# 2014 MLB Hall of Fame Ballot **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 26, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859 "2013-11-26T21:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/321 "2014-01-08T19:25:37Z")
Well, at LEAST they’re over the “not electing anybody” phase. And now that Jack Morris is no longer eligible, maybe the Old Farts and the Sabre Nerds can stop quarrelling for a little while. Whether you prefer WHiP or wins, Maddux and Glavine are deserving. Whether you like WAR or plain old homers and ribbies, the Big Hurt is deserving. We can all be happy with the guys who DID get in- we can gripe about who didn’t later. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/322 "2014-01-08T19:27:50Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > 144 people didn’t vote for Biggio, and someone else sent in a blank ballot. He’d have made it with one or two more votes. I don’t know how they officially count this stuff- if Biggio had received 428 out of 571 votes, that’s 74.95%. Would they have rounded up, or did he need 429? On the other hand if blank ballots didn’t count, 428/570 would be good enough. That’s 75.1%. I can almost understand deciding that Biggio was such a slam-dunk that a voter would want to cast votes for people he thought were in danger of dropping off the ballot, or were borderline cases - Jack Morris, for example. I suppose it’s also theoretically possible, if you’re insane or on grade-a narcotics, to say you thought 10 other people on that list were more deserving. But casting a ballot with just one of 10 votes is a fucking joke. A publicity stunt by someone wanting headlines. ‘I’m not enjoying the attention’, he claims. Bull-fucking-shit. If that were the case just keep your vote secret. Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/323 "2014-01-08T19:29:59Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > But casting a ballot with just one of 10 votes is a fucking joke. A publicity stunt by someone wanting headlines. ‘I’m not enjoying the attention’, he claims. Bull-fucking-shit. If that were the case just keep your vote secret. > > Idiot. It was a flounce and should be treated as such. So… same time next year? It should be another big class. There’s no way Biggio misses again, and Smoltz, Martinez and Johnson will all be on the ballot. ---
**Author:** ![Cumbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/324 "2014-01-08T19:34:53Z")
[http://deadspin.com/revealed-the-hall-of-fame-voter-who-turned-his-ballot-1496558341/@marchman](http://deadspin.com/revealed-the-hall-of-fame-voter-who-turned-his-ballot-1496558341/@marchman) Deadspin’s bought vote was from Dan Le Batard. His rationale for selling it is contained at the URL. Apologies if already noted elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/325 "2014-01-08T19:35:48Z")
BBWAA says Biggio missed the cut-off by -two- votes, so they must not round up when the vote is 74.95%. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/326 "2014-01-08T19:38:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > … > > So… same time next year? It should be another big class. There’s no way Biggio misses again, and Smoltz, Martinez and Johnson will all be on the ballot. Plus Delgado and Sheffield will attract support. Biggio might be crowded out next year. The problem with guys like Clemens and Bonds, is that they’re not going to get elected anytime soon, but to at least a 1/3rd of the voters, they’re no-brainers and are going to siphon off votes from guys that have chance. Biggio and Piazza may have to wait until the log jam clears. Schilling under 30% and Mussina close to 20% – tough crowd. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/327 "2014-01-08T19:46:34Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > Plus Delgado and Sheffield will attract support. Biggio might be crowded out next year. No way Delgado or Sheffield get anywhere close to voted in next year. Biggio, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez are mortal locks next year. I’m not convinced Sheffield is even HoF-worthy, although it’s been a while since I looked closely at his numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/328 "2014-01-08T19:49:12Z")
Palmeiro fell off the ballot, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/329 "2014-01-08T20:03:11Z")
2 guys had records in jeopardy, both get to keep them. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/330 "2014-01-08T20:03:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Palmeiro fell off the ballot, by the way. Wow. Can’t say I saw that coming. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/331 "2014-01-08T20:09:42Z")
I’m impressed by Bonds and Clemens hitting the upper 30s. As much shit as they get from their louder critics, they’re still getting over 1/3 of the vote. The final BBWAA tally: Name Votes (Pct.) Yrs on ballot Greg Maddux 555 (97.2%) 1 Tom Glavine 525 (91.9) 1 Frank Thomas 478 (83.7) 1 Craig Biggio 427 (74.8) 2 Mike Piazza 355 (62.2) 2 Jack Morris 351 (61.5) 15 Jeff Bagwell 310 (54.3) 4 Tim Raines 263 (46.1) 7 Roger Clemens 202 (35.4) 2 Barry Bonds 198 (34.7) 2 Lee Smith 171 (29.9) 12 Curt Schilling 167 (29.2) 2 Edgar Martinez 144 (25.2) 5 Alan Trammell 119 (20.8) 13 Mike Mussina 116 (20.3) 1 Jeff Kent 87 (15.2) 1 Fred McGriff 67 (11.7) 8 Mark McGwire 63 (11.0) 8 Larry Walker 58 (10.2) 4 Don Mattingly 47 (8.2) 14 Sammy Sosa 41 (7.2) 2 Rafael Palmeiro 25 (4.4) 4 Moises Alou 6 (1.1) 1 Hideo Nomo 6 (1.1) 1 Luis Gonzalez 5 (0.9) 1 Eric Gagne 2 (0.4) 1 J.T. Snow 2 (0.4) 1 Armando Benitez 1 (0.2) 1 Jacque Jones 1 (0.2) 1 Kenny Rogers 1 (0.2) 1 Sean Casey 0 (0) 1 Ray Durham 0 (0) 1 Todd Jones 0 (0) 1 Paul LoDuca 0 (0) 1 Richie Sexson 0 (0) 1 Mike Timlin 0 (0) 1 And next year’s ballot: Craig Biggio 3rd Jeff Bagwell 5th Mike Piazza 3rd Tim Raines 8th Lee Smith 13th Curt Schilling 3rd Roger Clemens 3rd Barry Bonds 3rd Edgar Martinez 6th Alan Trammell 14th Larry Walker 5th Fred McGriff 6th Mark McGwire 9th Don Mattingly 15th Sammy Sosa 3rd Mike Mussina 2nd Jeff Kent 2nd Randy Johnson 1st Pedro Martinez 1st John Smoltz 1st Gary Sheffield 1st Brian Giles 1st Nomar Garciaparra 1st Carlos Delgado 1st Darin Erstad 1st Tom Gordon 1st Jason Schmidt 1st Jarrod Washburn 1st Cliff Floyd 1st Kelvim Escobar 1st Jermaine Dye 1st Mark Loretta 1st Rich Aurilia 1st Troy Percival 1st Paul Byrd 1st Joe Crede 1st Tony Clark 1st B.J. Ryan 1st Eddie Guardado 1st David Weathers 1st Braden Looper 1st Julian Tavarez 1st Alan Embree 1st Ron Villone 1st ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/332 "2014-01-08T20:30:47Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > Plus Delgado and Sheffield will attract support. Biggio might be crowded out next year. > [@DragonAsh](#): > > No way Delgado or Sheffield get anywhere close to voted in next year. He’s not saying they’ll get in. He’s saying they may keep Biggio from getting in. I see the logic, but I think he’ll get over the barrier this time. In which case we’re looking at one of the biggest classes ever. > [@etv78](#): > > 2 guys had records in jeopardy, both get to keep them. Not sure what you mean here. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/333 "2014-01-08T20:33:58Z")
So Raines went backwards? Ugh. I guess that was bound to happen with such a stacked ballot. Hopefully we can ease some of this constipation in a couple years and he’ll get in. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/334 "2014-01-08T20:36:26Z")
Only Biggio and Piazza gained votes. Jack Morris also joins Gil Hodges as the only players to break the 50% barrier without ultimately winning election from the BBWAA- and I think his 67.7% from last year is the highest mark ever for a guy who didn’t get in. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/335 "2014-01-08T20:38:27Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > [http://deadspin.com/revealed-the-hall-of-fame-voter-who-turned-his-ballot-1496558341/@marchman](http://deadspin.com/revealed-the-hall-of-fame-voter-who-turned-his-ballot-1496558341/@marchman) > > Deadspin’s bought vote was from Dan Le Batard. His rationale for selling it is contained at the URL. Apologies if already noted elsewhere. The outcry over this by some people is outrageous. Three voting members of the BBWAA don’t cover baseball anymore–they run a golf website. Another submits a vote for Jack Morris and ONLY Jack Morris. Another voter sent in a blank ballot. And yet Dan Le Batard gets grief for turning his ballot over to Deadspin? Take a look at that ballot. I think the Deadspin readers submitted a hell of a ballot. If every voter took the ballot as seriously as Deadspin readers did Biggio would have made it this year. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/336 "2014-01-08T21:00:04Z")
Munch: > [@](#): > > And next year’s ballot: > (snip) > Tom Gordon 1st > (snip) Maybe Stephen King will want to buy a ballot a-la Deadspin so he can vote as “The Writer Who Wrote The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.” ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/337 "2014-01-08T21:07:47Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > No way Delgado or Sheffield get anywhere close to voted in next year. Biggio, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez are mortal locks next year. > > I’m not convinced Sheffield is even HoF-worthy, although it’s been a while since I looked closely at his numbers. Biggio’s OPS+ 112 Delgado’s OPS+ 138 Sheffield’s OPS+ 140 And they all have good counting stats, with Biggio have the highest, based on 19.5 years. But years from now, when you take your grandchildren to the HOF, and come across Biggio’s plaque, will you have ANYthing to tell them, except "This guy played for a long time and played 3 positions and got hit by a lot of pitches.? Delgado will get some votes, not enough to get even close to get in, because his power was in the PED era, but quite the slugger. I’m surprised his career WAR is so low, but 138 OPS+ is impressive. IMO, Sheffield may be one of the top 10 on next year’s crowded ballot. He did admit to using the creme and the clear for one year, but his alibi is that Barry Bonds got it for him and he didn’t realize they were PEDs. For some reason, I believe him. Shef was sometimes crazy, but I never took him for a liar. Probably the best player ever, to have played on so many teams, which might actually give him an edge, if he left more good memories with writers than bad. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/338 "2014-01-08T21:12:02Z")
Marley- Maddux challenged Seaver’s % record. Morris would’ve broke Ruffing’s record for worst ERA. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/339 "2014-01-08T21:13:55Z")
Sheffield’s claims make no sense at all. > [@](#): > > I took an unknown substance for a year because a guy who was obviously juicing was kind enough to give me some completely legal products. Sheffield knew, and I bet it was a lot longer than one year. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859/340 "2014-01-08T21:15:08Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I’m impressed by Bonds and Clemens hitting the upper 30s. As much shit as they get from their louder critics, they’re still getting over 1/3 of the vote… Hopefully not too much of a hijack, but will Clemens and Bonds eventually get in? They have 13 more tries, correct? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-mlb-hall-of-fame-ballot/674859.md?page=18)