My 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot (If I Were a BBWAA Member)

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) released its Hall of Fame ballot for 2021. 

BBWAA can select up to 10 players on their ballot. Were I member of the BBWAA this would be my 2021 ballot for Cooperstown:

 1. Curt Schilling

 2. Omar Vizquel

 3. Scott Rolen

 4. Andruw Jones

 5. Billy Wagner

 6. Jeff Kent

 7. Barry Bonds

 8. Roger Clemens

 9. Todd Helton

10. Torii Hunter

Eight of the ten players on my ballot were on my 2020 ballot including Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens who are in their 9th year of eligibility. So too is Curt Schilling who received 70% of the vote a year ago. While I loathe his politics, I have long argued that he belongs in Cooperstown. Given the election we've just been through and are still going through I wonder if some anti-Trump BBWAA members will hold this against him. 

The other possibility is that Schilling will be elected with at least one other player. I don't think it will be with Bonds and Clemens. Having one controversial selection is one matter, but three would be far too much. But given that the BBWAA has elected at least two players in each of the past seven years I don't think Schilling will be inducted alone. If this is the case I'm guessing it will be a non-controversial player like Omar Vizquel who received 52.6% of the vote in his third year on the ballot. 

If Vizquel gets in then I hope it opens to door to other great glove men like Rolen, Jones and first time Hall of Fame candidate Torii Hunter who won 9 consecutive Gold Gloves for his outfield defense. 

I've always had a soft spot for Jeff Kent despite his unpopularity during the course of his career and I keep putting him on my ballot knowing full well he'll be lucky to get a third of the vote. 

Billy Wagner certainly belongs in the same class of closer as Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith. Wagner is certainly the greatest lefthanded closer in MLB history and should be recognized as such.

The only other addition to my ballot is Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton who is entering his third year on the ballot. While one could argue that Helton's peak might have been short (1998-2004) and his power declined significantly after he turned 30, he consistently hit above .300 and was consistently at or near .400 in OBP. Indeed, Helton had a OBP of .400 or better in nine seasons. Helton ended his career with a lifetime batting average of .316 and an OBP of .414. Of course, the problem is that Helton's offensive numbers were substantially better at Coors Field than away from it. While Helton had a lifetime batting average and OBP of .345 and .441 at Coors, he was far less immortal outside of Colorado at .287 and .386. The same holds true for his power numbers. 

Yet if we go by that approach then we effectively preclude any player who spent a significant portion of his career with the Rockies. The admission of Larry Walker into Cooperstown earlier this year might ease Helton's path a little although I suspect he will probably have to wait until his ninth or tenth year of eligibility to gain admission. But for my money Helton is worthy of induction right now.

The BBWAA will announce its vote on January 26, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, both the Class of 2020 and 2021 will be inducted on July 25, 2021.