The Baseball Writers’ Association of America elected four new members to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening, Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, and Mike Mussina.

Those four will join Harold Baines and Lee Smith, both voted in by the Hall of Fame’s Era Committee in December, in Cooperstown, New York this July for their inductions.

Mariano Rivera became the first player in the history of baseball to be unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame after being named on all 425 ballots.

Over the Panamanian native’s 19-year major-league career, Rivera’s cut fastball led him to an MLB-record 652 saves with a 2.21 earned-run average, 1,173 strikeouts, 286 walks, a 2.76 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.00 WHIP, and a 4.10 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over 1,115 appearances (all but 10 in relief).

Rivera was a 13-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, whom he spent his entire career with.

Edgar Martinez, in his final year on the ballot, was named on 85.4 percent of the BBWAA’s ballots (363 votes) to become the first full-time designated hitter to gain election to the Hall of Fame.

Martinez, born in New York then raised in Puerto Rico, was a seven-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and two-time American League batting champion (1992, 1995) during his 18-year MLB career, all with the Seattle Mariners.

The current Mariners’ hitting coach accrued a .312/.418/.515 slash line, along with 2,247 hits, 514 doubles, 309 home runs, and 1,261 runs batted in over 2,055 major-league games.

Roy Halladay became the sixth player in MLB history to be posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame, receiving the same 85.4 percent of the votes as fellow inductee Edgar Martinez.

Over the Colorado native’s 16-year major-league career, Halladay won two Cy Young Awards (2003, Toronto; 2010, Philadelphia), was named to eight All-Star teams and became the first pitcher since Don Larsen in 1956 to throw a no-hitter in the postseason with his gem versus Cincinnati in Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS.

Halladay finished his career with a 203-105 win-loss record, 3.38 earned-run average, with 2,117 strikeouts, 592 walks, a 3.39 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.178 WHIP, and a 3.58 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over 416 career appearances (390 starts; 2,749.1 innings).

Roy Halladay passed away in 2017 when the airplane he was piloting crashed. He was 40.

Mike Mussina, a native of Montoursville, Pennsylvania was named on 76.7 percent of the writers’ ballots (326 votes) to gain election in his sixth year on the ballot.

Over the course of his 18-year career, the right-hander they called Moose won 270 games for the Baltimore Orioles (1991 to 2000) and the New York Yankees (2001 to 2008), pitching to a 3.68 earned-run average with 2,813 strikeouts, a 3.57 fielding independent pitching rating, 1.192 WHIP, and a 3.58 strikeouts-to-walks ratio.

Mussina was named to five American League All-Star teams and won seven Gold Glove Awards over the course of his career.

Congratulations to all four inductees!

Full voting results can be found here.

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I had intended to publicize my Official Hall of Fame ballot before Christmas, but some health issues prevented me from proceeding as planned. So here it is, without further adieu, the nine players I submitted for the Class of 2016.

1. Ken Griffey Jr. – One of the greatest players of all time and a great ambassador for the game. Staggering offensive numbers despite missing four seasons worth of games due to injuries. If healthy, he would have broken Aaron’s HR mark cleanly.

2. Trevor Hoffman – An amazing 601 saves. Put Hoffman on all those great Yankee teams and they still win all those games. When he entered a game to “Hell’s Bells” it was a spectacle.

3. Mike Piazza – It’s sad that he wasn’t a first ballot guy because some colleagues bought into unfounded rumors and accusations. One of the game’s greatest offensive catchers along with Bench and Berra who almost always delivered in the clutch.

4. Jeff Bagwell – Another no-doubt Hall of Famer who like Piazza has been victimized by suspicion. One of the most dominating first basemen in his era and for a time one of the most feared sluggers in the National League.

5. Lee Smith – He was a personal favorite of mine. I still fail to understand the criticism of people who say he’s a compiler of stats. He was a dominant closer and nearly missed winning three Cy Young awards.

6. Mike Mussina – Very underrated pitcher who won 270 games despite only winning 20 games once – in his final season in 2008. Talk about going out on top. A .638 winning percentage and a career 1.191 WHIP to go with seven Gold Gloves.

7. Edgar Martinez – Some penalize him because he was a DH, but 500+ doubles, 300+ homers, 1,200_ walks, 1,200+ RBI and a career .312/.418/.515 slash should make him a no-brainer for inclusion.

8. Fred McGriff – Just shy of 500 home runs and over 1,500 RBI back when it was still a rare feat. Nine seasons of over 140 OPS+ production and a .917 OPS in postseason play.

9. Tim Raines – One of the best leadoff hitters of all time. The Rock retired with a .385 OBP, 808 stolen bases and 1,571 runs scored.

There you go, I look forward to your comments. Read more of my writing at New York Mets Report.

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As I do every time this year, I mailed in my official Hall of Fame ballot. To grow up loving baseball and to vote for the Hall of Fame is a tremendous thrill for me even after all these years. It is also a responsibility I take very seriously, which is why I don’t understand the rationale of some of my colleagues who use their vote as a political statement. If you don’t want to vote, then surrender your vote.

I can comprehend checking off two or three names if that’s all you believe are worthy and not going for the ten maximum. I can even understand if you want to vote in a confirmed steroid user if that’s your prerogative.

What I’ll never understand is submitting a blank ballot as sort of a protest vote against what they see as a tainted ballot laden with steroid cheats. There were four blank ballots in 2014, five in 2013, six in 2012, and nine in 2011.

Because candidates stay on the ballot based on the percentage of votes, there’s a chance worthy players could be left off because of this ridiculous practice. That’s blatantly unfair and penalizes deserving players. If you have a problem with some of the players on the ballot, use your keyboard and have at it – after all – you are a writer.

I take pride in my vote, do a lot of research and talk to players, managers, coaches and general managers to gain input each December. And, it’s still a difficult task sometimes. So on that note, here are the ten players I voted for this year and why:

• Craig Biggio: He should have been voted in last year. Over three thousand hits. Aren’t you paying attention?
• Mike Piazza: I hear the steroid rumors, but that’s all they are. Innuendo and some back acne aren’t reason enough to bar him.
• Jeff Bagwell: Like Piazza, he’s not linked to steroids in any official capacity. Writers should be more responsible than to buy into rumors.
• Tim Raines: Arguably one of the three best leadoff hitters in history along with Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock.
• Lee Smith: There’s a bias against him, but he’s third on the career list with over 400 saves.
• Edgar Martinez: There’s a bias against him, also, because he’s a designated hitter. But, that’s an official position, and he was as good as anybody at it.
• Mike Mussina: He could have pitched another two years and won 300 games, which is automatic entry. Seventeen straight seasons with double-digit victories, and 11 overall with fifteen or more, often pitching with inferior teams against the American League East.
• Randy Johnson: A ten-time All-Star and five-time Cy Young Award winner with over 300 victories and 4,875 strikeouts. He’s a slam dunk. He also threw over 200 innings in 14 seasons.
• Pedro Martinez: He was an eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner. His average season was 17-8 with a 2.93 ERA and 217 innings pitched.
• John Smoltz: He won 213 games, but likely would have won over 300 if he didn’t miss the 2000 season with an injury and returned as a closer where in saved 154 games.

Note: I did not vote for any of the players who were directly linked to steroids, either by direct testimony or because they were implicated to steroid or PED use in the Mitchell Report. Until the Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball put a notation on their plaques that they played in the steroid era and their records come with an asterisk, that will be my stand.

The post MMO Exclusive: My Hall Of Fame Ballot And Some Thoughts appeared first on Metsmerized.

The 2015 Hall of Fame ballot was released today featuring 34 players, including 17 holdovers and 17 newcomers. Voting results will be announced on January 6.

The new candidates on the ballot include Cy Young Award winners Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, along with sluggers Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield, two-time batting champion Nomar Garciaparra and closer Troy Percival.

Other first-time candidates include: Rich Aurilia, Aaron Boone, Tony Clark, Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Cliff Floyd, Brian Giles, Tom Gordon, Eddie Guardado and Jason Schmidt.

The 17 holdover candidates (with their 2014 election percentages) are: Craig Biggio (74.8%), Mike Piazza (62.2%), Jeff Bagwell (54.3%), Tim Raines (46.1%), Roger Clemens (35.4%), Barry Bonds (34.7%), Lee Smith (29.9%), Curt Schilling (29.2%), Edgar Martinez (25.2%), Alan Trammell (20.8%), Mike Mussina (20.3%), Jeff Kent (15.2%), Fred McGriff (11.7%), Mark McGwire (11.0%), Larry Walker (10.2%), Don Mattingly (8.2%) and Sammy Sosa (7.2%).

There’s a good chance that Piazza can get voted in this time. One voter, Ron Chimelis says he is ready to cast his ballot for Piazza.

“I could keep voting against him while secretly hoping he reaches the needed 75 percent for election. That would get me off the hook without compromising my principles. But I have reached the point where I feel I am stalling. My ambivalent, wait-till-next-year approach to Piazza is the coward’s way out.”

The post 2015 Hall of Fame Ballot Features 17 New Names appeared first on Metsmerized.

A week from today, on Wednesday, January 8, the 2014 inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced.

As of this morning, Mike Piazza is losing ground and now has 71.9% which is outside the the 75% threshold for induction. Here is the full tally of the 96 ballots counted by Baseball Think Factory.

Updated: Jan.1 – 10:00 AM ~ 96 Full Ballots (16.9% of vote ~ based on last year)

100 – Maddux
97.9 – Glavine
89.6 – F. Thomas
80.2 – Biggio
———————————
71.9 – Piazza
64.6 – Bagwell
63.5 – Jack (The Jack) Morris
56.3 – Raines
44.8 – Bonds
43.8 – Clemens
38.5 – Schilling
33.3 – Mussina
24.0 – Trammell
20.8 – L. Smith
20.8 – E. Martinez
16.7 – McGriff
11.5 – Kent
11.5 – McGwire
10.4 – L. Walker
8.3 – S. Sosa
7.3 – R. Palmeiro

Pardon my French, but can you believe this shit? I mean seriously, this is appalling and if this trend holds there is going to be a lot of pissed off Mets fans and Dodgers fans.

In case you weren’t aware, our own MMO BBWAA member John Delcos, voted the full allotment of ten players as follows:

Mike Piazza

Jeff Bagwell

Craig Biggio

Tom Glavine

Greg Maddux

Edgar Martinez

Jack Morris

Mike Mussina

Tim Raines

Frank Thomas

His only regret was not having room enough for Jeff Kent, who he hopes to select next year.

It’s amazing to me that Piazza’s 396 home runs as a catcher – the most by a catcher in baseball history – is not enough to get him in. But then also throw in his career .308/.377/ .545 slash, 344 doubles, 427 home runs, 1,335 RBI, and a 145 OPS+ all at a premium position.

In his career, Piazza won a Rookie of the Year Award in 1993 along with 11 Silver Sluggers, 14 All Star selections, and finished in the Top 10 of MVP voting six times including two second place finishes.

What a humiliation for the BBWAA if he gets shutout again.

The post BBWAA Fail: With 17% Of Vote Tallied, Piazza Still On Outside Looking In appeared first on Metsmerized.

While he was not a Met, he was a fierce competitor of the Mets that I’ve been in favor of his enshrinement ever since he was first eligible in 2008.

His name is Tim Raines.

He’s on the ballot this year for the 7th time. Last year he managed to achieve 52% of the vote and he may eventually get there. However, will the crowded field hurt his chances and the momentum he’s gained the last few years?

Raines played 23 seasons in the majors. While he spent the last several years of his career as a role player and after 1993, he was not the same player that in my opinion made him a Hall of Famer, he did have a dominant 10 year stretch where he was one of the most feared players in the game.

He wasn’t a slugger, but he was the player you didn’t want to beat you. He played his best seasons in Montreal, so most of his greatness wasn’t in the spotlight. He also was overshadowed by Rickey Henderson. Raines game was speed. He got on base and he ran. He did it better than almost anybody else. He was Rickey Henderson in the National League.

During his 10 year stretch as a full time player in Montreal from 1981-1990 (1981 being a strike shortened year), he stole 627 bases, had 1,597 hits, scored 926 runs, had 81 triples, and had 769 walks. During this 10 year stretch in Montreal, he hit .302 and had an OBP of .391.

He was a dangerous player. By the time he left Montreal, he was a Hall of Fame player, and had already put in the 10 years needed for the Hall. Maybe he wasn’t in the Big Room, but he was in the hall. For that 10 year stretch, he wasn’t a compiler – he was someone you were scared of. Mets fans know that well.

Before that 10 year stretch, he had cups of coffee in two other seasons with the Expos and played for an additional 9 years with the White Sox, Yankees, A’s, Orioles, Expos, and Marlins. He had a few productive years as a full time player with the White Sox – in his 5 full seasons with the Sox, he scored 100 runs twice, hit .300 once, and had two seasons with over 80 walks. He stole 51 bases in 1991 and 1992 (which were the two seasons he walked over 80 times). His .306 season occured in 1993 at the age of 33, but saw his stolen base production drop to 21 and he was never the same player after that. He aged after that the way players naturally do. His last season as a full time player came in 1995 with the White Sox where he hit .285 and stole just 13 bases.

By the time he started to play in big media markets, Tim Raines was already a player on the decline. He began to diminish in Chicago and he was only a role player by the time he came to the Yankees. He played well in his 3 seasons in New York, batting .299 with a .398 OBP in part time duty, but by then, he was far removed from his Hall of Fame level.

Had Raines retired earlier, he would probably be in the Hall by now. He stuck around long after his prime as a good, but not great, role player which may have watered down memories of how great he was in his prime. The cocaine usage also may not have helped him either.

Tim Raines deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

The post Talkin’ Baseball: Tim Raines Should Be In The Hall of Fame appeared first on Metsmerized.

A high-ranking Mets official told Jorge Castillo of the Star Ledger that the organization came away impressed with Jose Abreu‘s power.

A high-ranking Mets official said the organization had “a few guys from the U.S.” and “some of our international scouts” in attendance.

And though the official had not yet spoken to the scouts directly as of Monday, the initial reports are promising. The official requested anonymity because the team’s evaluation is ongoing.

“I heard that his power was impressive,” the official told The Star-Ledger.

So what I’m picking up is that the Mets scouting department came away quite impressed with Jose Abreu’s power — and rightfully so, considering he slugged 33 home runs in just 66 games in 2010. This piece being published comes with interesting timing — as Joe D. and I were just complaining that we never see any Mets officials or scouts being quoted the next day, so we don’t always walk away from these events confident.

Although, in the grand scheme of things, the Mets being impressed with Jose Abreu’s power is akin to releasing a statement saying they are impressed with Juan Lagares‘ glove. We already know he can bring the Edgar Martinez-esque skillset, but it is reassuring to know that the Mets are confident in his power. It’s a lot better than finding out the Mets came away unimpressed — which would have all but sealed the fact that the Mets aren’t signing this guy.

Castillo points out something interesting towards the end of his piece as well:

In February 2012, Cespedes signed a four-year, $36-million deal with the Athletics. Last winter, the Dodgers signed Puig to a seven-year, $42-million contract. Abreu is expected to garner a similar deal.

However, Cespedes and Puig, both outfielders, supply stout defense and speed. They can impact games in more ways. They were also younger at the time of their agreements — Cespedes was 25 and Puig was 21.

So, what does a one-dimensional slugger really command on the market? Five years might be his maximum, but even at the projected $60 million some are projecting he might command, it could still turn out to be a bargain. I feel like he’ll get less than that, though.

The Mets have been keeping up appearances by sending scouts to see Abreu and Masuhida Tanaka — but now it’s time to put their money where their mouth is. The ball is in your court, guys…

The post Mets’ Scouts Impressed By Jose Abreu’s Power appeared first on Metsmerized.

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that Cuban prospect Jose Dariel Abreu has officially established residency in Haiti according to what a source told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.

Essentially, Abreu has cleared the first hurdle toward signing with a major league team. He now has to file the proper paperwork with MLB and once he does that, he will be declared a free agent.

The Red Sox, Rangers, Giants, Mets, White Sox, Pirates, and Marlins are all possible landing spots according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (read more below).

The 26-year-old slugger could land a deal anywhere between 4/$40MM and 5/$75MM according to various reports.

Original Post 9/18

Some scouts weighed in on Cuban phenom Jose Abreu in an ESPN Insider report by Jerry Crasnick. I’ve been hoping the Mets would kick the tires on Abreu, even though I don’t see first base as a real area of need compared to corner outfield and shortstop, but this comment from one scout gave me pause:

“I like him fine, but I wouldn’t sell the ranch to get him,” the scout said. “The problem is, Cespedes and Puig can go 0-for-4 and they can still win you a game because they can run and throw. Abreu isn’t that guy. He’s more an Edgar Martinez-type. He has to hit or you’ve got nothing. He’s all bat.”

Now I don’t have a problem with someone who is all bat, especially when it’s a masher like Abreu and even more so if the price is right. By that I mean no more than $10-12 million per season and not more than four years.

Another scout chimed in with the following:

“If he is simply what he is right now, he will probably develop into a middle-of-the-road first baseman with ’80’ raw power, who guesses and kills mistakes and inferior pitching but struggles against top-quality guys,” the scout said. “That’s not a bad floor, actually, and that’s the reason why he’ll get paid anyway. But he may disappoint the expectations of ‘best hitter on the planet’ that some have already placed on him.”

And a third scout adds:

“There are 30 teams out there, and there will be people bidding for him, and it comes down to what the market will bear,” said a scout. “I’ve been shocked before. No matter what you think is going to happen, it’s usually going to be higher.”

One thing all scouts agree on is that he can step right into the majors and hit 25-35 home runs while batting anywhere Between .260-.280. At 26 years old, Abreu has only touched the surface of his immense talent.

Last month I wrote the following about Abreu:

Whoever does get Abreu, will no doubt be adding a 30+ home run bat into their lineup who has a great eye at the plate and has always produced a high average and on-base percentage. His strikeouts are low which is surprising for a player with such power, but that’s just another reason why scouts deem him to be such a unique and special talent.

One more thing that will make Abreu such a prime target is that this is one of the weakest free agent markets we’ve ever seen for first basemen – with Mike Napoli being the top dog. Bidding will be fierce and as much as Abreu would fill a huge power void in the Mets lineup and finally solve the question of who is our first baseman of the future, I just don’t see the Mets having the stomach to shell out the millions it’s going to take to land this Cuban phenom.

Sources told ESPN that he will begin auditioning for clubs in the Dominican later this month and that the Red Sox, Rangers, Giants, Mets, White Sox, Pirates, and Marlins are all potential suitors.

The post MLBTR: Abreu Takes First Step Towards Free Agency appeared first on Metsmerized.

Tonight, December 31, is the deadline for all eligible BBWAA voters to submit their Hall of Fame ballots.

My own ballot has already been cast and I voted for Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Edgar Martinez, Jeff Bagwell, Fred McGriff, Jack Morris, Don Mattingly and Tim Raines.

I know many Met fans will anxiously await the outcome of the vote with the earnest hope that Mike Piazza gets in as first ballot Hall of Famer.

Remember, a candidate must appear on 75 percent of the ballots in order to get elected.

I’m pulling for Piazza too.

We’ll all know the results in less than two weeks when the Class of 2013 for the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced on January 9.

Good luck, Mike.

Original Post 12/21

I am at my desk holding the official BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. It is my reward turned responsibility for covering Major League Baseball for over 20 years.

That’s close to 2,500 games, many spent watching Mike Piazza dominate his position like no other catcher with 396 homers (427 overall). That dwarfs Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey and Mickey Cochrane, all who played before steroids became part baseball’s lexicon.

I vowed not to vote for a player officially linked to steroids, whether by admission, a failed drug test, accused on the record by another player or baseball official, or mentioned in the Mitchell Report.

That meant Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro or Roger Clemens – all on this year’s ballot – won’t get in by me.

Then there is Mike Piazza.

Piazza hasn’t been linked to performance enhancing drugs in any capacity with the exception of innuendo from writers who deemed that an acne-spotted back was as reliable as a blood test. If acne were the sole criteria, then most every teenager in this country would be suspected of being on the juice.

Like the gay rumors, it is unfair, unjust and irresponsible reporting. Yes, Piazza starred in baseball’s checkered steroid era, but I see him as a victim of circumstance, of guilt by association, of being painted with a broad brush.

Supposedly, Piazza confessed to an unnamed reporter. Unnamed reporters, like unnamed sources, raise suspicion and should be questioned with skepticism. It is why I put my name on everything I write.

If a reporter had that story, it would be a goldmine. If so, where is it written? Piazza has denied on the record any usage, and based by his name being absent on any official list, I believe him.

Despite his no-show before Congress, McGwire came clean; Palmeiro failed a test and was suspended; BALCO star Bonds admitted to using the clear and the cream but claimed he didn’t know what it was; Sosa has been blamed on the record and used corked bats twice; and Clemens’ former trainer produced physical evidence with his DNA.

I’m not buying the court decision on Clemens, as the government couldn’t get a conviction with a signed admission. Andy Pettitte’s most significant change-up of his career is what probably allowed Clemens to get off.

Then, there is Piazza who might be denied based on one newspaper account citing back acne. That reasoning is as pockmarked as Piazza’s back at the time.

Voting against Piazza is a writer’s right, but it can’t be based on his .308 career average, .377 on-base percentage, .545 slugging percentage, .922 OPS, 427 homers and 1,113 RBI, numbers that are off the charts in comparison to other catchers.

In case that’s not impressive enough, there are 12 All-Star appearances, 10 Silver Slugger Awards emblematic as the dominant offensive player at his position (and most ever by a catcher), and seven times finished in the top ten on the MVP ballot.

Piazza will get my vote, as will Craig Biggio, Edgar Martinez, Jeff Bagwell, Fred McGriff, Jack Morris, Don Mattingly and Tim Raines.

Piazza’s numbers are what the writers should be counting, not back pimples or whispers from those too gutless to put their names on the record.

Voting against Piazza is a writer’s right, but not the responsible choice. A journalist’s obligation is to be objective, fair and honest. Voting against Piazza on the strength of a rumor is none of those things.

It’s irresponsible and disgraceful.

John Delcos is a lifetime member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and has covered Major League Baseball for over 20 years. He has voted for the Hall of Fame for over a decade. You can read more of his insights at NewYorkMetsReport.com or reach him at JDelcos@yahoo.com.

The post Hall Of Fame Ballot Deadline Is Tonight appeared first on Metsmerized.

Most recently, Davidoff published his Hall of Fame ballot. Davidoff goes through every player in detail and does an excellent job at that. Davidoff also does an excellent job at proving why he should not be voting for the Hall of Fame.

In my honest opinion, I believe he is leaving Mike Piazza off his ballot to get people to talk about his ballot rather than uphold the value of the Hall of Fame. I will give a few examples of why I believe this to be true.

Davidoff uses four statistics to measure a players Hall of Fame credentials. To quote,

I looked at every candidate on this ballot and ranked him according to both WARs, Baseball-Reference’s WAR7 (which takes a candidate’s best seven seasons by WAR, to consider a player’s peak) and Jaffe’s JAWS. I rewarded a player one point for finishing first in a column, two points for second, etc. — and then ranked them by lowest score to highest.

He justified this method because according to him, “these statistics have no emotions”. This to me is flawed because the statistics he used also do not have a brain.

During the era in which Mike Piazza played, two catchers dominated the position. Himself and Pudge Rodriguez. How Piazza compares to others on a ballot makes no sense. In fact, Davidoff admitted he takes the position into account when he justified Alan Trammell getting into the Hall of Fame.

Davidoff says:

From 1980 to 1993, an impressive run for such a challenging position, Trammell was as good as any shortstop in the game.

So clearly at times, Davidoff chose to take the position into account and also how that player compared to the players in his era at said position. But why did he choose not to do that for Mike Piazza? Why did he shift gears and use a different standard?

Why does Trammell get to use players like Tony Fernandez, Scott Fletcher, and Gary Templeton to improve his candidacy by showing how much better he might have been against players at his position, but then the same methodology isn’t used for Mike Piazza in comparison to his contemporaries Jorge Posada, Jason Kendall, Javy Lopez, and Charles Johnson?

Davidoff justifies leaving Piazza out of the Hall of Fame by using the process explained above:

Using this process, Piazza placed 14th on my list of candidates

So when it comes to Mike Piazza’s candidacy, Davidoff is choosing to compare him to a player like Edgar Martinez (we’ll get to that). That is as useless as comparing a pitcher’s credentials to an infielder.

Taking Davidoff’s own system (which is flawed) I looked at who I consider the best catchers of all time (warning: I left Campanella off because Davidoff’s formula puts an emphasis on longevity).

So I looked at, Bench, Berra, Carter, Fisk, and then added Pudge and Piazza. I also threw in Jorge Posada who would probably rank third among catchers during the era Piazza played, just to see how far ahead Piazza is.

Johnny Bench would finish first with 8 points, followed by Gary Carter with 10, then Pudge with 14, Piazza & Fisk would be tied with 16, then Berra with 21 and Posada with 27.

So Davidoff is not putting in a top 5 catcher in the history of the game, but he’s putting in Alan Trammell because of how he compares to the SS’s of his era?

Trammell using Davidoff’s own formula was tied for the 2nd best SS of his era with Ozzie Smith behind Cal Ripken Jr. by a margin of 6 points (Ripken 5, Trammell/Smith 11, Larkin 13).

Piazza, using Davidoff’s formula finishes 2 points behind Pudge Rodriguez to finish as the 2nd best catcher of his era by a margin of 11 points over Posada.

Yet, Trammell being “as good as any SS in the game,” gets him in, but Piazza doing the same behind the plate and posting impressive offensive numbers, does not?

Then there is Edgar Martinez. Davidoff uses players like Martinez to keep Piazza off his ballot because of how they rank against one another using his formula.

Davidoff justifies Edgar Martinez in the Hall of Fame by saying,

Martinez was such a good offensive player, putting together a .933 OPS and 147 OPS+ over 18 seasons.

Martinez (whom I think is a legitimate contender) didn’t have to play the field for the final 10 years of his career.

Prior to becoming a full-time DH, Martinez’ OPS was .851 and his OPS+ was 133. Piazza played the most taxing position on a player’s body and while doing so posted an OPS of .931 and an OPS+ of 145 (this excludes his final year in Oakland when he was only a DH).

Where would Piazza’s offensive numbers have gone had he not played the field since 1998? So Davidoff is rewarding Martinez for not being good enough to play the field, but penalizing Piazza for being a catcher in 1,602 starts.

These facts alone prove the flaw in Davidoff’s method and also prove why using four statistical measures that have “no emotion,” is greatly flawed.

I believe Davidoff’s goal was to find a way to leave Mike Piazza off his ballot.

To weigh a player’s credentials versus an entire ballot and use four statistics that do not consider the position played is an enormous sign of willful ignorance.

Thoughts from Joe D.

To add to Mike’s well pointed and articulated argument against Davidoff’s ballot, let me add this.

To use some arbitrary statistics alone as your sole criteria in determining a players candidacy for the Hall of Fame, seems like a total jab at the sanctity and integrity of the process.

The reason the writers of the BBWAA get to select those players who are enshrined into Cooperstown is because it was assumed that they watched these players and saw them perform among their piers. They had the luxury of being paid to cover the candidates, and compare them to players in their own era or draw comparisons to former greats.

The measuring sticks that Davidoff uses aren’t indicative of the stats we use to measure which players were the greatest batters, or home run hitters , or base stealers. Instead he uses advanced metrics that are just flawed “catch-all” statistics that even the creators themselves can’t agree as to their computation or legitimacy in determining a player’s overall value.

If Mike Piazza does get selected into the Hall of Fame, baseball fans everywhere will remember that he hit the most home runs ever as a catcher and not because his JAWS and WAR7 ranked him with the immortals like Johnny Bench and Gary Carter.

If we wanted to use solely a statistical barometer to select players to the Hall of Fame, why have a vote at all?

Why not just develop the threshold for inclusion and get rid of the BBWAA and all their flaws altogether?

Too many writers use the ballot as a means to promote themselves rather than honoring the system and the institution they are supposed to protect and represent.

I have serious concerns about Ken Davidoff’s ballot, and wonder if he didn’t in fact use it to shamelessly promote himself – an act he accused R.A. Dickey of doing only days prior.

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