Editorials

2015 Hall Of Fame Ballot: Jared Massey’s Selections

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

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Mike Piazza



The best offensive catcher of all time. He won the Rookie of the Year in 1993 and finished in the top-five in MVP voting in each of his first five full seasons. From 1993-2002, Piazza posted an OPS of over .900 every season. He was also the only player who primarily played catcher with more than 400 career home runs. Sure, he wasn’t a great defender, but the offense would have been Hall of Fame caliber at any position.

Alan Trammell

To be honest, I never saw Trammell play, or have recollection of seeing him play, so all of my information on him is second-hand. However, reading scouting reports and looking at his numbers, it seems that he should have an easy time getting in.

That is, until you look at the fact that he’s nearing his final ballot and received just 20.8 percent of the vote last year. Thanks, BBWAA! Not only was Trammell a good offensive shortstop, finishing his career with a 111 wRC+, he also had a reputation as a great defender.

Couple that with excellent metrics and four Gold Glove Awards, and you have yourself a complete player. Granted, he probably played a year or two too long, but Trammell is a great example of a player that you like the more you look at him.

Tim Raines

Another player I don’t remember seeing play, Raines was similar to Rickey Henderson in his skillset — a left fielder who hit leadoff and stole a whole lot of bases. In fact, “Rock” ranks fifth all-time with 808 stolen bases.

The main knock on Raines is his other counting numbers. He didn’t get to 3,000 hits and he only topped 100 runs scored six times in 23 seasons. Now, those numbers don’t matter much to me, but they may be the primary reasons why some writers are lukewarm on Raines. After all, his career OBP was .385 and he hit 170 home runs, so it’s not like speed was the only thing he offered at the plate.

He’s simply another case of a player getting overlooked.

Craig Biggio

Now, back to players I remember watching play. Biggio is more of a traditional candidate, with over 3,000 career hits, ranking 15th on the all-time Runs Scored list, fifth with 668 Doubles and second with 285 times being hit by pitch.

The counting stats are there, but he was also a dynamic player. He began his career behind the plate but moved to second base in his fifth Major-League season, where he became a Gold Glover. In 1998, Biggio hit 51 doubles, 20 home runs and stole 50 bases, and finished in MVP voting.

Biggio made seven All-Star teams, won five Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Gloves.

Larry Walker

I know what you’re going to say. “Walker only hit because he played in Coors Field!” Well, you’re wrong!

Walker was a good hitter in Montreal, posting a .981 OPS in his final season with the Expos. Sure, moving to Colorado helped, but he put up astronomical numbers away from Coors as well. In fact, during the 1997 season, which culminated in an MVP Award, Walker posted a higher road OPS than he did in Denver.

In 1999, when Walker hit .379/.458/.710, he finished 10th in MVP voting. Not only did he produce an OPS of over 1.000 six times from 1997-2004, he also won seven Gold Glove awards. Playing for the Rockies was surely a windfall, but you can’t ignore his overall production at the plate and in the field.

Honorable Mentions

I’ll probably hear about omitting John Smoltz the most, but looking at his numbers, I just didn’t see as consistent dominance as I did with the other three pitchers. Also, I’m not as concerned about him not getting in as I am with other players like Trammell and Raines.

Smoltz will likely hear his name called on Tuesday, so try not to shed a tear. Two other pitchers, Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina, were on the bubble but ultimately fell short. Like Smoltz, I see both of them eventually getting in. 

Then you have the sluggers like Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield and Jeff Kent. Ten slots simply isn’t enough.

So, to recap, here are my 10 selections in alphabetical order:

Jeff Bagwell
Craig Biggio
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Randy Johnson
Pedro Martinez
Mike Piazza
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell
Larry Walker

Continue Reading: Addressing PEDs And Hall Of Fame Induction

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5 Comments

  1. Bonds is a HOFer….but no way is he arguably the greatest player in the history of the game…..that is reserved for Babe Ruth…

    1. While I do not agree that Bonds was the greatest ever, I saw Mays, Mantle, Clemente and others play that were amazing,. I do agree he should be in the HOF. I do not believe the HOF vote should have ever become a morality test. Vote on performance, period, After a nasty Labor Dispute McGuirre and Sosa brought interest in baseball back. I have low testosterone if I were a ball player I could not take it. Give it a rest, vote them in Bonds, Clements, McGuirre et all.

  2. well hell lets let all the ped users in,the old timers didn’t need it and so far as bonds is concerned the real homerun champ is hank arron and babe ruthi saw mays and clemente and mccovey and those guys play to.it was the good old golden age of baseball back then.

    1. First of all Bonds and Clements have never been convicted of using steroids. The government spent a lot of time and money trying to convict Clements and could not do it. Second of all I repeat the HOF last time I checked was supposed to be for Baseball Excellence it is not a morality check. Lets vote for the players on how they performed on the field. You do not know who, in that era, used. From some of the articles I have read there were a lot of guys using. But that was what was going on at the time. Get over it and stop attempting to decide who did what. Vote on performance, period. There are a lot of rumors about Biggio, Bagwell, Piazza etc. People can be ruined by rumor and innuendo if they have not been convicted in a court of law how can you say they are guilty? Dodgers 55 my first game was at the Coliseum in 58 so I have also seen a lot of baseball. My answer to you is yes let everyone in. And Ped’s or no Peds Bonds was one of the top 10 players I have ever seen. I was priveleged to watch Mays, Mantle Clemente, Hank Arron. I am thrilled to still be alive and watch Trout and the young guys coming up.

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