R is for Ron

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

R is for Ronny

Ron Santo

Cubs, White Sox

I may be the only person who liked it when Ron Santo came to the White Sox for his final season in 1974.  I was a kid,I had just switched alliances from the Cubs to the Sox and one of my favorite Cubbies was coming to the South Side.
The person who liked the arrangement the least was  probably Santo himself .  He wanted and thought he deserved to retire as a Cub.  When the Cubs let him go he opted to go play for the Chi-Sox, as he had thought he had more in the tank.

As it  turns out he had very little left in the tank and had an abysmal year.  Instead of focusing on his unhappy ending, I prefer to look back at the amazing things he did as a Cub.  

Santo hit 337 of his 342 career homers for the Cubs. He averaged 30 homers per season between 1964 and 1968.  During that same 5 year span he also had 5 consecutive gold glove awards so he was definitely a stellar offensive and defensive player.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

Q is for Quest

Cubs Homerun hitters from Aramis to Zimmermanan 

Joe Quest 1852 - 1924

Cleveland Forest Citys. Indianapolis Blues, Chicago Cubs as White Stockings, Detroit Wolverines, St. Louis Cardinals as Browns , Pittsburgh Pirates as Alleghenys, Philadelphia Athletics

Q:  If your last name or first name began with the letter Q, how many homers as a Cub would you need to own the outright record?

A: 2

Joe Quest played  second base for the Chicago Cubs  in the 19th century, back when they were called  the Chicago White Stockings.  Quest,  a very good defensive player, was not much of a hitter. In his 10 year professional career, he batted .217 and hit 1 HR in 2295 at bats. This is an average of 0 homers in a 162 game season.  By comparison of the 250 major leaguers who played from 2005 to 2014 and had 2295 AB or more, 54%  had 100 or more homers,  83.6 % had 50 or more and all 250 had at least 7 more homers than Quest over the same time period.   

Quest did win back to back to back pennants with the White Stockings from  1880 to 1882.  Quest is most famous for coining the phrase Charlie Horse as a term for a muscle cramp.  There are several version of how this came to be, one states that he and several of his teammates were at a horse race and all his teammates wagered money on a horse with Charlie in his name.  Quest had  not wagered on that horse.  During the race, the horse pulled up lame, and Quest made a quip about that Charlie horse not doing so well.  The next day, as one account has it, one of his teammates had the same type of injury in the course of the game, and Quest said he's just like that Charlie Horse.  

Quest's nickname for cramp is now forever etched in the English language,  but his Cubs Q homerun record is just 2 long balls from extinction. 

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

P is for Pafko

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

P is for Pafko

Andy Pafko
1921-2013

Cubs,Dodgers (Brooklyn),Braves (Milwaukee) 

Andy Pafko played outfield for the Cubs from 1943 to 1951 when he was moved to Brooklyn Dodgers midseason.  Pafko was an all star 4 consecutive years (1947 to 1950).  Pafko batted .294 as a Cub over 9 seasons and hit 126 of his 213 MLB homers with Chicago. This places him 16th all time in Cubs Home run hitters.  After the Cubs Pafko played with Jackie Robinson in Milwaukee and Hank Aaron In Milwaukee.   

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

O is for O'Farrell

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

O is for O'Farrell

Robert "Bob Arthur O'Farrell
1896-1988

Cubs,Cardinals, Giants, Reds 

On September 23,1935 Bob O'Farrell played the last of his 1,492 major league ball games.  666 of these were played with the Cubs in 2 stints on the northside.  He played from 1915 to 1925 with the Cubs and again in 1934.  O'Farrell was replaced by Gabby Hartnett as  the starting catcher for the Cubs  when he was out with an injury.  O'Farrel was traded to the Cardinals in the middle of 1925 campaign.  In 1926 O'Farrell won the NL MVP award for the Cards.  As a Cub, O'Farrell excelled offensively and defensively and hit  27 of his 51 round  trippers for the Cubbies.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

100th Post

I started this blog over 6 years ago and it has taken until now to get my 100th post.  I know we are smack dab in the thick of Cubs homerun hitters.  However I thought this would be a good time to play footage of Paul Konerko getting a hit on Paul Konerko Bobble head day at US cellular field,  I  am doing the announcing and the camera work.

N is for Nichholson

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

N is for Nicholson 

Bill Nicholson 1914-1996

Athletics as Philadelphia Athletics, Cubs, Phillies

Bill Nicholson played all but 11 of his 1677 major league ball games in the National League.  He had a cup of coffee with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1936 where he went 0-12 in his only 12 American League plate appearances.  He came back to the Major leagues in 1939 the first of 19 consecutive season with the Cubs.  He languished in Philadephia for the Phillies for 5 years at the end of his career where he only saw limited action.  His time with the Cubs was the pinnacle of his 16 season career.  He made 4 all star teams from 1940 to 1944 and helped the Cubs to their last World Series appearance in 1945.His  245 doubles with the team  puts him 16 on the all time list and  his 205 homers makes him the 8th most prolific Cubs home-run hitter of all time.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

M is for Mark

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

M is for Mark 

Mark Grace

Cubs, Diamondbacks

Mark Grace played 13 of his 16 big league seasons for the Chicago Cubs from 1988 to 2000. Although the 3 time all star never had a 20 HR season his longevity with the Cubs puts his 148 Homers for them as 14th on the all time list.  25 homers with Arizona at the end of his career puts him with 173 homers all toll.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

L is for Lee

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

L is for Lee

Derrek Lee

 Padres, Marlins, Cubs, Braves, Orioles, Pirates

Derrek Lee played for the Cubs from 2004 to 2010.  A two time all star and fan favorite who hit 319 major league homers.  179 of those long balls came for the Cubbies, which puts him 12th on the all time list.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

K is for Keith

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

K is for Keith 

Keith Moreland


PhilliesCubs, Padres, Tigers Orioles

Keith Moreland played baseball from 1978 to 1989.  He started with the Phillies and came to the Cubs  in 1982.  He played 6 seasons with the Cubs and left for San Diego after the '87 season came to a close.  While about 69 % (902) of his 1306 games were with the Cubs 100 (87%) of his 115 homers were hit for the Northsiders.  

The former Cubs raidio announcer's 100 dingers was good enough for 20th all time for the Cubs until  Anthony Rizzo over took him last year.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

J is for Jody

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

J is for Jody

Jody Davis


Cubs, Braves 

Jody Davis caught for the Cubs from 1981 to 1988 and played parts of 3 seasosn with the Atlanta Braves retiring in 1990 from Major League Baseball.  Davis hit 122 of his 127 major league homers for the Cubs  which places him 17th on the Cubs all time list.

Davis a 2 time all star with 1 gold glove to his credit was a fan favorite and is still well revered on the north side.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

I is for Irvin

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

I is for Irvin

Monte Irvin (HOF)

1919 -2016

Giants, Cubs

The first paragraph of Monte Irvin's page at the baseball hall of fame website reads as follows

Monte Irvin was not the first African-American player in the modern major leagues, but of all the talented players who made the perilous trip from the Negro leagues to the big leagues in the late 1940s, Irvin may have been the best.

Irvin played with the Newark Eagles of the Negro League and came to the major leagues with the New York Giants in 1949 and played seven season there.  In 1956 he finished his career with the Cubs and hit 15  of his 99 major league homers in his farewell season.  Irving was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Irvin passed a way in January of this year 6 week prior to his 97th birthday.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

H is for Hank Sauer

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

H is for Hank

Hank Sauer

1917 - 2001

Hank Sauer , a 2 time all star and NL MVP of 1952 was a Cubs outfielder from 1950 to 1955.   He hit 288 homers in his 15 major league seasons.  His 7 seasons with the Cubbies yielded 198 of those round trippers which puts him 9th all time for the club.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

G is for Gabby

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

G is for Gabby

Charles  Leo "Gabby" Hartnett(HOF)
1900-1972

Cubs, (NY)Giants

Gabby Hartnett hit 231 homers for the Cubs from 1922 to 1940 which puts him 7th all time with the club.  The 6 time all star and 1935 NL MVP is best remember for 1 specific homer,  The homer in the gloaming which took place 9/26 1938.  Before I get to the significance of the homer , let me explain how baseball in 1938 from the baseball we understand.

1. Until the late 60's there were no playoff series prior to the World Series.   Each year the best team in the National League would play the best team in the American League in the World Series.  The entire season was played to determine which team would win the pennant and play in the World Series.

2.  While the first MLB night game was played in 1934, night games were still not common in 1938 and not played at Wrigley Field until 1988.

The Pittsburgh Pirates led the NL for most of the 1938 season but started to unravel in September. When they came into Chicago for a 3 game series , the Cubs were only 1 1/2 games behind the Bucs.  Dizzy Dean who was traded from the Cards to the Cubs in 1938 beat the Pirates in the first game.  In the 2nd game the score was tied 5-5  as the Cubs came to bat in the 9th.  Because Wrigley had no lights the umpires decided that the 9th inning would be the last which would cause the entire game to be replayed the next day.



The Cubs were down to their last out and Hartnett was 0-2 in the account.  As twilight descended Hartnett homered into the left center bleachers and the crowd erupted.  The Cubs essentially won the pennant on that home run.

Hartnett hit all but 5 of homers for the Cubs but his walk off in 1938 put the immortal touch on an already HOF career,

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

F is for Frank

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

F is for Frank

Frank "Wildfire" Schulte
1882-1949

Cubs, Pirates, Phillies and Senators

When composing a list such as this, it is fairly common to come across a player you are only vaguely familiar with.  But that is not the case with Frank Schulte, I had never heard of him.  Schulte was a contemporary of Tinker, Evers and Chance and played for the Cubs from 1904 to 1916. He was the 1911 NL MVP and (get ready for this) played in 4 World Series with the Cubs losing to the White Sox in 1906, beating the Tigers in 1907 and 1908 and lost to the Philadelphia Athleticss in 1910.  He hit .321 in those 4 World Series.  Schulte hit 91 home runs for the Cubs and only hit 1 more after he left the team in 1916.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

E is for Ernie

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

E is for Ernie

Ernie Banks "Mr. Cub" HOF

Cubs, 

Ernie Banks broke the Cubs color barrier in 1953 and played his entire Hall of Fame career with the Cubs retiring in 1971 and being a good will ambassador for the club until his death last year.  

Banks was an 11 time all star and 2 time NL MVP.  His  512 homers was a Cubs record until Sammy Sosa broke it in 2004.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

D is for Dawson

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

D is for Dawson

Andre Nolan "Hawk" Dawson

Expos, Cubs, Red Sox, Marlins

Like, Billy Williams, Andre Dawson  made his MLB  debut at the age of 21.  And like Williams He was Rookie of the  year.  But unlike Williams who debuted with the Cubs, Dawson played his first eleven seasons with the Montreal Expos (Currently: The Washington Nationals).    He came to the Cubs in 1987 in spectacular fashion hitting 49 Homers (He never hit more than 32 in a season before or since) and winning the NL MVP for a Cubs team that went 76-85.  It' hard to imagine how much worse they would have been w/o him.  Dawson played the Outfield for the Cubs from '87 to'92 and had 174 of his 438 MLB homers with the Cubs which puts him 13th all time for  the Cubbies.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

C is for Cap

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

C is for Cap

Adrian Consrantine "Cap" Anson (HOF)
1852- 1922

Rockford, Philadephia, Chicago

Cap Anson was a first base  for the Cubs from 1876 to 1897 and manages the team 17 of those years.   Back then the Cubs were known as the "White Stockings" and  the stockings weren't the only thing white about those teams.   Anson was one of the first stars of the sport and one of it's leading racists.  As a manager he signed contracts for games against player that had african americans on them that said they could not play against Anson's club.  This of course was typical of post civil war life, but still very unsettling.

Anson hit all of his 97 Homers as a member of the White Stockings. This ties him for 23 on the Cubs all time HR list.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

Playoff Beard Day 8

Hawks beat Bruins 6-4. 3 games remain in season.

B is for Billy

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

B is for Billy

Billy  Leo Williams (HOF)

Cubs, A's

Billy Williams made his d ebut with the Chicago Cubs on August 6, 1959 at the age of 21.  He was Rookie of the  year in 1961  and  a six time all star.  He played for the Cubs through the 1974 season He hit 392 of his 426  homers for the Cubs which is 3rd  all time.    He was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1986.

For More A to Z Blogging click here.  

Playoff Beard Day 7

Crazy Uncle Dave "Pretend" voics of the Black Hawks dispenses his Hawks Nuggets

Hawks Nugget1 :  On this day in 1972 Bobby Hull scored his 604th goal as a blackhawk

Hawks Nugget 2 :  Thanks to NHL tie breaking procedures the Hawks only need 1 point to stay out of the 1st wild card spot now held by the Nashville Predators.  The only way the Preds can overtake the Hawks for the 3rd spot in the central is if they win their remaining 3 games in regulation and the Hawks drop their last 4 in regulation.  The Hawks cannot overtake Dallas  (the best they could do is lose the tie breaker) for 1st in the Central but can still catch St. Louis for 2nd in the Central.

A is for Aramis

Cubs Home run hitters from Aramis to Zimmerman

It is time once again for the A to Z challenge.  Last year, I went from A to Z with White Sox Home run hitters.  This year, I turn my attention to my 2nd favorite ball club, The Chicago Cubs.

Everyday in April with the exception of Sundays, I will be featuring a different Cubs player.  
All homerun info is through the 2015 season.

A is for Aramis

Aramis Ramirez

Cubs, Pirates, Brewers

Aramis Ramirez came to the Cubs from the Pirates during the 2003 season and played for the Cubs through the 2011 season.  Ramirez has hit 239 of his so far 386 homers for the Cubs.  This is 6th all time for the Cubs.  

For More A to Z Blogging click here. 

Playoff Beard Day 6 

For those of you stopping in from a to z blogging you may not know that I am posting daily pics of my playoff  beard as well as a staus on the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks beat  the WInnipeg Jets 5-4 in OT this evening.  The Hawks have 4 games remaining.  The St.  Louis Blues remain their probable 1st round playoff match up.

Playoff beard Day 5

The last 4 regular season games for the Blackhawks are as follows

April 1st @ Winnipeg

April 3 vs. Boston

April 5 vs Arizona

April 7 vs. St. Louis

playoff beard day 4

The Blackhawks are 0-1 since clinching the playoffs Sunday night.  They have 5 games remaining in the regular season.

Playoff beard day 3

Hawks give no reason to smile losing to wild 4-1
going 0-5 in season series

With 5 games left to play Hawks are only 4 points ahead of Predators for 3rd spot in Central.

Playoff beard day 2

3/28/2016

The Chicago Blackhawks clinched the playoffs yesterday, so this is officially the 2nd day of my playoff beard.  The Blackhawks would play the St. Louis Blues if the playoffs began today.

At this point I plan to shave my beard when 1 of the following 2 events transpire

A) The Black Hawks win 16 2016 playoff games and win their 4th Stanley Cup in 7 years.

OR

B) They lose 4 playoff games in the same playoff series.

So the end of my playoff beard posts will contain a countdown like this,

Beard goes in 16 Wins or 4 more losses to (team they are currently playing).

So if the Hawks do end up playing the Blues and end up taking the Blues to a game 7. 

The countdown the day before the game would read

Beard goes in 13 more playoff wins or 1 more loss to the Blues.

If the Blackhawks beat the Blues in game 7 the countdown would read

Beard goes in 12 more playoff wins or 4 more losses to Next opponent

I am sure I over explained the crud out of that.  But you probably get it.  

Playoff beard day 1

The Chicago Blackhawks qualified for the NHL playoffs this evening with a win over Vancouver.  This means that thus starts my playoff beard.  I shaved this morning prior to going to church for Easter Sunday.

I do not plan until shaving again until the Hawks are finished in the playoffs.  That means until they lose a playoff series or win 16 playoff games and repeat as NHL champs whichever

 comes first until then I'm on the road to beard city.

The Blackhawks beat the Canucks 3-2 to bring their record to 44-25-7.  This gave them 95 points so far for the season.  The Colorado Avalanche, who are currently the 9th place team in the Westertn Conference do not have enough points to overtake the Hawks even if they (the Avalanche) were to win their remains 7 games.  This means that the Blackhawks will compete in the playoffs.

The Hawks still have 6 regular season games remaining before the playoffs begin.  If the playoffs began today they would play the St. Louis Blues in the opening round.  They are 2-2 against the Blues this season with 1 regular season matchup against them in April remaining on the schedule.

A to Z Theme Reveal Cubs Home Run Leaders

Sammy Sosa and Ryne Sandberg #1 and # 5 All time Cubs Homer keaders

Last year at this time,  I participated in Blogging from A to Z.  I will be doing so again this year.  Last year I did White Sox Home run leaders from A.J. Pierzynski to Zeke Bonura.  This year I will be featuring my seconf favorite baseball team in the 2nd city, The Chicago Cubs.  Yes, every day in April except Sundays, I will feature a home run leader of the Cubbies from Aramis Ramirez on April 1st to Heinie Zimmerman on April 30th.

Billy Williams and Ron Santo stand ready to congratulate Ernie Banks after his 400th HR

All time Cubs Home Run leaders (L to R)   Banks (2nd) , Santo (4th)  and Williams (3rd)

For more reveals head on over to Blogging from A to Z

Blogging from A to Z Challenge coming in April

I am going to be participating in the a to z blogging challenge in April at all 3 of my sites.





I will be revealing my 2016 theme here in 3 weeks

I am looking forward to doing it.  It will be fun and crazy.


For more information about the A to Z Challenge click  here.

2016 HOF . IF I had a ballot.

In late 2009 after I started this blog, I began previewing the HOF class for 2010.  I took 2 years off in 2012 and 2013.  I probably still did it, but I didn't post them on line.  My process is this,  first I preview those returning to the ballot  and then I preview those new to the ballot,

Then finally I list out who I would vote for if I had a ballot.  But I actually do a little more than that. Since the official ballot allows for 10 selections I always start with the idea of who I would vote to if I had to pick 10 players and then order my selections by saying who the 10th player would be and who the 9th player would be and so on,  When I get to the point of who I would vote for if I could vote for any # of players between 1 and 10 I announce that as my official ballot but then keep on counting down until I imagine I could only vote for 1 player.

This year there has been a lot of discussion on line about the limit of 10.  I think 10 is a fine limit and my official ballot has never been more than 8.  But this year I will start  if writers were allowed 12 votes and work my way down from there.  The reason why I do this is two fold. 1 every year when I research my selections  I do it mostly with pen and paper and generally the only notes I have from the previous years are the blog posts themselves.  Which means I am often hard pressed to remember who was thinking about at 11.  Last year 4 people got elected and they were on my list so knowing who was on the cusp of making it last year would be helpful.  The second reason is that the extra votes allow me a little leeway in making my choices which is evidenced by my first choice.

If I were allowed to vote for 12 players elgible for the 2016 HOF class. My12th vote would go to Garret Anderson (Anderson was not on the ballot last year).  There are certainly other players on the ballot who I normally would consider before Anderson.  Larry Walker has been in my top 10 in other years for example.  However I would choose Anderson for 1 reason only.  I have a friend named Garret Anderson and if you ever get a chance to nominate a friend into the HOF, I think you should!

If I were allowed to vote for 11 players, my 11th vote would go to Mike Mussina (I did not vote for Mussina last year).  Mussina is definitely worth of consideration in the hall. He just falls short of my top 10.

If I were allowed to vote for exactly 10 players, my 10th vote would go to Jim Edmonds.  (Edmonds is on the ballot for the 1st time this year)

If I could only vote for exactly 9 players my 9th vote would go to Trevor Hoffman.  (Hoffman is a first timer as well). I may consider Hoffman on my official unofficial ballot in years to come, but I don't feel comfortable support candidacy until my 3rd choice in this years ballots HOF fate is decided)

My 8th choice if I could vote for 8 would be Allen Trammel  (Allen was not in my top 10 last year) .  I have alway been on the fence about Trammel,  Ihave him in my top 8 this year as a sense of urgency since this is his last year on the ballot.

My 7th choice on a 7 player ballot would be Edgar Martinez.  (Martinez was 10th on my list in 2015).  I have no problem voting for a lifelong DH in the HOF my main reason for not having him any higher is that was consistently the 2nd or 3rd biggest offensive producer on his team.

In my 4 previous ballots, my 6th and 5th choices have appeared 2 times each in the position right before my official unofficial ballot.  That is because, in my mind they are both inches shy of being so HOF worthy that I would link their name with mine.  This year # 6 is Mike Piazza (9 last year) and # 5 is the crime dog himself , Fred McGriff (McGriff was not in my top 10 last year.)

If I were given a HOF ballot, my ballot would contain 4 names.  Th 4th name would be Jeff Bagwell.  (Jeff was 7th on my list of 8 players on my  official unofficial ballot last year.

If I was given a HOF ballot and told to vote for only 3 players, the 3rd player would be Lee Smith (he was my 5th choice last year) .  Relievers and Designated hitters get discriminated on by many voters and it is a shame that Smith is not yet in and does not figure to get in on the writer's ballot.

If I could only vote for 2 players in the HOF, it would be very easy to pick those 2.  #2 would be Ken Griffey Jr.(This is his first year on the ballot.

#1 would be Tim Raines.  (Raines was my 2nd choice in 2015, thrird choice in 2014, 1st choice  back in 2011 and 2nd choice  in 2010) Raines should already be in by now.  he only has 2 more years to go from his 55% of the vote last year to the 75% needed,

That is who I would vote for.  Here are my predictions for how I think the vote went.

I think 3 of the following 5 players will be elected to the Hall this year.  Well, Ken Griffey is a lock.
So actually 2 of  Raines, Bagwell, Piazza and Hoffman.  My heart says Bagwell and Raines my head says Piazza and either Bagwell or Hoffman.

Preview of 2016 HOF 1st time ballot and rev

Each year there players on the Baseball Writers Association of Anaerica (BBWAA) ballot for the first time.  These players have been retired from baseball the requisite amount of years and now get consideration for enshrinement in Cooperstown.  This year there are 15 such players.  Last year there were 17.  Before I preview the 15 players on the ballot for the first time in 2016, lets review the 17 former newbies and see how they did. The 17 from 15 and the 15 from 16 will fall into 4 potential categories  ...

Make it into the HOF on their first ballot by receiving at least 75% of the votes.

Receive enough votes to stay on the ballot for the next election (5%) but not enough for enshrinement in their first year (75%)

Receive some votes but not the 5% needed to appear on subsequent ballots.

Recieve no votes what so ever.

The 17 player on the ballot for the first time in 2015 were ...

all lists in alphabetical order

Look Ma no votes!

Rich Aurilla

Tony Clark

Jermaine Dye

Cliff Floyd 

Brian Giles

Eddie Guardado 

Jason Schmidt

Some but not enough to stay.

Aaron Boone

Carlos Delgado

Darin Erstad

Tom Gordon 

Troy Percival

Maybe Later

Nomar Garciaparra 

Gary Sheffield

HOF Baby!

Randy Johnson 

Pedro Martinez

John Smoltz

It is noteworthy, but not surprising that 7 of the 17 (41 %)1st timers on the ballot failed to get even one vote.  Add that to the 5 who failed to get 5 % or more and you have 71% attrition rate.  In 2014 there were 19 1st timers on the ballot 3 were elected to the hall, 2 received enough votes to stay on the ballot for the next year, 8 received some votes but less than 5 %, and 6 failed to get any votes.  In 2013 none of the 24 appearing on the ballot for the first time were elected in their first year,  6 remained on the ballot for the next year,  8 received some votes but less than 5 % and 10 failed to get any votes.

In the last 3 years 35 % of first time players on the ballot received some votes but not enough votes for future consideration with 38.33% getting no votes at all.  whereas 26.67% were either voted into the HOF on the 1st ballot (10%) or were able to come back the next year (16.67%)

If the percentages hold for the 15 newcomers on this years ballot 1.5 players will be elected on the first ballot and 2.5 players getting enough votes to stay on for the 2017 ballot.  Since there are no half players lets's say 1-2 will be first ballot hallof famers and 2-3 will hang on until next year.  This leaves 11 to not get enough votes to return in 2017.  Again if recent percentages hold 6 will get no votes at all,  and 5 will get some votes but less than 5 % as you peruse the list below imagine which ones will be in what category come Tuesday night

Garret Anderson (Angels,Braves,Dodgers)

Brad Ausmus (Astros,Tigers, Padres, Dodgers)

Luis Castillo (Marlins, Mets, Twins)

David Eckstein (Angels,Cardinals,Padres,Blue Jays, Diamondbacks)

Jim Edmonds (Cardinals,Angels,Cubs,Brewers,Padres,Reds)

Troy Glaus (Angels,BlueJays,Cardinals,Diamondback,Braves)

Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners, Reds, White Sox)

Mark Grudzielanek (Dodgers,Royals,Expos,Cubs,Cardinals)

Mike Hampton (Astros, Braves Rockies, Mets, Mariners, Diamond Backs)

Trevor Hoffman (Padres,Brewers,Marlins)

Jason Kendall (Pirates,Athletics,Brewers,Royals,Cubs)

Mike Lowell (Marlins,Red Sox, Yankees)

Mike Sweeney (Royals,Mariners,Athletics,Phillies)

Billy Wagner (Astros,Braves,Phillies,Mets,Red Sox)

Randy Winn(Giants,Devil Rays, Mariners,Cardinals,Yankees0

.  

HOF 2016 Ballot Returning Players Preview

The 2016 HOF election results will be revealed at 6 pm EST on January 6th.  I will be reviewing everyone on the ballot and submitting who I would vote for   over the next few days as I have over the past 5 years or so.  Today I look at those returning tot he ballot from previous years.

Note:  In 2014 the years a returning player could be on the ballot was reduced from 15 to 10 with those who had more than 10 years on the ballot grandfathered in to the full 15.  This is why I state how many years each candidate has remaing on the ballot after this year.  Obviously that # become moot, if they are elected, or fail to receive the 5% needed to remain on the ballot.  

The 17 players returning from last years ballot listed from highest percentage of votes received to lowest are ...

Mike Piazza 69.9% of vote in 2015.  4th year on ballot,  Additional time to be on ballot: 6  years. Highest vote total 2015.

Jeff Bagwell 55.7% of vote in 2015. 6th year on ballot with 4 years remaining.  Highest vote total was 59.6% in 2013 his 3rd year of eligibility

Tim Raines 55%  of vote in 2015. 9th year on ballot  with 1 year remaining. Highest vote total  was 2015.

Curt Schilling 39.2% of vote in 2015. 4th year on ballot,  Additional time to be on ballot: 6.  Curt's highest % was in 2015

Roger Clemens   37.5 % of vote in 2015. 4th year on ballot,  Additional time to be on ballot: 6  years. Clemens received his highest % (37.6)  in 2013, his first year on ballot.

Barry Bonds  36.8 % of vote in 2015. 4th  year on ballot,   Additional time to be on ballot: 6  years.  Bonds received his highest %  in 2015

Lee Smith 30.2%  of vote in 2015. 14th year on ballot  with 1  year remaining.  Lee's highest % 50.6  was in 2012, his 10th year on ballot.

Edgar Martinez 27% of vote in 2015. 7th year on ballot  with 3  years remaining. Edgar's  highest %  of 36.5 came  in 2012 his 3rd year of HOF consideration.
his

Alan Trammell  25.1% of vote in 2015. 2016 is his 15th and final  year on ballot.   His highest % , 36.8,  came in 11th year of eligibility (2012) 36.8 in 2012

Mike Mussina 24.6  %  of vote in 2015.  3rd year on ballot  with 7 additional years remaining. Mussina's highest % came in 2015.

Jeff Kent 15.2%  of vote in 2015. 3rd year on ballot  with 7 additional years remaining. Kent's highest % was 15.2 in 2014

Fred McGriff  12.9% of vote in 2015.  7th year on ballot with 3  years remaining  Highest % 23.9 in 2012 (3rd year)

Larry Walker 11.8% of vote in 2015. 6th year on ballot  with 4  years remaining. Larry's highest  % 22.9  came in 2012, his 2nd year on the ballot

Gary Sheffield 11.7 % of vote in 2015. 2nd year on ballot with 8 years remaining.

Mark McGwire 10 % of vote  in 2015. 10th and final  year on ballot,   His highest % 23.7 in 2010 (4th year)

Sammy Sosa received 6.6% of the vote in 2015.  This is 4th year on the ballot with 6 years remaining.  In 2012 Sosa received 12.5%, his highest percentage so far.

Nomar Garciaparra only received 5.5% of the vote in 2015.  2nd year on the ballot with 8 years remaining.

That's it for remaining players.  I will preview first year players tomorrow.