2019 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

Also crafty lefty is not accurate for Pettitte, maybe for Glavine or Viola. Pettitte threw a lot of cutters and also 4-seam fastballs.
Crafty lefty is someone who throws more breaking balls and changeups and lives more on the outside corner.

 

Harry Heilmann was a .342 career hitter over 17 seasons, hit over .400 once and .393 or better twice. How is this guy not already in the HOF?

 

He is. Or is this some old Sj.com joke I’m not getting.

 

Saw that he was on the Ford Frick ballot, for broadcasting, and wrongly assumed he wasn't already in the HOF as a player.

 

Harold Baines and Lee Smith elected to the Hall by the Vets Committee

 

I figured Smith but Baines came out of nowhere

 

Lee Smith (16 votes, 100%); Harold Baines (12 votes, 75 percent); Lou Piniella (11 votes, 68.8%); Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel and George Steinbrenner each received fewer than five votes.

 

I loved Charlie Manuel but how the hell is he even on the ballot. Baines was a splendid hitter, but no way better than the four players behind him on this ballot.

 

Manuel made it because of his winning percentage, a title and another pennant. On the list of 10 he was by far the lowest ranked candidate. I almost think they put him on instead of Jim Leyland because then Leyland and Piniella would cancel each other out from a voting standpoint.

I feel bad for Sweet Lou. He added four votes from the last time but came up one short. He'd be 78 the next time he comes up for a vote.

If he and Baines had been switched it would have been an acceptable group

 

Well, good news everyone, we’ve got a new name to use as a proof-text when we’re arguing for someone we like to get into Cooperstown. The best idea I can come up with is putting Harold Baines into the Hall of Fame is the flipside of a deal required to make Harrelson go away for good. My informal test for "Is he a Hall of Famer?" is would anyone ever say, "Oh shit, we're playing ____ tonight!" Has anyone ever said, "Oh shit, we're playing Harold Baines tonight!" Ever?

 

The Johnny Damon fan club got very excited tonight -- his hit total is now the borderline for guys who aren't in (counting out those we know aren't for obvious reasons and Omar Vizquel, who is on the ballot currently and headed for induction at some point)

 

Jesus, that Baines pick is bad. Lee Smith, meh - he compiled a shit ton of saves, and some people still think that matters. But Baines? His highest MVP finish was 9th in 1985, 10th in 1983, only in the top 20 four times. Only made six all-star teams. He's not some statistic or analytical darling. He was an average to above-average hitter for his whole career. Never won a World Series, and only played in one, if you care about that kind of stuff. His highest vote percentage for HOF was 6.1 percent, and he fell off the ballot after five years.