Help Peter K Fill Out His Baseball HOF Ballot

By  //  December 11, 2012

PETER K CASTS HIS National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

Last week you provided me your input on my Heisman Trophy ballot, and I listened. This week it gets tougher. But I think you’re more than up to the task. The other day my National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot arrived in the mail. It’s due at the end of the month.

The other day Peter Kerasotis’ National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot arrived in the mail. It’s due at the end of the month.

This is the year Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens appear for the first time on the ballot. Do any or all of them deserve to get in? Or not? How about any of the other names on the ballot? Mark McGwire’s name is still on it. So is Rafael Palmeiro. Who would you vote for and who wouldn’t you? And why? We have some known steroid cheats and some suspected users. It’s going to be an interesting vote this year. So post your comments.

Below are all the names on this year’s ballot. When you weigh in with your opinions, I’ll be reading what you have to say, and later this month I’ll write a story and tell you who I voted for. I’m allowed to vote for up to 10 players, but no more than 10. If this was your ballot, what would you do?

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order:

  • Sandy Alomar Jr.
  • Jeff Bagwell
  • Craig Biggio
  • Barry Bonds
  • Jeff Cirillo
  • Royce Clayton
  • Roger Clemens
  • Jeff Conine
  • Steve Finley
  • Julio Franco
  • Shawn Green
  • Roberto Hernandez
  • Ryan Klesko
  • Kenny Lofton
  • Edgar Martinez
  • Don Mattingly
  • Fred McGriff
  • Mark McGwire
  • Jose Mesa
  • Jack Morris
  • Dale Murphy
  • Rafael Palmeiro
  • Mike Piazza
  • Tim Raines
  • Reggie Sanders
  • Curt Schilling
  • Aaron Sele
  • Lee Smith
  • Sammy Sosa
  • Mike Stanton
  • Alan Trammell
  • Larry Walker
  • Todd Walker
  • David Wells
  • Rondell White
  • Bernie Williams
  • Woody Williams

13 Comments

  1. Bags, Biggio, Bonds, Clemens, Mattingly, Murphy, Shilling, Piazza, and Smith for me, please! And my 10th vote goes to you, Peter K, for being an advocate for the fans! Without us, there would be no “games” to play!

  2. PK, I had interesting involvement with MLB since I was a young teenager. I knew many players over many years. I feel quite emotional about two, very underserving players: Bonds and Clemens. I do not believe they possess the integrity, honor or right to be inducted. To me, they have forfeited that right through greed and wrong doing. That would be like considering/recognizing the real Bonnie and Clyde as ‘entertainers’.

    Others I would consider from your list would include: Dale Murphy, Tim Raines, Fred McGriff, Ryan Klesko, Kenny Lofton, Julio Franco, Lee Smith, Larry Walker, Bernie Williams, Jeff Bagwell (I’m not a Braves fan per se and realized after listing, several of them have been.)
    Thanks for the opportunity to have a say~
    Best Regards,
    Rick

  3. If you take out all the cheats, you are left with a bunch of pretty good ballplayers, but not much in the way of what I would consider Hall of Fame quality. I think I would vote for Dale Murphy because he was so good all-around and consistent for so long, and Tim Raines because he just might have been the best base stealer ever and he too lasted a long time. As for the cheaters, I would never vote for any of them regardless of their accomplishments because in my mind, what they did is tantamount to stealing, from the game of baseball, and from the fans.

  4. No steroids users or those who lied about their use ahould get in the Hall. To me Hank Aaron is still the lifetime home runs leader. Roger Maris is still the single season home runs leader.
    Sosa, Bonds, Palmiero, Clemens, Maguire and all the rest had their numbers artficially bloated and belong in the hall of shame.
    Imagine how many home runs Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams would have hit if they had cheated.
    Do the right thing Peter, send a message with your vote.

  5. Bonds and Clemens are clearly first ballot HOFers. Both have statistics off the charts as well multiple MVPs and Cy Youngs. They were both dominant amongst their peers for a long period of time. The debate is whether or not to wait a year or two because they both used performance enhancing drugs. My feeling is that if they are HOFers this year they are HOFers next year – their statistics won’t change. If they don’t get in, then no one who played in the steriod era should get in. I will readily admit the both guys are jerks, but if that precluded inclusion into the Hall, they would need to remove a lot of plaques.

    Palmiero, Sosa and Biggio are a little trickier. Palmiero made only a handful of All Star games I was never a top 5 MVP candidate. Sosa had one year in which he was arguably the best player in the game – but is it enough? Biggio got 3,000 hits, but with a .288 average – good but not outstanding. None of them did anything in the post season either.

    I’d stick with just Bonds and Clemens.

  6. I was in Cooperstown a few years ago and spent several hours wandering through all the fascinating baseball memorabilia. As I walked along the walls of plaques honoring the baseball greats of yesteryear, I recognized most of the names inducted in the early years as players I had read about and listen to on the radio in my childhood days and, in later years, watched on television.
    Then, with the plaques beginning around 1970, I started reading lots of names of people I had never heard of before. I soon realized that the plaques, grouped by year of induction, are now a mixture of MLB players, managers, umpires, and executives—as well as Negro League players and executives. The rules for induction have obviously changed since 1936 when the first class was inducted.
    How much have they changed? That’s for you and the other members of the BBWAA to decide, but my feeling is this. If you’re going to elect someone to the HOF based primarily on their numbers, then let’s get Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe on the ballot as well. On the other hand, if what they contributed to the game of baseball, like the HOF managers, umpires, and Negro League players, is at least as important, then let this be the last year the chemical boys get more than 5% of the vote.

  7. Peter, no to all steriod users. Having followed the game fairly closely for the last 60 years, I find only five candidates I can support because they have the numbers: Biggio, Mattingly, Morris, Murphy and Lee Smith. All of these guys gave 100% every day, too.

  8. Charley Hester is spot-on…take out the cheats and not much is left to consider. Remrmber, this is the “HALL OF FAME”, not the “Hall of the Very Good”. MLB’s HOF selections are IMO the most revered in all of sport and thus more deserving of more scrutiny of any vote.

    I’m sorry but only Dale Murphy and Fred McGriff get my vote…and they are on thin ice in terms of deserving. Honestly they are in the very, very good category but because they played clean and with such class and the numbers warrant it, and because their ballot clock is ticking and close to running out, I say those 2 only. Bagwell and Biggio? They were on HGH, IMO. Biggio is on paper a 1st-ballot selection…but he is exactly like Palmero to me. No proof but my gut tells me, yes, he cheated.

    I’m a Cincinnati boy and watched great players ever since I went to Crosley Field my first time in 1958. Because of that I’m a purest. And if it isn’t pure (sorry Pete Rose, but you broke the rules and then lied. Love to see you in the HOF but you can wait a while longer!) I’m against voting for any of the juicers/cheaters. Bonds, McGuire, Sosa, Clemens…none of you get in for at least a decade or two. That’s your penance and I hope Peter’s keeps you off for a very long time.

    So, Murph and the Crime-Dog, that’s it. They are both borderline but deserving. I know you can vote 10…that doesn’t mean you should.

  9. NO CHEATERS! {1} Murphy {2} Mattingly {3} Mcgriff {4} Lofton {5} Schilling {6} Alomar Jr. {7} Wells {8} Piazza {9} Raines {10} Palmeira would be my ten.

    Lots of good players on the list. Murphy should definitely get in, this from a longtime “Braves” fan who knows the guy was an all-round great player!

    Baseball has changed so much over the years it is hard to compare players.

  10. Tough call regarding the steroid users. On the one hand, they were not breaking any rules that were on the books at the time. On the other, they knew they were wrong or they would not have denied (and denied and denied) it. So, do we penalize them for that? I don’t know if we should penalize them any more than any of the other players who took advantage of other training regimens that were trendsetting. For instance, weight training and offseason conditioning were not always in vogue and those who started these regimens before anyone else gave themselves a competitive advantage. My gut says to keep them out, but my head says that maybe I am being too black and white on the issue. I agree that Clemens and Bonds are the cream of this crop and the only ones who totally dominated their era. Murphy maybe. He started as a catcher and moved to centerfield. I can’t remember anyone who could do that. (Berra did the opposite.) His stats are borderline, but I could live with his selection for the reasons cited previously.

  11. My recommendations are for Mike Piazza(1 of the best offensive catchers statisically ever)-Jack Morris(Best pitcher of the 80’s and one of the best big game pitcher’s).That would be it on this list.No to the steroid user’s.Pete Rose is not in hall and he is not accused of betting on HIS team’s games so he did not directly affect the outcome of games he was involved in.These guy’s(Clemens,Bond’s,Sosa)not only directly affected the outcome of games(who know’s how many games they won due to home runs,hit’s,defensive play’s,strikeout’s,etc… due to steroids)but also altered the game statistically(something near to MY heart).How Mark Mcguire is in baseball as hitting coach is beyond me.I would rather learn hitting from Pete Rose9who got more out of his ability at the plate then him?)then Mcguire.Let me know what you think-i’m sure there’s lot’s of people that agree.

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