I'm not in the least bit complaining about who he voted for. It's just a travesty that he can do this while saying no one else on that ballot is deserving. I, too, think Vlad is a HOF player. He was one of my favorite non-Astros. Dude could hit a pitch out of the stadium even if it was meant to be an intentional walk. I think Hoffman is deserving but he should have to wait a bit longer. He was the best closer in the NL for a long time. If you're going to make the argument that you have to consider the era and put the best from that era in the HOF, then Hoffman is deserving as he was one of the best.
Objectively bad ballots tend to be on the fringe - MOST ballots are fairly reasonable with the one caveat being how the process PEDs. For me, the most blatantly offensive ballot so far was Tony Massarotti, who twisted himself into a pretzel trying to defend his voting for twice-suspended Manny Ramirez while rejecting Piazza and Bagwell because of their "era." That killed me. Bagwell is going to sail in; I've had 2017 on the radar for several years now - it was always shaping up nicely for him.
Still can't over how much Wagner is getting screwed. If you vote for Hoffman, you better damn well vote for Wagner. In all honesty, neither should be in the HOF. But the difference in % between the two is staggering and quite representative of how mis-informed the BBWAA writers are.
I hope Tim Raines makes it and I've been saying that for years, he was an incredible guy to watch. Even with the coke vials and whatnot, he was great.
Once they started inducting "closers" like Lee Smith, Sutter, etc...the door was open to these 1-inning guys. Get used to it.
https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx...=file,xlsx&app=Excel&authkey=!AE2Lu5P1f92OW8o Bagwell has picked up 4 votes from voters who didn't write down his name last year. He only needed a net gain of 12 to reach the golden mark so 8 more will do the trick. So far he's at 91% with approximately 17% of ballots revealed. Last year he ended up with 6.1% lower than the pre-results showed. So at this point it would be pretty surprising if he didn't make it in this year.
Yeah the pickups are what matters. The tracker guys post a line graph that shows this year after x ballots vs. last year after x ballots. Bagwell has been roughly the same through 50 or so ballots. His drop off usually comes from ballots that are not made public. If he can get closer to the ~+12 he needs he would be a pretty safe bet. It isn't over but it does look good right now.
I targeted 20 writers who voted Bonds, not Bagwell, last year. So far, 2 have turned (Mark Newman, who liked the inquiry about any impact we may have had on his change, and Claire Smith, who we really went after HARD), and I'm confident 2 more are coming (Bob Hertzel and Mike Puma). Campaign continues: @bags4HoF - retweet as much as you can.
Interesting how high Pudge's support is compared to where Bagwell or Piazza were on their first ballot. Pudge was specifically mentioned by Canseco in his book, while the other 2 have been implicated based on far less. Clearly the currently released voters are more likely to look away from steroids, so his vote totals are probably going to dive, but not to Bagwell's 41.7%.
I'm complaining about Hoffman, but I definitely agree the travesty is to say those 2 are somehow deserving, but none of the other guys on the list are. I too loved Vlad. He's not a sabermetrics dream, but his swings and throws from the OF were a real treat to watch. His running though makes my back ache just watching.
Wagner's ERA is 2.31, Hoffman is 2.87 Wagner's ERA+ is 187, Hoffman is 141 Wagner's WHIP is 0.998, Hoffman is 1.058 Wagner's Ks are 1196, Hoffman's are 1133 Wagner's K/9 is 11.9, Hoffman's is 9.4 Wagner was a much better player, but did pitch about 3 seasons less. Trevor Hoffman is closer to Huston Street than he is to Billy Wagner. I don't think either belong in the HOF, especially when Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling aren't even coming close.
Unfortunately, like most his teammates, Billy was garbage in the playoffs. Trevor regressed too, but Wagner fell off a cliff. I agree Wagner is a better talent, but the save advantage is enormous. Street is almost 300 behind.
Hey Now, wanted to thank you for doing what you can to help with Baggy's case with some of these voters!!! Thanks and much appreciated!!
From Buster Olney today: 1. It appears that first baseman Jeff Bagwell will receive a landslide election into the Hall of Fame, based on his drawing 90 percent support so far. This is an incredible leap from the 41.7 percent he got in his first year on the ballot and the 55 percent range at which he hovered from 2012 to 2015. 2. Outfielder Tim Raines, in his last year on the ballot, is polling at 89 percent. His support was once as low as 22.6 percent in 2009. 3. Longtime Padres right-hander Trevor Hoffman is at 75 percent so far. Besides Bagwell, Raines and catcher Ivan Rodriguez, Hoffman appears to have the best chance to be part of the 2017 Hall of Fame class.
@MJ4SportsJim Bowden on Sirius this morning "I'm not going to name names, but one of the guys that is likely getting in the hall this year used PEDs" I'd be super pissed if it's Bagwell he's trying to hurt here.
