SoxProspects Forum Hall of Fame Voting

HOF Candidate Spotlight

LaTroy Hawkins P | 1995 - 2015 | MIN, CHC, SFG, BAL, COL, HOU, NYY, MIL, LAA, NYM, TOR
LaTroy Hawkins
WAR: 17.8
Better than 0.4% of HOFers
Black Ink: 0
Better than 0.0% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 6
Better than 0.9% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 36.0
Better than 3.0% of HOFers
JAWS: 16.98
Better than 0.0% of HOFers at RP
LaTroy Hawkins spent his first couple of years struggling as a starter before finding his place in the major leagues as a setup man. His peak season by WAR was 2003 with the Twins, when he recorded a career-high 28 holds. Hawkins was good at keeping batters from getting on base in his peak; among pitchers with 400 games in relief from 2002 to 2009, Hawkins had the 10th-lowest OBP allowed in that span. Hawkins is well-known for being a journeyman, finishing as one of 22 players in major league history to play for at least 11 franchises in his career. His longevity also stands out when you look at his career. He is the the most recent pitcher to reach the 1,000 games mark. Hawkins is the godfather of current NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes.

HOF Candidate Spotlight

Billy Wagner P | 1995 - 2010 | HOU, PHI, NYM, BOS, ATL
7x All-Star Rolaids Relief
Billy Wagner
WAR: 27.7
Better than 2.1% of HOFers
Black Ink: 0
Better than 0.0% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 31
Better than 1.7% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 107.0
Better than 28.9% of HOFers
JAWS: 23.73
Better than 25.0% of HOFers at RP
This marks Billy Wagner's 6th year on the Hall of Fame ballot. After staying around the 10% mark for the first years of eligibility, he got a marked jump to 31.7% of the vote last year. Wagner does not have the same level of volume stats compared to recently inducted relievers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, but he does fare well when you look at rate stats.

Among all players in MLB history with at least 800 innings pitched, Billy Wagner's 33.2% strikeout percentage is the highest. Wagner's career 0.998 WHIP is 2nd lowest among players with 800 IP, only trailing HOFer Addie Joss and slightly ahead of 3rd place, the aforementioned Mariano Rivera.

One final note: while Wagner is only 6th place on the all-time saves list, he is 2nd among left-handed pitchers (2 saves short of John Franco). Wagner broke his right arm when playing football at 7 years old, which was the impetus for his learning to throw left-handed.

HOF Candidate Spotlight

Shane Victorino OF | 2003 - 2015 | SDP, PHI, LAD, BOS, LAA
2x All-Star 2x World Series 4x Gold Glove
Shane Victorino
WAR: 31.5
Better than 4.3% of HOFers
Black Ink: 2
Better than 9.8% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 26
Better than 1.3% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 31.5
Better than 2.1% of HOFers
JAWS: 30.20
Better than 5.3% of HOFers at CF
This is the "Flyin' Hawaiian"'s first year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Victorino was drafted by the Dodgers and made his MLB debut with the Padres, but he spent the majority of his career at his second stop of the Philadelphia Phillies. From 2006 to 2013, Victorino had the 5th-most WAR of any primary outfielder in MLB, in contention with big names like Torii Hunter and Ichiro Suzuki in that span.

In 2008, he got the chance to face off against the team that drafted him in the NLCS and delivered with a pivotal game-tying 8th inning home run in Game 4 that would put the Dodgers in a 3-1 series deficit. Victorino would go on to get his first World Series ring as the 2008 Phillies took care of the Rays. Extra-base hits were a strong suit for Victorino in this period; he hit 47 triples from 2008 to 2011, only matched by Jose Reyes in that span.

Victorino spent most of his final years with the Boston Red Sox. In the 2013 World Series run, he provided the the go-ahead grand slam in Game 6 of the ALCS that would secure Boston's World Series berth, as well as the first score of Game 6 of the 2013 World Series with a 3-run double

HOF Candidate Spotlight

Barry Zito P | 2000 - 2015 | OAK, SFG
Cy Young 3x All-Star 2012 World Series
Barry Zito
WAR: 31.9
Better than 4.3% of HOFers
Black Ink: 8
Better than 23.4% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 88
Better than 17.9% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 48.0
Better than 4.7% of HOFers
JAWS: 31.27
Better than 1.5% of HOFers at P
See player page on Baseball-Reference.com

Barry Zito is in his first year on the ballot and given he has yet to tally a vote in the Not Mr. Tibbs HOF vote tracker he is likely in his last year on the ballot as well. Zito managed a 165-143 record while playing the entirety of his career in the Bay Area for the A's and the Giants. In 2002, he headed a formidable A's staff along with Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder and won the AL Cy Young award after going 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA and a close third place finish in AL Pitching WAR. Zito and Vida Blue are the only two pitchers to reach 60 career wins for both the Athletics' and the Giants' franchises.

He's also known for his diverse interests, especially his music career. He has recorded an album as a guitar player and songwriter and finished fourth on season 3 of the Masked Singer.

HOF Candidate Spotlight

Omar Vizquel SS/3B | 1989 - 2012 | SEA, CLE, SFG, TEX, CHW, TOR
3x All-Star 11x Gold Glove
Omar Vizquel
WAR: 45.6
Better than 17.0% of HOFers
Black Ink: 0
Better than 0.0% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 25
Better than 1.3% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 119.5
Better than 35.7% of HOFers
JAWS: 36.18
Better than 4.2% of HOFers at SS
This is Omar Vizquel's 4th year on the ballot. He's risen in vote share each year, reaching 52.6% of the vote in the last cycle. During his career, he had a reputation as an excellent defender, earning 11 Gold Gloves which is second only to HOFer Ozzie Smith among shortstops. By advanced metrics, he doesn't stand out quite to that extent, ranking 18th among primary shortstops in Fielding Runs which measures the number of runs better or worse than average the player was for all fielding.

By overall Wins Above Replacement, he ranks 27th among primary shortstops, dragged down by his offense which was below-average in an especially high-scoring environment that the 1990s were. However, he did reach statistical milestones at shortstop, which contributes to his HOF Monitor score approaching 120, a measurement in which a score of 100 indicates a good possibility of eventually being inducted. In this voting cycle, a domestic violence allegation against Vizquel has surfaced, which may be considered by some voters.

HOF Candidate Spotlight

Jeff Kent 2B/3B/1B | 1992 - 2008 | NYM, TOR, CLE, SFG, HOU, LAD
MVP 5x All-Star 4x Silver Slugger
Jeff Kent
WAR: 55.4
Better than 34.0% of HOFers
Black Ink: 0
Better than 0.0% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 71
Better than 11.9% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 122.5
Better than 38.7% of HOFers
JAWS: 45.60
Better than 35.0% of HOFers at 2B
Jeff Kent enters his 8th year on the ballot. After hovering in the teens for most of his eligibility, he experienced a jump to 27.5% last year. Kent was an average starter for most of the 1990s, not finding his peak performance until joining the San Francisco Giants in 1997. During his 6-year Giants tenure he finished in the top 10 of MVP voting 4 times, including winning the NL MVP in 2000 over his teammate Barry Bonds.

Kent provided a lot of offensive value from a traditionally weaker position of second base. Kent hit 351 of his home runs as a second baseman, the record holder by a decent amount (2nd place is Robinson Cano, currently having hit 315 HR from that position). MVP voters also loved Kent's RBI production, and among primary 2nd basemen, Kent owns the top 3 NL RBI seasons in the expansion era.

Kent was not a top defender at the position, only surpassing 1.0 defensive WAR in his 1997 season. That being said, his total value was the best among 2nd basemen for a time. From 1997-2005, Kent recorded 42 WAR, with the next closest 2nd baseman being Craig Biggio with 32 WAR in that time span.

HOF Candidate Spotlight

Mark Buehrle P | 2000 - 2015 | CHW, MIA, TOR
5x All-Star 2005 World Series 4x Gold Glove
Mark Buehrle
WAR: 59.1
Better than 40.9% of HOFers
Black Ink: 12
Better than 33.2% of HOFers
Gray Ink: 116
Better than 26.4% of HOFers
HOF Monitor: 51.5
Better than 5.1% of HOFers
JAWS: 47.43
Better than 23.1% of HOFers at P
This year is Mark Buehrle's debut on the Hall of Fame ballot. Buehrle's durability was a common observation on his career, making 30 starts in all but 1 of his 16 seasons in the major leagues, more than any other pitcher in the 21st century. He recorded a no-hitter in 2007 and a perfect game in 2009, making him one of 35 pitchers in MLB history with multiple no-hitters.

In Buehrle's peak years of 2001 to 2009, he accumulated 40.7 WAR, 6th among pitchers in that era. In his entire career, 2005 was the only season Buehrle received any Cy Young votes (he finished in 5th place).

Too late to change, but my thought was that I wanted people to be able to change their votes before the poll locks, so might as well make it visible to start. But I get your point.

Bonds, Clemens, Buehrle, Helton, Jones, and Wagner.

In my mind, Buehrle in any other division during his prime would have gotten more recognition, he was a horse, who worked fast, a left handed Maddux, and he was a joy to watch. He still won 15 games in his last year, with a sub 4 ERA in the AL East, and with 4 CG, even though it was the first season since 2000 where he finished with under 200ip. 15 years with > 200ip, a guy who you could always count on to get the job done. Jones in his youth was one of the most exciting players on both sides of the ball, Helton gets too much flack for playing in Colorado, he still had to hit the ball, and Wagner is probably the most underrated closer of his generation.

I voted for Bonds, Clemens, Schilling, Rolen, Kent, Wagner, Jones, Vizquel, Helton, and Sheffield.

I have never dislike a ballot as much as this one. Where's an obvious overlooked HOFer like Fred McGriff when you need him?

I relented and voted for steroid users such as Bonds and Clemens, who were HOFers with or without the steroids. I used that to separate them from Sosa, but I might rethink that one. I don't think the steroids were the only thing to get him to 600 HRs. I'm sure his corked bat helped.

Manny had the steroids issue, too, but what's different was that he cheated AFTER the testing was put in place - twice!

Sheffield was involved, but who knows if he was telling the truth that it was unknowingly?

Helton has the Colorado thing going against him, but his numbers are so overwhelming in Colorado that his overall numbers were up there. He was their franchise player for quite awhile and Colorado hasn't had many of those. Of course, he had his DUI issues multiple times I believe.

Then there's the character clause issue. Vizquel used violence against his wife, which makes me not want to vote for him. If I look at the player, he was a great defensive SS who contributed offensively in an Ozzie Smith sort of way.

Andruw Jones was great defensively and hit over 400 homers, a key part of a Braves dynasty that won 14 straight divisions. He has his domestic problems as well.

I enjoyed Curt Schilling the ballplayer. He was a HOF caliber pitcher, no question about it.

So what standard to employ for character? Well, I can say Curt Schilling never personally murdered anybody, so there's that. I never minded the political disagreements and opinions when he was stumping for George W Bush. Difference of opinion? Ok. But this?!! It is so abhorrent to me, I really don't want him in at this point, which is a damn shame as it conflicts with some of the greatest memories I've had of the 2004 Red Sox with him a big part of that (and 2007, too).

So if I use the loosest standard possible - that he didn't murder anybody physically, I guess I cast a vote for Curt Schilling, the ballplayer.

Wouldn't take much for anybody to convince me NOT to consider voting for him as everything he has done the past few years makes my skin crawl.

Rolen and Kent are the only two I'm really very comfortable casting a vote for. I think Billy Wagner was an excellent closer, among the best during his time. I'd put him in but understand others preferring Buehrle and Pettite, who are starters that are just below the line of HOFer, although I should reconsider Pettite as he was the key pitcher in a Yankees dynasty but somehow a lot of those players, other than Jeter and Rivera, have surprisingly dropped off the ballot quickly.

Jeez, I only voted for 9 and feel good about 2 of the candidates. And I feel dirty for voting for Schilling and annoyed with my Vizquel vote, crossed lines with the cheater votes I never thought I'd cast, and voted for some marginal HOF talent. Yucky ballot.

At least next year Big Papi is on the ballot! I wish Luis Tiant, Dwight Evans, Fred McGriff, Dick Allen, Gil Hodges, Buck O'Neill, and Bobby Grich were on the ballot.