# The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 poll and thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 9, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147 "2015-11-09T23:41:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/41 "2015-11-11T13:26:36Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Bonds and Clemons numbers are so over the top they’d still get in even if they didn’t use PEDs. I think the Boss is already in. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/42 "2015-11-11T14:03:07Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Bonds and Clemons numbers are so over the top they’d still get in even if they didn’t use PEDs. Delete “still” and “even,” and you’d be right. ---
**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:** [November 11, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/43 "2015-11-11T14:45:53Z")
RickJay: > [@](#): > > I have always wondered why Trammell didn’t get more credit. Blame Cal Ripken and Ozzie Smith. Being the “best at the position in your era” makes you a slam dunk, but being just a shade behind makes people forget you. Just ask Tim “wishes he didn’t play at the same time as Rickey Henderson” Raines. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/44 "2015-11-11T14:54:36Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > LUIS CASTILLO - Castillo was as good a player as Garret Anderson but I think he’s best remembered for the time he played a whole year, hit pretty well, and only drove in 17 runs. Isn’t that amazing? I think it must be some kind of modern record. > > If I paid the Blue Jays to let me play every day, could I drive in 17 runs? I’m pretty sure I could. Even with intense pre-season bating practice and coaching I’d probably hit no better than an OK pitcher, maybe .125 and I might luck out and drill a home run or two. But even then I bet I could stll drive in 17 runs by sheer luck. You’re gonna drive in a run on a groundout every now and then. How on earth did he do that? Hit pretty well? Dude hit .334 that year. Castillo was the absolute king of the seeing eye single. Hit for basically zero power. The 17 RBI is incredible and all I can say is he hit leadoff on a no-so-good Marlins team that struck out a lot. Still, to have 180 base hits and only drive in 17 is unimaginable. > [@RickJay](#): > > EDGAR MARTINEZ – As usual Edgar is polling very well, as he always does in these threads. > > I’ll ask, as I did last year; why? What about Edgar Martinez makes him a better choice than Larry Walker, who right now has fewer than half the votes? Martinez was a better hitter; he was also a DH. Every analytical stat says Walker was, overall, just as good or better. So why does Edgar get such love? I wouldn’t mind seeing him elected, but geez, there’s a lot of candidates who used a glove, too. As one who voted for Edgar but not Walker, I’ll admit I did so without looking at the numbers. Now that I have, they are nearly identical. Would be hard to elect one and not the other. The only somewhat valid argument is the Coors Field effect. Walker wasn’t a 30-40 home run hitter in Montreal. That said, I hate the favorable ball park argument whether it’s for pitchers or hitters. I’m completely numb, however, to the anti-DH argument. I assume anyone who doesn’t vote for a DH also doesn’t vote for AL pitchers since they don’t hit? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/45 "2015-11-11T20:41:14Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I’m completely numb, however, to the anti-DH argument. I assume anyone who doesn’t vote for a DH also doesn’t vote for AL pitchers since they don’t hit? I’m not saying you can’t elect a DH. I’m saying you have to consider a player’s entire value. In comparing Walker to Martinez, it is simply a fact that Walker had considerable defensive value and Martinez did not. That’s simply a fact, just as it is a fact that Ozzie Smith had considerable defensive value and Harmon Killebrew did not, or that Ken Griffey hit 630 home runs and Greg Maddux didn’t. If Martinez’s value as a hitter by itself makes him a HOF player, so be it. but you do have to accept that he has basically no defensive value. It’s a fact, just as it is a fact Greg Maddux had no offensive value. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/46 "2015-11-11T21:08:07Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I think the Boss is already in. You mean the Big Man. Bruce is the Boss. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/47 "2015-11-11T22:00:16Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You mean the Big Man. Bruce is the Boss. Jay Bruce of the Reds? Or Bruce Kison, the former Pirate pitcher? I don’t think either of them is making the Hall. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/48 "2015-11-11T22:13:00Z")
This happens just about every year with our polls…though a lot of people vote for a lot of guys (I know I did), and though there is much talk of how the writers “should” elect more players, we SDMB mavens typically don’t elect very many when all is said and done. Right now Griffey has 96%, so he’s clearly in. Bagwell is just under 75%. Piazza is a little lower. If voting ended right this minute, we’d elect one player. That’s it. A lot of us evidently want a Small Hall. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/49 "2015-11-11T23:51:11Z")
Tentatively Bagwell, Bonds, Clemens, Griffey, Schilling, Piazza, Raines, Trammell, Mussina, and Martinez, but I will hold off on voting for now and continue reading the thread in case anyone changes my mind. When does voting close? My friends and I used to call Jeff Kent “Mr. Porn Star Mustache”. I will only vote for him if that can go on the plaque. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/50 "2015-11-11T23:54:45Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Right now Griffey has 96%, so he’s clearly in. Bagwell is just under 75%. Piazza is a little lower. If voting ended right this minute, we’d elect one player. That’s it. A lot of us evidently want a Small Hall. I certainly want a small Hall, and many years I think one would be plenty. From this list, I went with the three you named here. By my lights, these are the no-doubters. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/51 "2015-11-12T00:23:57Z")
Bagwell Bonds Clemens Griffey McGwire Mussina Piazza Raines Schilling Trammell No particular offense to Edgar, Walker, Hoffman, Kent, Sheffield, and maybe Edmonds, but the above 10 are better in my eyes and deserve to be in first. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/52 "2016-01-06T23:15:08Z")
Bumped for[today’s election of Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza to the Baseball HOF](http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14517514/ken-griffey-jr-mike-piazza-voted-cooperstown-baseball-hall-famers). Griffey received 99.3% of the vote, the highest percentage ever. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/53 "2016-01-06T23:16:30Z")
Griffey got in with a record total (99.3%), as did Piazza. The voters are still being dumb about Bonds and Clemens, though, as they were not even close. I can’t wait to see the idiots that didn’t vote for Griffey and hear their reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/54 "2016-01-06T23:20:54Z")
Griffey is the highest drafted player ever to make it to the Hall. Piazza is the lowest. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/55 "2016-01-06T23:23:14Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > I can’t wait to see the idiots that didn’t vote for Griffey and hear their reasoning. It’s the same type of jerks that didn’t vote for Babe Ruth, or Ted Williams, or Willie Mays, or Cal Ripken. They will be with us always. (We weren’t unanimous either.) ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/56 "2016-01-06T23:27:08Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > I can’t wait to see the idiots that didn’t vote for Griffey and hear their reasoning. Seconded ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/57 "2016-01-06T23:29:42Z")
We voted for Bagwell, who got 71.6%. Raines also made a big gain; maybe next year. Bonds and Clemens both made marked gains from last year. ---
**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 6, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/58 "2016-01-06T23:42:56Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Griffey got in with a record total (99.3%), as did Piazza. The voters are still being dumb about Bonds and Clemens, though, as they were not even close. > > I can’t wait to see the idiots that didn’t vote for Griffey and hear their reasoning. The only non-insane reason I can think of would be wanting to vote for 11 players and figuring everyone else would vote for Griffey Jr. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/59 "2016-01-07T03:31:35Z")
Well too bad for Trammel falling off, not that it’s unexpected. Maybe the veteran’s committee will look favorably on him. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147/60 "2016-01-07T04:41:23Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Bonds and Clemens both made marked gains from last year. In percentage, not in absolute votes. Both the ballot and the electorate were slimmer this year. Neither of those guys is going in. I’ll be surprised if they ever break 50%. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-class-of-2016-poll-and-thread/737147.md?page=4)