My Vote in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Last season, while writing for MLB Trade Rumors about my Hall of Fame ballot, the case was presented that there was no place for steroid players.

As anyone can see from the comments, my ears were burning because the overwhelming majority of readers disagreed.

It is very good. A little talk is good, and while Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens aren’t on the ballot, and while there are still steroid-related players on the ballot, the biggest controversy this year revolves around Carlos Beltran, although not related to steroids.

It was Beltran who MLB says was the mastermind behind the Houston Astros cheating scandal in 2017 when they won the World Series. MLB said Houston used a complex electronic method to steal signs and the only player named as point guard was Beltran.

It cost him the job of manager of the New York Mets and, at least for now, is costing him that vote.

Beltran has a solid resume, nine-time all-star, three-time Golden Glove winner who put up a 279/.350/486 career with 435 home runs and 1,587 RBIs.

In 65 playoff games, he hit the .307/.412/609 line with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs in 256 plate appearances.

Beltran himself said the Astros World Series title was “tainted” by the scandal.

The fact that he was the mastermind, well, that was cheating the game. He wasn’t a candidate for the slam dunk before that happened, but he had a lot going for him. For the time being, he will remain outside this ballot.

Should all the Astros be punished?

We’ll answer that later, but for being the mastermind, Beltran is paying the price on that ballot.

And for those who don’t think that was a big deal, the Yankees and Dodgers, who lost to Houston in seven games in the ALCS and World Series respectively, didn’t hold back their criticism of the Astros.

Now back to the ballot, with the players listed in alphabetical order.

Todd Helton

You can talk all you want about the Colorado Rockies’ batting advantage at Coors Field and there’s an obvious truth, but it’s also tough to play on the road after hitting at this altitude.

If a player had a .287/.386/469 line for a career, that would be an eye opener. The fact that it was Helton’s road total shows what a good hitter he was. At Coors it was .345/.441/.607.

This gave him a career rating of .316/.414/.539.

He was a first baseman who wasn’t known for his power, but he still hit 369 home runs and 1,406 RBIs, while playing all 17 seasons for the Rockies.

He was a five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove.

For those who give full credit to the striking atmosphere at Coors Field, he has a career 133 OPS+ and 132 WRC+.

He also won the batting title in 2000, batting, .372.

Again, while some suggest that batting average is an outdated metric for grading players, let’s not forget how difficult it is to hit .300. In 2022, only 11 total players from both leagues have reached 0.300 or better. Helton did it for his career.

This is his fifth season on the ballot and his percentage of votes has increased every year.

Last year he got 52% of the vote. It may be too big a jump to hit the necessary 75% threshold this year, but Helton, a former quarterback for Peyton Manning in Tennessee, seems to be headed for Cooperstown one day.

Jeff Kent

It’s Kent’s 10th and final year on the ballot and it doesn’t look like he’s anywhere close to being elected by the writers.

Last season he received his highest vote total, 32.7%, so unless he has a miracle push this year, Kent won’t make it.

Still, being the best second baseman in history is one of the main reasons he made this ballot.

We know Kent was a below average defenseman, but no one has homered more as a second baseman in MLB history.

Kent hit 377 homers, including 351 as a second baseman. The closest second baseman was Rogers Hornsby, who hit 301.

We recognize that Hornsby had 325 less at-bats than Kent, but the 50 home run difference (as second basemen) is still jaw-dropping, especially for a position not known for his power.

While RBI is downgraded by many in the sabermetrics community, most of the top players in the league each season are among the RBI leaders. Kent is third among Hall of Fame second basemen with 1,518 RBIs.

Only three HOF second basemen have completed more than Kent’s 560 doubles.

Among HOF second basemen, he is second to Hornsby with a .500 hitting percentage. (Hornsby had an insane .577 slugging percentage).

Kent’s career B-WAR is just 55.4, thanks in large part to a -0.1 DWAR.

His .855 OPS is fifth among HOF second basemen.

He didn’t just hit for power, but for average. He had a career line of .290/.356/.500.

Kent was the 2000 MVP, five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger.

He was a solid, if not spectacular, playoff player, but made the playoffs seven times with four different teams.

In 49 career playoff games, Kent hit .276/.340/.500 with nine home runs and 23 RBIs in 189 plate appearances.

Just a great hitting career, worthy of HOF.

Scott Roles

Rolen continues to make good progress in his bid to earn a spot at HOF. This is his sixth season on the ballot and last year he got 63.2% of the vote.

He’s a player as good defensively as he is offensively, maybe even better.

There were only 17 third basemen selected for the HOF, the fewest of any position except relief pitchers.

Rolen is someone whose offensive stats weren’t overwhelming, but they were more than enough to complement his outstanding defense.

First, he racked up 70.1 B-WAR, 10th best all-time among third basemen. Of the other nine, eight are in the Hall of Fame and Adrian Beltre is expected to be inducted when he becomes eligible next year.

Only eight Hall of Fame third basemen have career OPS higher than Rolen’s .855. Ten HOF third basemen have better OPS+ than Rolen’s 122.

Rolen had a .281/361/.490 line with 316 home runs and 1,287 RBIs.

He was a seven-time All-Star, National League Rookie of the Year in 1997 and an eight-time Gold Glove winner and won a Silver Slugger award in 2002.

Rolen made the playoffs five times and won a World Series in 2006 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

He hit .421/.476/.737 in the Cardinals’ five-game World Series win over the Detroit Tigers.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Rolen had great defensive range, even more impressive for someone his size. He also had a great arm.

He’s improved his vote percentage every year, and Rolen is seen as having a good chance of being elected by writers, whether it’s this year or maybe next.

Billy Wagner

Like Kent, Wagner’s time is running out. It’s his eighth year on the ballot, although he had his best showing last year, getting 51.0 percent of the vote.

The biggest argument against Wagner is his lack of sleeves. There are eight relief pitchers in the HOF and all have pitched more than Wagner’s 903 innings.

Still, Wagner’s 11.9 strikeouts in nine innings are the best in MLB history (minimum 750 innings pitched).

He actually had more strikeouts (1,196) than the greatest reliever of all time, Mariano Rivera. Rivera struck out 1,173 batters in 1,282 2/3 innings.

According to MLB.com, Wagner made 422 saves in 476 chances (88.6%). Only two Hall of Fame relievers have a higher save percentage, Rivera (89.1%) and Trevor Hoffman (88.8%).

Wagner also has a higher strikeout rate (33.2%) than any HOF reliever. The closest is Hoffman (25.8%).

Wagner finished with a 2.37 ERA and an adjusted 187 ERA and Rivera is the only HOF relief pitcher to improve on those totals.

Wagner was a seven-time all-star and besides the lack of innings, his other flaw is his playoff performance.

He made the playoffs seven times and had a 10.03 ERA in 14 appearances totaling 11 2/3 innings. His playoff WHIP was 1.971.

Yeah.

It’s still a small sample size, even though it’s in the most pressurized setting.

Even with the lack of innings and a shaky postseason, Wagner’s dominance in the regular season puts him on that ballot.