My 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Happy New Year everyone.  Welcome back.  Tomorrow morning, at 11 am EST, the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced... and I am terrified.  I am not terrified that the esteemed group of voters (the BBWAA, Baseball Writers Association of America) will once again moronically go a year without inducting anyone.  Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez are sure-fire no-doubters their first year on the ballot.  No, this time I am afraid they simply won't induct anyone after those two, which is idiocy of the highest degree.  There is a great backlog of more than worthy HoF candidates, but the voters never seem willing to put all of them in.  This is the same group, of course, that insists that no one can be a unanimous pick just cause Babe Ruth wasn't.  Petty, childish, and engaging in conduct unbecoming of professionals in any field, the HoF voters continually get it wrong year after year.

So, this year, I figured I'd help them out.  I tweeted like mad at many of them that revealed they had ballots...  Ok, that isn't much, but it isn't like they listen anyway.  I humbly suggested that they all straighten up, fly right, and elect a big class, or we will riot.  Each voter gets 10 spots, and there are over 10 guys worthy, so big class should happen.  Here is who I would vote for, in alphabetical order:

1. Jeff Bagwell
2. Craig Biggio
3. Randy Johnson
4. Edgar Martinez
5. Pedro Martinez
6. Mike Mussina
7. Mike Piazza
8. Tim Raines
9. Curt Schilling
10. John Smoltz

Obviously, the first thing you will notice is that I didn't include anyone who has admitted to PED use, or been tied with evidence to PED use.  So, no Bonds, Clemens, McGwire or Sosa.  It isn't that I don't think they should be in the Hall one day.  They should, down the line, once baseball has come to accept that it played a complicit part in the use of PEDs, and once those players accept some kind of mention of said use on their plaque.  Until then, they shouldn't be on the ballot, but keep their full remaining years of eligibility.  They will get in one day.  I am also not one who will go around proselytizing that I know who did steroids and who didn't when there is no evidence.  Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza are Hall of Famers, and have no tie to PEDs with any kind of proof.

Next, there is the Edgar Martinez issue.  I, with no shame, will say I am biased because Edgar Martinez is one of those guys I loved to watch hit when I was younger.  The problem, of course, is that he is primarily a DH.  Well, the DH is part of baseball, isn't it?  Sure, I'd love it if the AL got rid of the DH and played pure baseball like my beloved National League.  But, that isn't the case at the moment.  Edgar Martinez has Hall-worthy numbers as a batter.  Also, if Martinez doesn't get in because he is a DH, then I want the same people to keep David Ortiz out when he is eligible. Oh, and Ortiz failed a PED test in 2003, which everyone forgets about.

Pedro and Unit are, of course, in the Hall.  John Smoltz, who in my mind is a no-doubter considering his career as a starter and a shut down closer for Atlanta, looks poised to join them.  It seems like Biggio and Piazza will be in also based on known ballots.  Tim Raines should be able to make a late push to get in, and he of course deserves it.  I hope he then comes to DC, where his Expos are now my Nationals, so we can honor him properly.

Moose was and is one of my favorite pitchers ever.  He was a model of consistency in the toughest division in baseball for the time he played, was an ace for the O's and the driving force behind the Yankees.  Google his numbers, they are worthy.  Schilling I put in begrudgingly, not because his numbers aren't worthy, but because he has turned his media position into a pulpit for idiocy.  But I digress...

There is my ballot.  I will be watching at 11 tomorrow to see who joins Pedro and Unit in the Class of 2015.  Hopefully it is at least Smoltz, Biggio, and Piazza.  If I had my way, it would be a whole lot more than that.