Exactly. McGriff had a really good career. But his only advantage over Bags is career total numbers. Which paint an inaccurate picture since he played 4 more seasons than Bags. A couple telling stats that show the separation between the two are total career WAR and total career WAA( Wins Above Average). McGriff's total WAR was 52.4 and his WAA was 19.6. Both very good numbers. But they don't really compare to Bags career WAR of 79.6 and WAA of 51.8. At this point, despite a few obviously ridiculous voters, its apparent that Bagwell deserves to be a HOFer and will be announced as such in a few weeks.
Edgar Martinez, good hitter with a great batting eye. Then in 1995 at the age of 32 his numbers spike for some reason, but that's not suspicious at all.
He got hurt in '94 and then played in the field in a whopping 33 games over the last 10 years of his career.
Last year, Bagwell's vote total fell ~6% from pre-announcement to final announcement (77% to 72). Right now, he's at 94%. Alomar was the last player to go 70+% to 90+% - but that was over two years; for Bagwell to be poised to go in near 90% in year 7 is truly unprecedented and indicative of how much the voting was being dragged down by older, out of touch voters.
Haha... thanks. Most of the writers have actually been very cordial. Heyman, though... it feels personal. The Pudge vote is world-class trolling. I've tried several times to engage him - he won't take the bait.
Seeing a lot of the comments he makes on Twitter and MLB network it does seem like he has an issue not only with Bagwell but with the Astros in general. He is very negative towards anything positive with them. He also completely avoided talking about Bagwell and Biggio in any of the networks HOF coverage the last 2 years. I decided to chalk him up to lost cause and move on. After going up +13 this morning it doesn't matter what Heyman thinks now. Bagwell is certainly a lock to get in.
Heyman has a strong connection to Boras. There may be some baggage there or something with the Astros.
I don't think it's too much to ask for each voter to offer a public explanation of their ballot, especially considering how big of an honor a selection is. BBWAA should want to further its credence. With how easily accessible stats (and even game-video) is today, the Hall needs to address this public factor, otherwise it's credibility will continue to suffer. Knocking out old, out-of-touch voters is a step in the right direction, but a transparent process helps everyone, including the BBWAA.
Lol love how he tries to justify his previous 6 years of ineptitude by throwing in the borderline comment at the end. But props to Heynow and a little to Knobler for at least finally getting it right.
Make that +14 Looking more and more like a class of Bags, Pudge, and Raines. Vlad is close and should get in next year. Next year could be a pretty epic class if things continue to trend. Looking like it will be Bonds, Clemens, Hoffman, Vlad...along with Chipper and Thome as likely locks. Possibly Scott Rolen, Johan Santana, and Andrew Jones but I wouldn't guess any of them 1st time worthy.
I doubt Bonds & Clemens get in next year. Rolen's case will be interesting. I think he definitely belongs, but his offensive numbers aren't overly impressive. I can't imagine Santana getting in. He just didn't play long enough, and while he was the best pitcher in baseball for a time, he wasn't historically dominant like a Koufax or Pedro (who both have more wins than Santana). Andruw Jones will also be interesting. He's a very borderline candidate.
I can see Jones on the Bagwell path. He'll get in and deserves to...but it might take 6 or 7 years. Rolen, if he does, will have to likely go the full 10 years. I didn't mention Omar Vizquel. The Bill James rating has him at a 120 (100 means likely to be enshrined). Not a first ballot guy but he'll get in within a couple of years.
Does Andruw Jones? His career really went down at 30. Rolen is definitely more deserving. I don't think Vizquel gets in. Bill James system likes his chances, but JAWS doesn't and neither really do any other stats.
Depends on how people want to value his defense. Bill Mazeroski got in based on a career of amazing defense (at 2B) and 1 amazing WS.
He was a voter last year, can't find a current list. http://bbwaa.com/16-hof-voters/ http://deadspin.com/murray-chass-is-everything-thats-wrong-with-the-hall-o-1493277221
