My 2015 Hall of Fame Ballot, if I Had One

Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Wikipedia via Flickr

A week ago, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) announced which retired baseball players would be placed on the 2015 ballot for the Hall of Fame vote. A total of 34 players were included on the ballot, including 17 first-year eligible players.

Like any given year, a writer can vote for up to 10 players on their ballot and in any other year, this would have been more than enough. The last few years have been the exception though. A large amount of players with hall of fame credentials are eligible and some may end up finding themselves pushed back another year. With only 10 years of eligibility to be voted into the hall, some of these players may even have to wait until they are eligible to be voted in by the Expansion Era Committee.

So I give you the 10 players I would vote for, if I had a ballot....

1. Roger Clemens: In an era of the homerun, Roger Clemens put up numbers that many pitchers in the Dead-Ball Era would have loved to have. Putting up 354 wins (ninth all-time), a career 3.12 ERA, 4672 strikeouts (third all-time), and for the saber metrics fans, the third best WAR of any starting pitcher of all-time, Clemens should be a shoe in. He won 7 Cy Young Awards and even an MVP.

Thrown onto the Mitchell Report, Clemens defended himself in court and even in front of Congress, which had no business getting involved. Getting frustrated with his answers, Congress started to mudsling at Clemens, asking if he had ever cheated on his wife before. In a move that many men would have done, he said no. It wasn't their business. Congress then cited this as one of the reasons he would be indicted for charges of perjury because allegedly Clemens had slept with country music star, Mindy McCready. He was acquitted of all charges, including use of PED's, but the writers still held their opinion of Clemens, as being a shady one. In his first two years on the ballot, Clemens couldn't even break the 40 percent mark, let alone the 75 percent required to vote in a player. He deserves to go in. He could arguably be considered the best pitcher of his generation and maybe ever.

2. Craig Biggio: The all-time record holder in the modern era for being hit by a pitch, the Astros' great never once charged the mound in his career. He had 3060 hits, 1844 runs scored (fifteenth all-time), 668 doubles (fifth all-time), 291 homeruns, 53 lead off homeruns (National League record), and 414 stolen bases.

In an era where many of the best hitters were accused of PED use, Biggio was a player that people believed to have played clean. He was a 7 time all-star, 4 time gold glove winner, and 5 time Silver Slugger Award winner. Biggio began his career as a catcher, converted to second base, put up some of the best stats by a second baseman, moved to centerfield, moved to leftfield, and then ended his career by moving back to second base. This perhaps made him one of the best and most versatile players of his generation. Yet, with all this under his belt, he is now on the Hall of Fame ballot for a third year. Last year he fell 2 votes short of making it, which tied him for the closest a player has ever come to being voted into the Hall of Fame, without making it (Nellie Fox and Pie Traynor). This should be his year.

3. Randy Johnson: Perhaps the scariest pitcher of his generation, Johnson stood 6'10" on the mound and scowled with every pitch he threw. In his first year on the ballot, Johnson should be a no-brainer. He had 303 wins, 4875 strikeouts (second all-time), 5 Cy Young Awards, 10 time all-star, and led the league in strikeouts 9 times. He threw a no-hitter in 1990 and a perfect game in 2004. His 372 strikeouts in 2001, were the closest an pitcher has come to breaking the single season record, since Nolan Ryan. Johnson retired from baseball with the highest strikeouts per 9 inning average in a career, with 10.6.

For most of his career, Johnson was able to hit triple digits with his fastball and his slider he nicknamed "Mr. Snappy", was able to hit as high as 94 MPH. If Clemens hadn't pitched in the same time frame, Randy Johnson could have arguably be considered the best pitcher of his generation.

4. Pedro Martinez: When one looks at Pedro's 5'11", 170 lbs. frame, it's hard to believe that he could be the flamethrower he turned out to be. He was an 8 time all-star, 3 time Cy Young Award winner, and with his extreme control, had the lowest WHIP in history. Martinez had the third highest strikeout ratio of all-time and for the saber metric nerds, the best adjusted ERA of all-time.

While his 219 wins sound a little low compared to those already in the Hall of Fame, Martinez is able to brag about his 3154 strikeouts (thirteenth all-time) and a career ERA of 2.93.

5. Barry Bonds: What can you say bad about the numbers he put up in his career? He is the all-time homerun leader with 762 homers, the single season homerun leader with 73, the all-time walks leader with 2558, and the all-time intentional walks leader with 688. Beyond the records he holds, he also had 514 stolen bases, 601 career doubles, 1996 RBI's, and 2935 hits.

Bonds was a 7 time MVP, 14 time all-star, 8 time gold glover, 12 time Silver Slugger Award winner, and second on the all-time WAR list behind Babe Ruth.

The question of PED use has prevented Bonds from getting in his previous two attempts. While I don't argue that Bonds has the reputation of being an ass to the press or stand up for him when it came to paying his taxes, I don't believe Bonds should be prevented from being in the Hall of Fame. He made a lot of enemies in the press during his playing days, but the writers continue to drag this into his post-playing career. Unlike other stars like Rafael Palmeiro, Bonds never tested positive for PED use.

6. Mike Mussina: Another pitcher who excelled during the homerun era, Mussina retired with 270 wins, 2813 strikeouts, 5 all-star game appearances, 7 gold gloves, and is twenty-fourth all-time in WAR among pitchers. While never winning more than 20 games in a season, he won 11 games 17 consecutive seasons and won 15 games in 10 separate seasons.

Some voters cite his lack of Cy Young Awards as a reason not to vote for him, but he did rank in the top 5 of the Cy Young vote, 6 times. Unfortunately for Mussina, he pitched in the American League at the same time Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez did, making the Cy Young Award insanely hard for him to obtain. A vote in the Hall of Fame should not be the same.

7. Jeff Bagwell: Part of the Astros' "Killer B's" with Craig Biggio, Bagwell was another victim of being accused of PED use, despite not being named on the Mitchell Report, nor having been suspected of taken PED's while he was an active player.

The former Rookie of the Year, was a 4 time all-star, 3 time Silver Slugger Award winner, won the MVP award and gold glove in 1994. His 449 homeruns rank thirty-eighth of all-time and he boasted 1529 RBI's, 488 doubles, and 2314 hits in his career. Another player that was a victim of being overshadowed by other star homerun leaders such as fellow first baseman Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, and other position players like Barry Bonds, Bagwell did well ranking in the top 10 in the MVP award 5 other times than his 1994 season. Unfortunately, his career was cut short due to an arthritic shoulder, otherwise it can be assumed that Bagwell could have reached the 500 home run mark.

8. John Smoltz: A lot of debate has been made on whether Smoltz should go to the hall. The third of possibly one of the best trio of pitchers to ever pitch together (Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine), Smoltz could have easily been an ace pitcher for any other team. He has the distinction of being only the second pitcher in history to have a 20-win season and a 50-save season (Dennis Eckersley).

Smoltz was an 8 time all-star and despite being in the shadow of Maddux and Glavine, Smoltz gained a Cy Young Award in 1996. He had 213 wins, a 3.33 ERA, 154 saves, and 3084 strikeouts (sixteenth all-time). After going through Tommy John surgery, Smoltz went from being a top of the line starter, to a dominate closer, before eventually moving back to a starting role several years later. A first time eligible player for the Hall of Fame, Smoltz deserves to join Maddux and Glavine.

9. Fred McGriff: A player that had been overshadowed by other long ball hitters, McGriff hit 493 homeruns without a whisper of possible PED use. While never winning an MVP award, McGriff was in the top 10 of the MVP vote 4 times in his career. While playing for the Braves, led by the most dominate pitching trio of the '90s, McGriff anchored the offense that won the Braves their only World Series in the playoff streak run.

Despite having nearly 2500 hits and over 1500 RBI's, McGriff still managed to fly under the media's radar. Pitchers knew who he was and never liked facing the Crime Dog.

10. Carlos Delgado: Another player victim to the lack of press, Delgado never found himself on great teams. He was a power hitter for the Blue Jays, Marlins, and the Mets. He was one of only six players in MLB history to hit 30 homeruns, 10 straight seasons. He is the all-time Puerto Rican hitter in the MLB, in homeruns (473) and RBI's (1512). In his career, he broke many of the Blue Jays' offensive records.

Despite the great numbers, Delgado was only voted into the all-star game twice and only won a Silver Slugger Award three times. Four times in his career, he made the top 10 in the MVP voting, but despite hitting 42 homeruns and 145 RBI's in 2003, he was overshadowed by Barry Bonds. With nearly 2100 and a .280 batting average, Delgado deserves to finally be recognized for his stellar career.