A look at the 2015 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot (Part 1)

I must be getting old. When I first saw the list of potential Hall of Famers for 2015, I immediately picked out 10 players that would have been on my ballot. After doing some research on their playing days, looking at numbers and comparing them against people in the Hall of Fame and each other, only 6 of those 10 stayed on what would be my ballot. My memory elevated some of those players above where they should have been. Here's looking at you, Aaron *&@#in Boone!

You will see that I did not disqualify those players that have been linked to performance enhancing drugs. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are #1 and #2 on my list respectively.  At the end of the Part 1 post, you will see my Top 10 list that has the players that I have talked about listed on what would be my Hall of Fame ballot. There are 4 people on there after Part 1. In the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th slot. The remaining 6 slots will be filled during the 2nd and 3rd part of this series. 



The candidates:

Rich Aurilia (1st Year) - .275 BA, 186 HR, 756 RBI, 1 All-Star Game, 1 Silver Slugger. Even though he hit 20 HR seasons three years in a row, just cannot put Rich into the HOF.

Jeff Bagwell (5th Year) - 4 Time All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger at 1st Base, 1991 ROY, 1994 Unanimous NL MVP, 1994 Major League Player of the Year, Finished in Top 10 of MVP voting 5 other times, 1994 Gold Glove, scored 100 or more runs in 8 out of 9 seasons (1996-2004), 100+ RBI in 7 of those 9 seasons. Career Rankings: 28th all-time in walks, 32nd in Slugging Percentage, 38th in Home Runs, 39th in On Base Percentage, 49th in RBI, 63rd in runs scored, and 70th in total bases. Was .300 hitter in 6 seasons.
Stats For Bagwell, Frank Thomas, and Willie Stargell
Bagwell  WAR 79.6, Runs 1517, Hits 2314, 2B 488, 3B 32, HR 449, RBI 1529, BA .297, SLG .540
Thomas   WAR 73.7, Runs 1494, Hits 2468, 2B 495, 3B 12, HR 521, RBI 1704, BA .301, SLG .555
Stargell   WAR 57.5, Runs 1194, Hits 2232, 2B 423, 3B 55, HR 475, RBI 1540, BA .272, SLG .540

If Frank Thomas is a Hall of Fame caliber player, then Bagwell is as well. All the innuendo and rumors about PEDs should not taint this player. There is no proof for the rumors and if it isn't out there now, it will not be in the future. YES! Put Bagwell into the HOF.

Craig Biggio (3rd Year) - 7 Time All-Star (catcher and 2nd Base) , 5x Silver Slugger (catcher and 2nd Base), 4x Gold Glove Winner, Top 10 in MVP voting 3 times, 2x NL Runs Scored leader, 3x Doubles, 1x Stolen Bases, 5x HBP, Scored 100+ runs in 8 seasons, Career Rankings: 5th all time in doubles, 13th in AB, 15th in Runs Scored, 16th in GP, 21st in hits. Only MLB player in history to have 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 stolen bases, and 250 home runs.
Stats for Biggio, Robin Yount, and Roberto Alomar
Biggio  WAR 65.1, Runs 1844, Hits 3060, 2B 668, 3B 55, HR 291, RBI 1175, BB 1160, BA .281
Yount   WAR 77.0, Runs 1632, Hits 3142, 2B 583, 3B 126, HR 251, RBI 1406, BB 966, BA .285
Alomar WAR 66.8, Runs 1508, Hits 2724, 2B 504, 3B 80, HR 210, RBI 1134, BB 1032, BA .300

Biggio makes the Hall of Fame in my mind. He was the consummate team player. Going from catcher to second base and then to the outfield for the team is impressive. And if you are going to discount power numbers because he played in Minute Maid park, then put them back in because half of his career, he played home games at the Astrodome. YES! Put Biggio in the HOF and have 2/3 of the Killer Bs be the first 2 Astros in the Hall.

Barry Bonds (3rd Year) - Everybody who has seen him play has said that he is a Hall of Famer. The problem? Confirmed PED usage. I won't insult you by going over the numbers. Bonds should be in, period.

Aaron F*$#in Boone (1st Year) - 1x All-Star, 2x 20 Home Run Seasons, 2x 20 stolen base seasons. Even though Red Sox Nation curse the man each and every time they say his name, they won't have to when discussing Hall of Fame baseball players because he does not belong.

Tony Clark (1st Year) - 4x 30 HR seasons, 2x 100 RBI seasons, 1x 100 runs scored season. 1x All-Star. 251 career home runs. Only 209 players have hit 250 or more home runs in MLB history. Even though he is one of those 209 men, he just doesn't cut it as a Hall of Famer.

Roger Clemens (3rd Year) - Just like Barry Bonds, Clemens has a Hall of Fame resume but has been tarnished by PED issues. Put him in, period.

Carlos Delgado (1st Year) - 2x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, Top 10 in MVP voting 4 times, 100 RBIs in a season 9 times, 20+ HR in 13 seasons, 3 seasons had 40+ HR, 1 of 6 players to hit 30+ HR in 10 straight seasons, scored 100 runs in 5 straight years. Career rankings: 28th in Slugging Percentage, 31st in Home Runs, 41st in Extra Base Hits.

Stats of Delgado, Willie Stargell, and Willie McCovey
Delgado  WAR 44.3, Runs 1241, Hits 2038, 2B 483, 3B 18, HR 473, RBI 1512, BA .280, SLG .546
Stargell   WAR 57.5, Runs 1194, Hits 2232, 2B 423, 3B 55, HR 475, RBI 1540, BA .272, SLG .540
McCovey WAR 64.4, Runs 1229, Hits 2211, 2B 353, 3B 46, HR 521, RBI 1555, BA .270, SLG .515

Carlos comes close to beating Stargell and McCovey on most of the stats. That should get Delgado into the Hall if we are going to compare them to each other. However, this is a year that Delgado gets no love from me. If I have 10 players that I can vote for, Delgado is 15th or 16th. So he is a no this year, but could get in the next couple of years when the ballot backlog should be lessened.

Jermaine Dye (1st Year) - 2x All-Star, Gold Glove Winner, Hit 20 HR in a season 10 times. 100 RBI in 4 seasons, 2x scored 100 runs in a season. The MVP of the 2005 World Series does not make the cut.

Darin Erstad (1st Year) - 2x All-Star, 3X Gold Glove (1st player to win Gold Gloves at 2 different positions) 20+ SB in 5 seasons. The Jamestown ND area loves their home grown son, but he is not Hall of Fame worthy.

My Hall of Fame Ballot
1. Barry Bonds
2. Roger Clemens
3.
4.
5. Craig Biggio
6. Jeff Bagwell

7.
8.
9.
10.