Yup, it's that time of year again.
Time to fill out the annual Hall of Fame ballot, which is both a privilege and, at times, a giant pain in the asterisk.
This year is even more compelling than most, since the new ballot includes a couple of controversial new names, along with three players who appear on the ballot for the final time. That's bound to increase interest in the voting. Ballots must be postmarked by the final day in December, with results announced on Jan. 25, with the induction ceremonies set for next July 24.
Already, a half-dozen new members have been elected by two Veterans committees, with Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges, Buck O'Neil and Bud Fowler honored earlier this month.
Taking nothing away from the aforementioned inductees, the real drama is going to come from the BBWAA ballot.
This year, my ballot features a total of six players: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Andruw Jones, David Ortiz, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner.
For Bonds, Clemens, Schilling and Sammy Sosa, this is their final year of eligibility.
An explanation of my ballot, with, first, an important disclaimer about how I treat PEDs.
As I've written about in past years here, for quite some time, I didn't vote for players who, in my opinion, had used performance-enhancing drugs during their career. I considered them to have cheated the game and undeserving of election and recognition with the highest honor possible.
You may regard that stance as overly moralistic. But at the time, I couldn't in good conscience turn a blind eye to deliberately and knowingly skirting the rules. True, there was no testing in place or punishment for usage until 2004, but that didn't mean I could excuse PED use.
Then, over time, my thinking evolved.
I came to the conclusion that I was tired of playing judge/jury/investigator for MLB and the Hall of Fame. These players were allowed to play the game at the highest level and then were presented to me and my fellow voters. (The same has never been afforded to Pete Rose, whose name has never been placed on a Hall of Fame ballot).
I determined that I was sick of playing detective and weighing all the contradictory evidence. It got to a point where I decided that I was incapable of determining who did what and for how long and to what advantage. So, taking a page from the movie character Dr. Strangelove, I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb(s).
Don't want to qualify matters or offer me guidance? Fine. I'll vote for those I deem worthy -- with one important distinction.
While I have no doubt about Bonds, Clemens and others having achieved with the use of illegal supplements, I made a determination that I would draw the line at 2003. Starting in 2004, MLB, with acquiescence (finally!) of the Players Association, instituted a strict policy that, for the first time, included regular testing and stringent penalties.
If players are so brazen and/or stupid to have used from 2004 on, and were caught, that eliminates them from my consideration. Thus, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez are not part of my ballot. It's possible I could have a change of heart with them down the road, as I've already changed my mind about PED use before. There can be no doubting the qualifications of Rodriguez and Ramirez, who might be the two best righthanded hitters in the game over the last 30 or so years. But, sorry, I can't look past their blind arrogance and wanton disregard when it comes to PED use -- at least not now.
Anyway, the choices:
Barry Bonds: Baseball's all-time home run king (like it or not) at 762, Bonds was a 14-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glover, 12-time Silver Slugger and seven-time MVP. The home run total and the seven-time MVP (most ever) alone would seem to have guaranteed Bonds election long ago, but, well, you know. There's the nasty matter of PED use, which Bonds has (sort of) copped to, while maintaining that he didn't know what he taking or ingesting. But Bonds managed to stay clean once testing began, and the case could be made that he was already Cooperstown-worthy before he started using (in the aftermath of the McGuire/Sosa home run chase).
Roger Clemens: I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bonds and Clemens are in absolute lockstep here. The similarities are so close, in fact, as to be scary -- while Bonds has a record seven MVP awards, Clemens has a record seven Cy Young Awards. And, of course, like Bonds, continues to maintain "I never took nothin'" stance, along with a similarly blase attitude toward his election. Further, if you subscribe to the notion that Clemens began using when he signed with Toronto (that's where he met up with "trainer''/supplier Brian McNamee), then Clemens, too, probably had been great enough before his usage (three Cy Young Awards, two other top five Cy Young finishes, one MVP, 192 victories) to qualify.
It would seem both Clemens and Bonds are going to fall short this year in their final year of eligibility. They were each just over 61 percent last year -- players need to be selected on at least 75 percent of the ballots -- and that sort of leap is unfathomable and unprecedented.
All along, there were two arguments about the electability that a number of voters would change their minds and lift them over the threshold toward the end of their eligibility; and that is an influx of younger voters, less troubled by the PED allegations, would carry them to election. To date, neither has taken place.
Andruw Jones: I've been on the Jones train from his first appearance on the ballot. Jones won 10 Gold Gloves over his career and also hit 434 homers lifetime. Of players who've won 10 Gold Gloves, only three -- Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Schmidt and Willie Mays had more home runs. A solid case could be made that Jones is the best defensive center fielder of the post-expansion era. Here's how I've come to put it: Imagine Ozzie Smith had also hit more than 400 homers in his career, and you've got Andruw Jones.
David Ortiz: Yes, I'm quite aware that Ortiz popped up as a positive in the 2003 survey testing that was conducted to determine how widespread the PED use was in the game, and to determine whether stricter testing and penalties were necessary (Narrator: They were). But we've also learned that the results of that survey and highly suspect (Rob Manfred has said there were at least 10 positives from that period). Could Ortiz have used PEDs prior to the current program being put in place? Sure. But unlike teammate Ramirez and one-time arch-rival Rodriguez, he never again tested positive after that transition program. And broker me no DH arguments, please. I find it inconceivable that some are reluctant to vote for someone who primarily served in that role, now that the DH has been in place for almost half a century. Is every DH Hall-worthy? Of course not. But the ones who finish in the Top 5 in MVP voting in five seasons, smack 541 homers and finish with a career OPS of .931 are.
Curt Schilling: Uh oh. Even with the PED guys and a few others who have attracted notoriety, no player is more controversial. Schilling has kicked and screamed that he doesn't want to be on the ballot anymore, a demand rejected by the Hall of Fame (and not, it should be noted, the BBWAA, which Schilling regards as something of a terrorist organization. Schilling just missed last year, finishing at 71.1 percent. There's never been a player who got that close and wasn't subsequently elected. Then again, there's never been a player as polarizing as Schilling. I've voted for Schilling the first nine times his name is on the ballot and will do so again in this, his final appearance, and I'm wondering whether that further angers Schilling or not. To me, he's not a slam-dunk case, since his win total (if you still regard that as a measuring stick) is somewhat low, and he never won a Cy Young Award, which would be unusual for a starter elected to the Hall. Nonetheless, Schilling is one of just five pitchers with more than 3,000 strikeouts and fewer than 1,000 walks. In fact, his strikeout to walk ratio is the best for any pitcher since 1900. His postseason brilliance (2.23 ERA) is well-documented. His numbers speak for himself. (Oh, how I wish that were literally true).
Billy Wagner: This is Wagner's seventh year on the ballot, and I didn't start voting for him until two years ago. Wagner is sixth overall in career saves with 422, and while we've come to evaluate save totals differently, there's no getting around this: among relievers with 700 or more innings pitched in their careers, Wagner has the lowest WHIP (0.998). Further, his career ERA of 2.31 is the lowest among lefties who have thrown at least 500 innings in the live-ball era. When someone is that dominant against his contemporaries in two critical statistical measures (batters allowed on base and earned runs allowed), that gets my attention.
_____________________________
The passing of Roland Hemond, a native of Central Falls, R.I., earlier this week, was a sad event for those who knew him. Hemond was gracious, accommodating and a terrific ambassador for the game he loved. Hemond's passing also served as the end of an era, since he was believed to be the last living Boston Braves employee, having begun his long baseball career with the team in 1952.
But it also served as a reminder of how many baseball general managers -- or whatever titles are currently held -- have come from our part of the country. It's an astonishing list, really, when you think of the relatively small region New England represents and the outsized role it has held in the modern game as the birthplace of so many front office executives.
Consider, in the last 60 years or so, the number of Red Sox executives who were either born here or grew up here -- to say nothing of those who attended school in the area.
From the Red Sox: Dick O'Connell (Winthrop, MA), Lou Gorman (Providence), Dan Duquette (Dalton, MA), Theo Epstein (born in New York City, but moved to Brookline soon after), and Ben Cherington (Meriden, NH). Also holding the title of GM though they were not, at the time, the highest-ranking official in their respective Baseball Operations staffs -- Mike Hazen (born in Weymouth, raised in Abington) and the current GM Brian O'Halloran (Weymouth).
Finally, there's Jed Hoyer, current president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, but who was, briefly, named "co-GM'' with Cherington during Epstein's winter-long sabbatical in the offseason of 2005-2006,
Then there are the many others from across the game: Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey (Lynn, MA); Cleveland Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti (Connecticut); and Hazen, currently GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Then there the others who have either retired, moved out of their positions or passed on: Harry Dalton (West Springfield, MA) who served as GM of the Orioles, Angels and Brewers; Jim Duquette (Dalton, MA) who served as GM of the New York Mets; J.P. Ricciardi, who was GM of the Toronto Blue Jays (Worcester); former San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean (Concord, N.H.); former Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neal Huntington (Amherst, N.H.); former Texas Rangers GM Tom Grieve (Pittsfield, MA); former Pittsburgh Pirates GM Dave Littlefield (Portland), former Kansas City Royals GM (and former Red Sox special assistant) Allard Baird (Rochester, NH) former Reds and Nationals GM Jim Bowden (Weston, MA), former Orioles GM Mike Flanagan (Manchester, NH) and Bob Quinn (Newton, MA), who served as GM of the Yankees, Reds and Giants.
I'm sure I've missed some. Feel free to let me know in the comments below.