Each year members of the Base Ball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) are given a hall of fame ballot with the names of the players eligible for consideration of enshrinement in Cooperstown. They are instructed to vote for as many as 10 of the players on the ballot. This years ballot contains 25 players so the writers can vote for up to 40 % of players on the ballot. If a player receives 75% of the writers votes they are admitted into the Hall of Fame. If they receive less than 75% but more than 5% they are retained on the ballot for the next year. The players have up to 10 years on the ballot to earn the 75% needed for enshrinement.
I am not a member of the BBWAA and I do not have a vote but to paraphrase Rob Lowe as the Grinder "What if I were? and What if I did?"
I ask myself that question about this time each year. Here is what I've come up with for 2021.
If I had 13 votes ...
13 would go to Aramis Ramirez.
As I said in the new to the ballot post, Ramirez is a lock for NL Central Hall of Fame havingplayed at a high level for the Pirates, Cubs and Brewers during his career. As I say every year, I am a Chicago guy and I feel a need to give votes to Chicago players at least to get the conversation going.
If I had 12 votes ...
12 would go to Paul Konerko.
Pauly Longball (my nickname for him. Sadly it never caught on.) is not on the ballot this year as having received only 1/2 the votes needed last year to stay on the ballot for a 2nd chance. However he was who I would have voted for last year even If I only had one vote. I feel that is a good enough reason to put him as a write-in i=on this years ballot as a curtain call of sorts.
If I had 11 votes ...
11 would go to Gary Sheffield.
In 2018 & 2019 I would have voted for Sheffield if given as many as 12 votes. I hypothesized after missing the vote last year that I would have placed Sheffield 7th. This year I have reverted to my original position that there are too many questions about his candidacy to consider him much lower than the double digits.
If I had 10 Votes ...
10 would go to Bobby Abreu.
I did not consider voting for Abreu last year. I don't think he's worthy of Cooperstown. I think he had a distinguished enough career to be in the conversation for a year or more.
If I had 9 votes ...
9 would go to Torii Hunter
When I hear the name Torii Hunter. I think Hall of Fame. When I look at his stats they tell a bit of a different story. He falls short of making My Official Unofficial Ballot (OUB) but it would certainly be nice if he could get enough votes to be on the ballot again next year.
If I had 8 votes ...
8 would go to Andruw Jones.
If Jones retired in 2007 when he left Atlanta or if He had Atlantaesque numbers in his final 5 seasoons of baseball He'd have a better chance of making Cooperstown than he does now. Still his time in Atlanta was good enough for me to consider him as my 9th vote last year and this year he's gone up to 8
If I had 7 votes ...
7 would go to Scott Rolen
Not only would I pick Rolen 7th, 7 is also the number of his gold gloves and all star appearances for this former Rookie of the Year. I have not picked him in the past but a closer look this year shows me he's right on the cusp of making my OUB.
If I had 6 votes ...
6 would go to Jeff Kent.
Last year I put Kent 6th two place higher than I had him in 2019. He's like my poster child for outside looking in. Even thinking about it here, I'm tempted to have Jones and Rolen leap frog him. For this year I'll let things stand as they are.
If I had 5 votes ...
With #5 I'd write in Dick Allen.
There's something about White Sox First basemen that makes e want to break my own Rules. Allen who passed away late last year should already be a hall of famer. I think he will probably make it the next time the veterans comittee of his era re-convene. Until then He may be revisiting this list in the years to come.
If I could vote for the number of players that I thought were worthy of inclusion to the Hall of fame, I would need four votes and that ballot would need like this ...
Barry Bonds Jeff Kent Gary Sheffield
Roger Clemens Manny Ramirez Andruw Jones
Curt Schilling Bobby Abreu Scott Rolen
Sammy Sosa. A.J. Burnett Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner Michael Cuddyer Dan Heren
Todd Helton Mark Buehrle LaTroy Hawkins
Andy Pettitte Tim Hudson Torii Hunter
Aramis Ramirez Shane Victorino Barry Zito
Nick Swisher
(My votes are in bold)
If I could only vote for 4 players for the Hall of Fame my 4th vote would go to ...
Curt Schilling
I have not been advocating Schilling as a candidate for Cooperstown until very recently. In 2020 I would have put Schilling 8th on my list and not in my OUB. He never got a mention from me in his first 7 years on the ballot. This year as I did my research many of my earlier qualms about his candidacy seemed to disappear into the vapor. He definitely has the resume for it and will probably make it this year.
If I could only vote for 3 players for the Hall of Fame my 3rd vote would go to ...
Todd Helton
In 2019 I placed Helton in 7th and he went up to 5th last year. He moves up another 2 this year and just like I eventually didn't hold it against Edgar Martinez that he played most of his career as a designated hitter, I don't begrudge Helton for playing his entire career for the Rockies.
If I could only vote for 2 players for the Hall of Fame my 2nd vote would go to ...
Omar Vizquel
Vizquel was my third choice in 2019 and 2020 and moved into 2nd when Jeter got elected and Konerko got rejected. Vizquel is one of those players who advanced metrics can't tell the full story of. He played the game at an extremely high level for many years. Some say his defense is over rated, I disagree. He is a Hall of fame caliber defender and worth of Cooperstown.
If I could only vote for one player to go to Cooperstown in 2021. That player would be Mark Buehrle.
The 5 time all star with 4 gold gloves was a reliable workhorse and a quick worker. He no hit the Texas Rangers and after walking Sammy Sosa (who's in his 9th year of eligibility) he proceed to get him out with his signature pick off move. He is a pitcher from another era, that's for sure bit those players of his caliber from that era are already in the hall of fame. I'd like to at least see him hang around for another bite of the apple. Otherwise you know who I'll be voting for 12th next year.