2012 Hall of Fame class - who would YOU vote for?

[supertyphoon]

The 2012 HOF ballot is out, and it's a pretty weak class of first-year candidates, which opens the door for others who've been passed over before. And maybe a last chance before the tsunami hits next year.


2012 Hall of Fame Ballot

Jeff Bagwell, 1B
Jeromy Burnitz, OF *
Vinny Castilla, 3B *
Juan Gonzalez, OF
Brian Jordan, OF *
Barry Larkin, SS
Javy Lopez, C *
Edgar Martinez, 3B/DH
Don Mattingly, 1B
Fred McGriff, 1B
Mark McGwire, 1B
Jack Morris, RHP
Bill Mueller, 3B *
Terry Mulholland, LHP*
Dale Murphy, OF
Phil Nevin, 3B/1B *
Rafael Palmeiro, 1B
Brad Radke, RHP *
Tim Raines, OF
Tim Salmon, OF *
Ruben Sierra, OF *
Lee Smith, RHP
Alan Trammell, SS
Larry Walker, OF
Bernie Williams, OF *
Tony Womack, 2B/SS *
Eric Young, 2B *
* -- first year on ballot.

Remember, you can have up to 10 names on your list, voting for none as a symbolic protest of the Steroid Era will be ignored, as will a write-in vote for Pete Rose. 75% needed for selection, who do you like?

[sdajr76]

bagwell, larkin, e.martinez, mcgriff, raines, l.smith and trammell.

-steven

[Casey89]

Jeff Bagwell, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Dale Murphy, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker.

Weak ballot for pitchers, only four to choose from?

I think it's a dirty rotten shame Lou Whitaker isn't on the list of carry-overs.

[djmacb]

[quote:61e91c9b77="royalKC"]Jeff Bagwell, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Dale Murphy, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker.

Weak ballot for pitchers, only four to choose from?

I think it's a dirty rotten shame Lou Whitaker isn't on the list of carry-overs.[/quote:61e91c9b77]
Absolutely. If he and Trammell had played in New York, not only would they be in the Hall of Fame, but they would have a poem written about them.

[doug_tucker10]

It would be rather shaky prose...Trammell to Whitaker to Evans?


Sleek with the glove and fast with the feet
Trammell to Whitaker to Evans
Flawless fielding with slugging hard to beat
Trammell to Whitaker to Evans

Poetry lacking to devise clever rhyme
3 former Tigers who had a good time
Their play on the ballfield was ever sublime
Trammell to Whitaker to Evans.

weak but a start :D

[JOSEPHKENDALL]

Larkin
Bagwell
Raines
Lee Smith
Trammell

[JohnnyBlazers]

Raines
Larkin
Morris
B. Williams

[djskcsams]

Jeff Bagwell, 1B
Juan Gonzalez, OF
Barry Larkin, SS
Tim Raines, OF
Larry Walker, OF
Bernie Williams, OF *
*

[Mean Dean]

[quote:2cde942e52="jamesgang77"]Trammell to Whitaker to Evans[/quote:2cde942e52]Evans is not a bad candidate himself. In the [i:2cde942e52]New Historical Abstract[/i:2cde942e52], Bill James has him as the 10th best all-time 3B¹.

[quote:2cde942e52]Darrell Evans is, in my opinion, the most underrated player in baseball history, absolutely number one on the list...Among the 100 third basemen listed here, Evans is eighth in runs scored, sixth in RBI, and he was a very good defensive third baseman.[/quote:2cde942e52]
WAR doesn't love Evans quite as much, but it puts him 14th among the guys who played the majority of their games at 3B.

I'm not sure I'd vote for Evans myself, because his [i:2cde942e52]teams[/i:2cde942e52] sure didn't seem to think he was a very good defensive third baseman, and he probably does need that credit. But he certainly is at least "high borderline", which didn't stop him from getting a big eight out of 460 votes and falling off the ballot on the first try -- another fine job by the carefully selected baseball historical society known as the BBWAA.

(I wonder with which 1B Whitaker/Trammell played most often. It might, frighteningly, be Dave Bergman.)

¹ James' list: Schmidt, Brett, Mathews, Boggs, Baker, Santo, Brooks, Molitor, Stan Hack, Evans. (Note that this was early in Chipper and Rolen's careers.) WAR has Chipper 5th, Rolen 8th, and 10-13 are guys who played in Evans' general time frame: Nettles, B. Bell, S. Bando, K. Boyer. Evans is at least above Hack, for whatever that's worth. Molitor doesn't appear on the list at all if the criteria is 50% of games at 3B. James probably has him there because there weren't enough guys for an entire DH category, but really, it is a little misleading to compare Molitor to guys with 2000+ games played at 3B. You might be surprised to hear, though, that Molitor only has 3.3 more WAR over his career than Evans.

[The Last Druid]

Bagwell, Larkin, Walker, McGwire.

McGwire would have put up sufficient numbers without the performance enhancers. Palmeiro is just the opposite. No roids, mabye under 400 Hr's lifetime = no credentials.

Trammell should get in eventually. Maybe Raines and Smith too. Just not this year. I think Martinez is more marginal, like Murphy. Wouldn't let the rest of them in ever. Morris is a joke. 3.90 lifetime era with a 1.05 era+. Bernie Williams??? Might as well elect Bill Mueller. :roll: And Mulholland??? He doesn't even deserve to be able to buy a ticket to watch the induction ceremonies.