Road to Cooperstown, NY

Wednesday, the 6th, is when the Baseball Writers Association of America cast their annual votes for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Each voter must have been a member of the association for at least ten years, and each vote caster is allowed to vote for up to 10 members of the ballot.

Players on the ballot must be retired for 5 years, have played for 10, and have passed preliminary rounds. Any player who appears on 75% of ballots cast will be elected into the Hall of Fame. After 15 years on the ballot without being voted in, the player is removed from the ballot. Players who receive less than 5% of ballot votes are removed for next year. This year is going to be very interesting, with 4 excellent first timers and several good returning players.

Returning Players: Here I'll show year on ballot, percentage received last year (VLY), whether or not I think they will receive the writer's vote (WV), and whether or not I'd personally vote for them if I had a vote (PV).

• Andre Dawson (9th year), VLY: 67%. WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
• Bert Blyleven (13th), VLY: 62.7%. WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
• Lee Smith (8th), VLY: 44.5%. WV: No. PV: No
• Jack Morris (11th), VLY: 44%. WV: No. PV: Yes
• Tim Raines (3rd), VLY: 22.6%. WV: No. PV: Yes
• Mark Mcgwire (4th), VLY: 21.9%. WV: No. PV: No
• Alan Trammell (9th), VLY: 17.4%. WV: No. PV: No
• Dave Parker (14th), VLY: 15%. WV: No. PV: No
• Don Mattingly (10th), VLY: 11.9%. WV: No. PV: No
  Donald Arthur Mattingly is one of the best Yankee first baseman in history, behind probably only Lou Gehrig. But he is NOT a hall of famer. A retired number and a plaque in Monument Park is appropiate of him, not a trip to Cooperstown.
• Dale Muphy (12th), VLY: 11.5%. WV: No. PV: No
• Harold Baines (4th), VLY: 5.9%. WV: No. PV: Yes

First-Year elligable players: Once again I'll do writers' vote (WV) and my personal vote (PV)

• Roberto Alomar: WV: Yes. PV: Yes
• Edgar Martinez: WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
  Granted I am biased because Edgar Martinez is my favorite baseball player of all time, but I think the fully deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He is by far the best Designated Hitter of all time (Yes, the DH is and has been a position since 1973). Hell, the annual award for the best Designated Hitter is called the EDGAR MARTINEZ AWARD. His numbers compare to some of the all time greats, and I think he certainly has the credentials.
• Barry Larkin: WV: Yes. PV: No
• Andres Galarraga: WV: No. PV: No
• Fred McGriff: WV: Not this year. PV: Yes
• I'll just save some time now. The following first timers are WV: No and PV: No
• Mike Jackson
• Ellis Burks
• Pat Hentgen
• Robin Ventura
• Kevin Appier
• Eric Karros
• Ray Lankford
• Shane Reynolds
• David Segui
• Todd Zeile
• Of that group, I think only Burks will have enough to stay on the ballot next year if anyone.

So if I could cast up to 10 votes this Wednesday, here is my ballot

1. Edgar Martinez
2. Roberto Alomar
3. Fred McGriff
4. Andre Dawson
5. Bert Blyleven
6. Tim Raines
7. Jack Morris

And while we're at it, here are some other quick thoughts about the Hall of Fame

• Pete Rose should be on the ballot for the Hall of Fame and then the writers and Veteran Committee should NOT VOTE HIM IN. He broke the number one rule in baseball, you do not bet on the game. Every club house has a sign that says any betting will result in a life time ban.
• Sterioid associated players should be evaluated based on what the PED's did to make them better statistically. Many players involved are Hall of Famers even when you factor out PED use and the numbers achieved through them. In other words, they were Hall of Famers before they took steroids. On the other hand, players who became Hall of Famers through the use of PED's should not be voted in. For example:
  
  I would vote for: Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Manny Ramirez
  I would NOT vote for: David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire or Gary Sheffield