Venom Strikes 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame Picks: Peter Smith
On January 25th, the Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce the results from this year's Hall of Fame election. If you aren't familiar with the election process, a bunch of Baseball writers from all around the country vote for up to ten players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Players are eligible if they've played 10 seasons in the majors and retired five or more years ago. If their name gets a checkmark next to it on 75% of ballots, they're in. If they get less than 5%, they fall off the ballot. A lot of new players appear for just one season and then vanish. One such player is Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez, who got a whole 0.9%. If you fall off, you're left in the hands of the Veterans Committee, which can elect players from various eras every few years.
Every writer has a different point of view when it comes to how they vote. Some are "small hall" guys who are very, very selective of who gets in, often voting for just a few, if any. On the other hand, some take a "big hall" approach, often voting for close to ten players at a time. I fall in the latter camp. Any mock ballot I fill out will always have ten players, and numerous others that get left out because of that ten-player limit. I think the Baseball Hall of Fame is way more interesting when you bring in the lesser-known but still super interesting and excellent players who stepped foot on the diamond.
Another question is whether you weigh off-field issues or behavior when making picks. I try to stay away from this line of thinking and prefer to look at the numbers instead.
For this ballot, my big honorable mentions are, in no particular order, Tim Lincecum, Jake Peavy, Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramírez, and Gary Sheffield. To be clear, these are all guys who I would vote for, but this ballot, in particular, feels crowded with tons of names that are way too good. At least two of my votes either make it or break it this year, so their time will come.
Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds' Hall of Fame candidacy is pretty clear to me. Go look at his Baseball Reference page. The numbers there are unfathomable in the game of 2022. From 1992 to the last year of his career, 2007, Bonds was one of the most dominant players on earth. He turned baseballs to ash and struck fear in the hearts of managers and pitchers alike. A single-season home run record with 73, an all-time home run record with 762. An all-time walk record with 2,558. He also has three of the best five Major League history by OPS+, which is a park and era-adjusted stat where 100 is average, behind two preposterous seasons from Josh Gibson. He also won seven MVP awards, including four consecutive awards from 2001-2004. He got plenty of other decorations during his career, but that's enough for me. It's time for him to get his number called.
Roger Clemens
Next up is Roger Clemens. Clemens has won seven Cy Young Awards, the most out of anyone. He also picked up an MVP award, won the triple crown (having the most strikeouts, lowest ERA, and most wins) twice, and picked up two rings. Oh, and he also pitched two 20-strikeout games. Taking a look at the stats, Rocket picked up 4,672 strikeouts, carried a career 3.12 ERA, and held a 1.173 WHIP over 4,916 and two-thirds innings pitched. He's plenty decorated and has the stats to back it up.
Todd Helton
Todd Helton is a really fun case. He never won an MVP award, never won a World Series ring, and only appeared in the Postseason twice. But what he does have is some excellent numbers. He had 2,519 hits, 369 homers, 1,406 RBI, and had a triple slash of .316 / .414 / .539, good for an OPS of .953. And yes, he played for the Rockies his whole career, meaning roughly half his games were played at Coors Field, but just like with his Rockies teammate Larry Walker, he still had an excellent OPS+. His OPS+ was 133, very good indeed. Helton was also a first baseman, where the standards are higher due to the offense-heavy nature of the position, although I think he still has what it takes.
Scott Rolen
Finally, for this section, we have Scott Rolen. Unless you are very picky, Rolen is a pretty clear Hall of Famer. He picked up a ring with the Cardinals, was awarded eight Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, and was sent to seven All-Star games. While the stats with the bat in his hand are a bit worse than Helton's, with a triple slash of .281 / .364 / .490, he played a much more important position in third base. And Scott didn't just rack up innings there and call it a day, he was an excellent fielder. His career defensive runs saved (DRS) was a whopping 114, and this doesn't even encapsulate his whole career, as the stat was invented in the middle of his career. Looking at counting stats, I'd say he's in "good enough" territory with 2,077 hits, 316 homers, and 1,287 RBI. Unless you're feeling particularly picky, Rolen has a place on everyone's ballot.
Andruw Jones
Andruw Jones is getting my vote on the merits of his defense. Holding a bat, he can certainly hold his own, but a 111 OPS+ doesn't exactly set the world on fire. Jones is, in my humble opinion, the best defensive center fielder of all time. Like Rolen, DRS was introduced in the middle of his career. It also omits the best years of his career, but the eye test still works great. That said, his 60 DRS in center field is still excellent. A big knock against him is that he had a prolonged stretch where he just straight up wasn't good, but I don't care. He was so great for long enough that it isn't a consideration. A similar thing could be said about Albert Pujols, but that's a story for another time.
Álex Rodríguez
Say what you will about Álex Rodríguez as a sportscaster, but his time on the field was electric. His triple slash of .295 / .380 / .550 is outstanding, and good for an OPS+ of 140. He won three MVP awards, was a 14-time All-Star, a 10-time Silver Slugger recipient, and won a ring with the Yankees in 2009. A-Rod is an iconic player. He delivered outstanding performances year after year on each team he played on.
Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner was a lock-down closer for his whole career. A seven-time All-Star, including in his final season, Wagner had a career 2.31 ERA, 187 ERA+, a 0.998 WHIP, 1,196 strikeouts, all over 903 innings pitched. If those numbers don't scream "dominant," I don't know what does. While he never saw postseason success, his regular-season statistics jump off the page. He also retired at a high point in his career, something not everyone does. I think that he's the reliever with the best shot to get in on this ballot.
David Ortiz
David Ortiz is a legend of the game, full stop. One thing I admire about Big Papi is his story as just some guy blowing people's minds at an impromptu home-run derby at a minor league stadium in Wisconsin, to a guy who separated himself from the pack in Minnesota to one of the best power hitters of all time in Boston. He had a triple slash of .286 / .380 / .552, racked up 2,472 hits, 541 homers, 1,768 RBI, and had an OPS+ of 141. He was also named to 10 All-Star teams, won seven silver sluggers, won three rings with Boston, and was named both an ALCS MVP and a World Series MVP. There is something for everyone with Big Papi, whether you're sabermetrically inclined or just like to look at awards and counting stats.
Whenever I fill out a mock ballot, I always try to think about the first year or borderline players who I think are good enough for my standards but risk falling below that five percent threshold needed to stay on the ballot. A lot of first-year candidates would get my vote if not for the 10-player limit. The big exclusion for me is Jake Peavy, who I think should be in the Hall of Fame, but his candidacy appears dead in the water. Hopefully, he magically finds 20 votes before the election, although it's not looking good for him. Moving on to my actual picks...
Mark Buehrle
Mark Buehrle is a downright fantastic starting pitcher. He managed to stay alive beyond his first year of eligibility, which is a great sign. Mark was never a power pitcher who racked up strikeouts, his game was command and pitching to contact. In 3,283 and a third innings, he held a 3.81 ERA, a 117 ERA+, a 1.281 WHIP, and 1,870 strikeouts. He also was on five All-Star teams, won four Gold Gloves, and has a ring from the 2005 World Series. I don't have much to say about him other than the fact that I straight up just like the guy. He was just plain fun to watch.
Joe Nathan
Finally, we have Joe Nathan. Joe Nathan is a sneaky, underrated pick. Nathan was a dominant reliever, with a career 2.87 ERA, 151 ERA+, a 1.120 WHIP, and 976 strikeouts. He also was on six All-Star teams, finished top five in Cy Young voting twice, and won the hilariously named Rolaids Relief Man Award in 2009. While I'm not entirely sure if he'd ever make the Hall of Fame, I think he deserves some looks when there aren't as many titans of the game crowding up the ballot. He's definitely got a great case.
While that's the end of my ballot, I'm curious what your ballot looks like! Leave a comment below with your ballot or maybe just a pick you agree with or disagree with! As always, so long, and thanks for all the hits!