Hall of Fame poll allows players to vote

There is only one safe way to become an eligible voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame: to compile 10 consecutive years of membership in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. A different group considers managers, referees, executives and long-retired players, but since its founding in 1936, the Hall has always called on writers to be the head judges for the game’s highest honor. elections will be announced on Tuesday.

Yet even the most seasoned and seasoned writer couldn’t understand the game as well as a gamer. What if the voters came from the canoe instead of the press? Perhaps, with their intimate perspective, the players could more easily agree on the selection of the best of the best.

“I think they would absolutely come up with a bigger consensus,” said Ben Davis, a former receiver for San Diego, Seattle and the Chicago White Sox. “You know who the best player in your league is. When you follow your game plan, there’s always a guy you won’t let fight. It’s the same for each team. “

Ryan spaeder, author and statistician, has been researching such opinions for a few years, inspired by a conversation with Kevin Youkilis, the former All-Star infielder. When Youkilis suggested that anyone with major league experience should vote for the Hall of Fame, Spaeder decided to interview as many as he could find.

As of Monday afternoon, Spaeder had included 76 players in this year’s poll, from Hall of Famers like Carlton Fisk and Larry Walker to players with brief careers like Steve Holm and Bucky Jacobsen. In Spaeder’s poll, only three candidates met the 75% threshold for induction: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Todd Helton.

Early comebacks among writers resulted in a different, somewhat unlikely choice: Curt Schilling, the power pitcher, postseason stalwart, and outspoken news media critic who promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory. Of the 182 BBWAA votes made public late Monday afternoon – according to Ryan Thibodaux on Twitter – only Schilling polled above 75%, although Bonds (72.5%) and Clemens (72) followed closely behind. .

Some voters chose not to participate in the process, citing the difficulty of applying Hall of Fame character guidelines to players who used performance-enhancing drugs, especially in the days leading up to testing. Some organizations, like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, ban writers from voting for awards, believing writers should report the news, not the news.

Editors who do not disclose their ballots tend to be more selective, so most player support wanes when the full results are released. Between polls, however, the difference between the opinions of players and writers is not as stark as it seems.

No candidate reached 80% in the two voting groups. Candidates in the 40-49% writers range (Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel) were clustered between 53-65% among players – better, but still below the induction requirement . Helton, the longtime Colorado Rockies slugger who played home games in batting paradise, had far more support from players than from writers, but he also had more new votes among returning writers. than any other candidate and polled more than 50% in his third year on the ballot.

“Just like you can’t control who you play on the schedule, you can’t control where you play when you’re drafted,” Schilling wrote on Spaeder’s site. “He has performed at the Hall of Fame level during an incredible career. He also gets a lot less recognition as a defender than he should.

Fisk told Spaeder he would vote for Schilling, Vizquel, Wagner, Mark Buehrle, Torii Hunter, Andy Pettitte and Aramis Ramirez – leaving out Bonds and Clemens. Walker selected the maximum of 10 nominees, including Bonds and Clemens, but two Hall of Fame members – who asked Spaeder to remain anonymous – were more stingy. One only voted for Helton, Vizquel, Scott Rolen and Jeff Kent, and another replied, “I wouldn’t vote for anyone on the current eligibility list.”

Eric O’Flaherty, the former reliever, admitted to being torn by the vote for steroid-linked players, but said the widespread use of amphetamines has also given players an advantage. Since voters bluntly ignored the use of these drugs – also known as greenies – he couldn’t penalize players for using other performance enhancers.

“I generally feel like steroids should come in because I took a greenie once and felt like I could build a spaceship three minutes later,” O’Flaherty wrote, in explaining his vote on Spaeder’s website. “I pitched that day, and I had an easy run and I would have done 12 more innings if they’d let me.

O’Flaherty also voted for Schilling, explaining simply, “he was really good at baseball.” No player has gone into the details of Schilling’s controversial social media presence, although only 57.9% voted for him, compared to 75.3% of writers.

Schilling himself voted for Helton, Jones, Kent, Rolen, Vizquel, Wagner and Bobby Abreu, providing an array of stats for Spaeder and stressing the importance of defense, especially with Rolen and Vizquel.

“If the defense matters, which it does well beyond what Hall of Fame voters consider, then those are two locks,” he wrote.

John Baker, a former Marlins, Padres and Cubs wide receiver, included five players linked to performance enhancers – Bonds, Clemens, Sheffield, Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa – among his 10 caps. It would be naive, Baker wrote, to assume that all current Hall of Fame members were impeccable.

“How do you think people played for 20 years, chocolate milk?” he wrote, later adding: “Inducing Bonds and Clemens, bringing Sammy back to Wrigley (and Cooperstown) and having the willingness to sit down with the idea that context and nuance are important for growth and understanding.” .

Baker called Bonds the greatest hitter who ever lived, pointedly noting that baseball was not integrated when Ted Williams began his career in 1939. Davis said the exclusion from bonds was baffling.

“The fact that Bonds isn’t just blows my mind, it really is,” he said. “You can say whatever you want about whatever he’s taken, but he’s the best baseball player to ever walk on earth, period. It’s not even close.

Many writers share this opinion, but probably not enough for Bonds, Clemens – or anyone else, perhaps – to receive the call of a lifetime on Tuesday.