseball. He also spent many of those years facing ridiculously stacked Yankee and Red Sox teams, not to mention some great hitting (but poor pitching) Jays squads in the late ‘90s. Mussina has the stats and I believe it is becoming more and more of a trend to pay attention to those who spend their careers pitching in the American League versus those pitchers who pad their statistics pitching in the National League. This is why comparisons are so difficult. John Smoltz waltzed into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot last year. I watched both Mussina and Smoltz pitch in their primes. I had them both on my fantasy teams. There is no difference between the two in my opinion. Mussina even has the stats to back himself up. He is just short of 3,000 strikeouts and has his 250 wins. It appears that more people are reading my column and agreeing. Mussina has the highest net +/- of anyone on the ballot this year and is hovering around the 50% mark. So, he is on his steady Blylevian climb towards immortality. This was his third year on the ballot and I expect it will take at least four or five more, but hope to see him make it one day. (Editor’s note: “Blylevian,” love it!)

Larry Walker:

I know, I know. There aren’t many of us who agree with this selection. I am at least consistent and you can’t fault me for that. Larry has been officially eliminated from election at this point in time, but it won’t stop me from giving him my vote. Every year, I keep looking at his stats, reading more articles, remembering his defense and his arm from right field and I keep coming to the same conclusion – this is a Hall of Famer. Walker will likely never make it in, but I will keep him on my ballot for at least the next four years and then I will shut up about him. Then you will only hear from me every three years when his turn comes up on the Veterans’ committee! I know Larry is being penalized for playing most of his career in hitter-friendly Colorado, the crazy numbers of the steroid era and his lack of durability. Still. When will it be time to downplay the “Coors effect”? Can it just be a fact that they had a lot of great hitters in the mid to late ‘90s and that’s why the ballpark yielded such great statistics? How many batting and home run champs have there been from there recently? Larry compares statistically to many outfielders already in the Hall, so he will continue to get my vote.

Curt Schilling:

Even though he’s a Republican, I’m still voting for him. Curt Schilling might be certifiably insane. He actually believes voters didn’t tick his name because he is an outspoken Republican (yet another election I am not allowed to vote in). He is also someone that seems like he is not the brightest crayon in the box. Not the smartest of moves when you are on a National TV broadcast to Tweet pictures comparing Muslims to Nazis. That didn’t go over very well. (On the bright side, we are now blessed with the talented Jessica Mendoza in the booth for Sunday Night Baseball. (Editor’s note: Woot!) Combining her with Dan Shulman and John Kruk has been pure gold.) But, I am willing to put aside the character clause and include him on my ballot. While I shouldn’t condemn John Smoltz, he has become my litmus test for pitchers in this era. As I’ve said previously, there is no difference to me between Smoltz, Schilling and Mussina. He has over 3,000 Ks, which is pretty impressive and had some monster playoff runs/statistics. He ranks in the top 100 all-time in wins, WAR, ERA+, WHIP, K/9, strikeouts, innings, and K/BB ratio. The only thing missing from his resume is a strong win total. His 216 is admittedly weak. But notwithstanding his political views, tough luck (19 cheap wins and 41 tough losses), he still narrowly makes it onto my ballot.

Mark McGwire:

I debated going with only nine players on my ballot this year. I debated using this last spot on Fred McGriff. In the end, I have decided to return Mark McGwire to my ballot after a three-year absence. As I said back in 2012 and is evident above, the steroids issue does not sway. Sure, it bothers me in that it’s not the right thing to do, but given that we will never know who did and didn’t use, I believe we have to just eliminate it from the equation. What I can’t eliminate was that 1998 season. I was studying for my UFEs all summer and owned McGwire on my fantasy team. What a treat it was to watch him play. What an amazing summer he had with Sammy Sosa chasing down mythical records held by the Babe and Marris. That summer baseball came back for so many people. A great deal of what baseball is today is owed to that summer. Yes, I realize he was about as one-dimensional a player that you can get. And yes that he was injured…a lot. But, he still is to me one of the purest, greatest home run hitters of all time. Statistically, he holds the record for fewest at bats, per home runs. Ever. Even with his injuries, he hit 583 homers, good for 10^th all-time (until Pujols catches him next year)! He led the league in homers five times, topped 50 four times, with one season at 65 and another at 70. That’s the definition of domination. This will be Mark’s final year on the official Hall of Fame ballot and I thank him for the years of enjoyment watching him hit baseballs.