2020 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Here's who I'd vote for (in order of my level of support):

- Derek Jeter - no brainer

- Curt Schilling - I've made the case for Curt Schilling and the Hall of Fame in the past. Suffice it to say that Schilling is 15th all-time in strikeouts and every player ahead of him (except Roger Clemens) on that list is in the Hall. Schilling is being punished for his politics.

- Omar Vizquel - 11-time Gold Glove winner. He was basically the equal of Ozzie Smith (but without the back-flips).

- Larry Walker - Former MVP and 7-time Gold Glove winner. He suffers from people biased against Coors Field but he was as good a hitter as Edgar Martinez and as good a fielder as Dwight Evans. He's a Hall of Famer.

- Todd Helton - his career batting numbers are comparable to George Brett. He's easily one of the Top 10 First Basemen of all-time and perhaps the Rockies greatest player ever.

- Jeff Kent - Former MVP and all-time leader among second basemen in HR. Wasn't exactly likable which I think has hurt his Hall chances.

My feeling is that the steroids guys traded their eligibility for the Hall of Fame for the bigger paychecks they received for their cheating ways. They cashed those checks and did those steroids - so tough luck that's the bargain they made.

2019 Hall of Fame Ballot

Picking 10 names from that list is difficult. I'd break my choices into two categories; "No Doubt" and "Had to Think About It but Yes."

Here's my picks:

No Doubts:

Mariano Rivera, Fred McGriff (long been a supporter of the Crime Dog), Curt Schilling, and Larry Walker (people forget how crazy good he was)

Had to Think About It But Yes:

Roy Halladay (sentiment will make his selection easier but is his case actually better than Curt Schilling's?), Mike Mussina (but only after Schilling gets in - Schilling was the better pitcher who is now being punished for being a crazy uncle), Omar Vizquel (guy had 11 Gold Gloves and was every bit the fielder as Ozzie Smith).

That's only 7 choices but that's all I'd feel comfortable with.

As far as steroids guys like Bonds and Clemens - my view is these guys did steroids to get paid which they did handsomely. They knowingly sacrificed their chances to make the Hall for the opportunity to make millions with big contracts. That's the choice they made and they got paid. And now that's all they should get.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Really happy about Bruins going to the Stanley Cup but I am a little bit worried that the rest of the sports world will start to hate Boston for our embarrassment of riches this past decade.... The Red Sox brought up outfielder Josh Reddick which makes me wonder if Reddick on display for trade potential? Maybe Mike Cameron is on the block? It would not be unlike the Red Sox to trade a veteran to a place where he could get more playing time... Hah hah - this has to be a metaphor of sorts regarding the state of Unions in the USA. The manufacturer of the union's "Scabby the Rat" balloon is non-union... Omar Vizquel is just 181 hits from 3,000 for his career. I really hope he gets there. Guy is a Hall of Famer... Josh Reddick is wearing number 16 for the Red Sox. That brings to mind another outfielder for the Sox who wore 16 - Rick Miller. It reminds me that Angels owner Gene Autry once told his GM to get him "that outfielder from the Red Sox." The GM thought he meant Rick Miller who was a free agent but Autry actually meant Dwight Evans... Take a few minutes to listen to a really thought provoking talk... Is this the definition of awful? Adam Dunn is ZERO for 33 vs LHP this season with 15 strikeouts... Just a reminder - Bob Dylan's 1st album sold just 5,000 copies. So not only is he a paragon of success - so he's also an inspiration for struggling artists... Deal of the century? According to this article - David Einhorn will get 33% of the Mets for $200 million but he also gets the option to up his stake to 60% for majority ownership of the team. To buy-out that option the Mets would have to give Einhorn back his $200 million but let him keep his 33% ownership stake. Wow - just wow!... Some of these are more than genius. I would seriously think about buying that convertible couch... What would I do for a Klondike Bar? I guess go to a store and pay a buck and a half. That's what I'd do for a Klondike Bar.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The over has gone 11-1-2 in the first 14 MLB games of the season. Each year I tell myself that I'm going to take the underdogs in each game of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament and the over in each game on Opening Day. Each year I fail to do so and leave money on the table... This would have been better than the real movie... The Braves Jason Heyward's nickname should be Hot Damn! Combines Hotlanta and what you say every time he's at bat. Jay Hey Kid just doesn't do it for me... So Marc Bulger's wife gives birth to a baby girl on Sunday and he wakes up feeling good on Monday because it's his birthday and then BAM! he gets cut by the Rams. Couldn't the Rams have waited a day so as to not cut a guy on his birthday?... Marlin is still the plural of Marlin (i.e "I caught several marlin") - right? Then why do people call them the Marlins?... Omar Vizquel needs one hit to reach 2,673 and tie Luis Aparicio for 2nd most hits by a shortstop in history (Jeter is 1st with 2,731 and counting). You would think that Cal Ripken would be in the top 3 but he spent his last few seasons as a 3rd baseman... Silver lining for Cleveland fans; even though Mark Buehrle dominated your team yesterday the Indians are still the only AL team Buehrle has a losing career record against (12-14)... People who make me immediately change the channel; Rick Reilly, Dan Shaughnessy and Colin Cowherd... When the Patriots traded Matt Cassell people were upset they didn't net a higher draft pick but New England got the 34th pick of the draft while the Eagles just got the 37th in exchange for Donovan McNabb. Not sure if this says something about the Patriots or about Donovan McNabb or both... The most interesting man in the world circa 1900...

Omar Vizquel

I feel bad for Omar Vizquel. With the Giants signing Edgar Renteria it could be all over for Omar Vizquel. Here's something I wrote about the possible Hall of Fame Class of 2014:

Finally you have the case of Omar Vizquel who deserves induction as one of the greatest defensive shortstops in history (11 Gold Gloves). It can be argued that Vizquel was the better all-around player than Ozzie Smith but my guess is if he tries to go in with all these other greats then unfortunately he gets greatly overshadowed.

I think that still holds. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and maybe Jeff Kent and Pedro Martinez will overshadow Vizquel and he won't get his due. It's sad but true.

Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are also the reason Mike Mussina won't get voted in. The true reason Mussina should get passed over is because he doesn't belong but it will be the overshadowing of Maddux and Glavine (and maybe Pedro Martinez if Pedro doesn't play another season) that will cause Mussina to be overlooked in reality.

HOF Class of 2014

Tom Glavine just had surgery and could be ready in time for spring training. It is assumed to be better than 50/50 that he'll retire instead. If he does - then it got me thinking how chocked full the first year eligible players for the Hall of Fame Class of 2014 could be (a player is eligible 5-years after retirement).

Just from the Braves you could have both Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Both players should be locks. Of course both players could try for a last hurrah and try to come back for 2009.

From the Red Sox you will have Curt Schilling - a player whose less than a lock case will probably be hurt by the number of sure-fire HOF players in 2014.

Frank Thomas - I can only hope doesn't try and hang on for one more year. If he quits after this season then he's a lock for the Class of 2014.

Ken Griffey Jr. is another player who should retire and if he does is another lock for the Class of 2014.

Pedro Martinez? Absolute lock in my book if he decides to call it a career. My guy says that Pedro tries for one more contract but I could be wrong (and often am).

Will Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux both be back for another year? Both have been effective enough to pitch for almost any team's rotation and both are sure fire first ballot Hall of Famers. My guess is they both come back (Johnson is closing in on 300 wins and Maddux still seems to have lots left in the tank).

It will be interesting to see what happens with the candidacy of Ivan Rodriguez. On paper Pudge should be a lock but stories of steroids have dogged him through the years. My guess is if he gets in but the glut of players eligible for the first time in 2014 may force him to wait a year.

Trevor Hoffman is in the last year of his contract and at 41 years old he may be done. If he is then you would think that the all-time leader in saves (550 and counting) would be a lock for the Hall of Fame. The question will be whether he's a first ballot lock (there's a number of voters out there who are biased against closers).

Another interesting case will be Jeff Kent. Objectively - he's perhaps one of the top 3 offensive 2nd basemen in history but he's been such a prick that my guess is that he's made to wait. Especially in a year with so many great first year eligible players. My guess is that Kent is smart enough to realize this and thus comes back next year with some team desperate enough to take him in.

What about Gary Sheffield? He still has a year to go on his contract but he may be cooked. He quit on the Brewers and now on the Tigers. What team would want this guy? I hope he never makes it to 500 HR.

Finally you have the case of Omar Vizquel who deserves induction as one of the greatest defensive shortstops in history (11 Gold Gloves). It can be argued that Vizquel was the better all-around player than Ozzie Smith but my guess is if he tries to go in with all these other greats then unfortunately he gets greatly overshadowed.

The voting for the Class of 2014 is shaping up to be very interesting. You could have as many as 7 locks going into the voting and lots of interesting cases who in any other year may be at the head of the ballot. Like I said - it will be interesting to watch.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

If Jason Schmidt is healthy enough to retake his position in the starting rotation then the Dodgers will actually have one starter too many. I would assume that Esteban Loaiza would be the odd man out and I wouldn't be surprised if he was trade bait. More likely the Dodgers will keep Loaiza as insurance against injury (which would be the prudent move)... Omar Vizquel is going on 41-years old and his contract with the Giants runs through this year and next. I'll be interested to see what happens after 2009 and I wouldn't be surprised if Vizquel was brought back for one more season in 2010. Vizquel is just 402 hits away from 3,000 for his career which means he'll probably be about 100 away going into the 2010 season. You would think that with 11 Gold Gloves (and counting) that also having 3,000 hits should get Vizquel a first ballot entrance into the Hall of Fame... It will be interesting to see what happens with Andy Marte with the Indians. He was supposed to be the starting 3rd baseman by now but the Indians went out and signed Casey Blake to be the 2008 starter. The Indians also used their top draft pick this year on a 3rd baseman - Beau Mills. I'd guess that at this point in time that Coco Crisp would bring a bigger return in a trade than Andy Marte... The real logjam for the Dodgers is in the outfield. Andruw Jones will definitely start in center and Matt Kemp has to play. The third slot should place Juan Pierre in left. That leaves Andre Ethier out in the cold. Let me just say that I'm not a big fan of Juan Pierre and if I were a Dodger fan I'd rather see Ethier get the playing time. Of course for many Dodger fans the veteran player they would like see traded is Nomar Garciappara whose power numbers fell off a cliff last season (just 7 HR and a measly .371 slugging percentage). Dodger fans feel that Nomar is blocking the path for Andy LaRoche. Although with Joe Torre as manager I'd look for him to stick with Nomar and I'd also expect a little uptick in Nomar's numbers this season - say maybe 15 HR... If I were an Indians fan I would be concerned about the starting rotation. On paper they look fine but both CC Sabathia and Paul Byrd will be pitching for new contracts this year and sometimes that pressure gets to a pitcher (see Derek Lowe in 2004). Also Fausto Carmona may have been overused last season and often young players have a difficult time the year after they have been overused. Not saying there will be a problem with any of these three starters but I am saying there are reasons for concern... If I were to predict anything about the 2008 Indians it would be that I would not be surprised if the Indians made a trade deadline deal for a corner outfielder this year.