2018 Millhouse Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

Vladimir Guerrero swings at a pitch that bounced before hitting it for a double

Another year goes by and the Baseball Writers Association of America nears another vote for the Major League Hall of Fame. The new class features a couple of possible future hall of famers, but it's those who still are eligible from previous seasons that may demand more attention.

The new class of players that are first-time eligible include Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen, Andruw Jones, Johan Santana, Jamie Moyer, Johnny Damon, Omar Vizquel, and more. Players from previous years that are still eligible include Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Mussina, Manny Ramirez, Larry Walker, and more.

Despite the many choices, the BBWAA seems to be able to only agree on one or two players for the last several years despite each member possessing the ability to vote for up to 10 former players. 

I may not be a member of the BBWAA, but I give to you my votes for this year's ballot. Hopefully, other BBWAA members will act rationally and forget their biases against players that they did not like personally or want to accuse of using performance-enhancing drugs with no proof.

1. Trevor Hoffman - Hoffman retired as the all-time saves leader, yet has been passed over twice so far. He received 74 percent of the vote last year. With 601 saves and a career ERA of 2.87, it seems beyond belief on how the BBWAA has passed him over, especially in an ERA when relief pitching has become predominant.

2. Vladimir Guerrero - Passed over last season, Vladimir Guerrero spent his career as one of the more feared hitters in the MLB. He hit 449 homers, had 181 stolen bases, a .318 batting average, and a cannon for an arm. Sure, he swung at everything, but he also hit everything. It is feasible that Guerrero is the last former Montreal Expo to be inducted to the hall if he is voted in.

3. Roger Clemens - Arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all-time is now up for his sixth go-around. 354 wins, a career ERA of 3.12, and 4,672 strikeouts. He's won 7 Cy Young Awards, an MVP award, is 9th all-time in wins, and 3rd all-time in strikeouts. His fastball inspired the nickname, Rocket. Accused of taking performance enhancing drugs, the biggest argument that voters are writing about is not the pharmaceutical help the claim he had, but the fact that they just thought he was an ass of a human being. There's nothing in the rules saying that attitude is a determining factor for the hall. The articles of late cite Roger Clemens cheating on his wife with country music star, Mindy McCready and incidents like his toe-to-toe confrontation with Mike Piazza. If that is enough not to be inducted to the hall of fame, then players like Ty Cobb should be booted out as he may have killed two people and attacked a handicapped spectator during a game. Is Clemens an angel? No. Is he a hall of famer? Yes.

4. Barry Bonds - The other legend the BBWAA is holding a grudge against, Bonds is arguably one of the best hitters of all-time. He has the most homers of all-time with 762; 514 stolen bases; 1,996 RBI's (fifth of all-time); the most walks taken at 2,558; and the most intentional walks ever issued at 688. He also holds the single season record in homers with 73. He has won 7 MVP's, 8 Gold Gloves, and 12 Silver Sluggers. If other players such as Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell can be inducted to the hall of fame despite the accusations of performance enhancing drugs, Bonds should be eligible as well. No one seems to hold the admitted use of "greenies" by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays against them, so it even seems more unfair that Bonds should be held out of the hall for the accusations against him.

5. Fred McGriff - Silent in terms of headlines, McGriff was a scary hitter to face. He hit 493 homers, had a .284 career batting average, and drove in 1,550 career RBI's. Even though he played first base at the same time as Jeff Bagwell, Will Clark, John Kruk, Will Grace, and Andres Galarraga, McGriff still won three Silver Sluggers. If McGriff played in any other generation, he would be considered a hall of famer. What's even better, he's one of the few power hitters not accused of taking any PED's. 

6. Mike Mussina - Other than his rookie year, Mussina was a double digit winner in every season he ever played, retiring after winning 20 games in his last season. Mussina won 270 wins overall and had 2,813 career strikeouts. He was a top six candidate for the Cy Young Award 8 times in his career, but Mussina never placed better than second. He had also won 7 Gold Gloves during his career. Mussina was the ace for the Yankees and Orioles during his career and is worthy of hall consideration.

7. Billy Wagner - Able to reach 100 MPH on the radar, Wagner is sixth all-time in career saves with 422. That is only two less than the all-time lefty saves leader, John Franco. Wagner dominated as a closer and was one of the most feared relievers of all-time. His career ERA is 2.31, his career WHIP is 0.998, and a career strikeouts-per-9-innings of 11.9. Not once in Wagner's career did he ever have an ERA over 3.00 in a full season. 

8. Chipper Jones - This should be proof that the BBWAA should be able to vote for a player to make it to the hall, even if they don't like them. I'm not a fan of Chipper, but he is hall of fame worthy and he receives one of my 10 votes. Jones hit 468 career homers, had a career batting average of .303, and an on base percentage of .401. He also had 1,623 career RBI's. Jones won the MVP award in 1999 and led the National League with a .364 batting average in 2008. Like McGriff, Jones played at the same time as other top level third basemen such as Scott Rolen, Matt Williams, Robin Ventura, Ken Caminiti, and David Wright. This caused him not to get as much attention as being a star player at his position. 

9. Jim Thome - A power hitter who finished his career with 612 homers, in 22 seasons Thome never won an MVP award and only won one Silver Slugger. Despite being known for his power, Thome also only led the league once in homers. Still, Thome drove in 1,699 career RBI's and is 7th all-time in walks taken. He was often the left-handed power hitter that protected other all-stars such as Manny Ramirez, Ryan Howard, Paul Konerko, and more. 

10. Gary Sheffield - The nephew of Dwight Gooden, Sheffield hit 509 career homers and drove in 1,676 RBI's. Sporting a .292 career batting average, Sheffield won five Silver Sluggers and was the cleanup hitter on the Florida Marlins team that defeated the Cleveland Indians in the World Series in 1997. Sheffield was also in the top 10 in MVP votes 6 times in his career. Sheffield also played at least 300 games at third base, left field, right field, and designated hitter. This will be Sheffield's fourth attempt at being voted in.

Baseball Hall of Fame 2017 Ballot

Photo of Barry Bonds by Daniel Millhouse

Yet another year goes by and I find myself without an official ballot for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame for the 2017 class. I know I would have to be a BBWAA writer, but I figure they should have made the exception. Either way, I give you my picks to make the hall this year (in no particular order)...

1. Barry Bonds - All-time home run leader, eight gold gloves, all-time leader in walks and intentional walks, seven MVP's, 12-time Silver Slugger winner, and 514 stolen bases. It's ridiculous that he hasn't been voted in during the first four times he was eligible. One anchor on the MLB Network claimed that he couldn't vote for Bonds solely because Bonds wasn't a nice guy. If that's the case, then explain players such as Ty Cobb, Reggie Jackson, and Don Drysdale who were known to be hated players while still playing.
2. Roger Clemens - Almost the pitcher version of Barry Bonds. Seven Cy Youngs, one MVP, 354 career wins, third on the all-time strike outs list behind fellow Texan Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson, and a 3.12 career ERA. Just like Bonds, he has been passed by four times so far for the hall.
3. Jeff Bagwell - A former Rookie of the Year, MVP, three time Silver Slugger, Gold Glove first baseman, with 449 career homers, a .297 career batting average, over 1,500 RBI's, and 202 stolen bases. In any other time period Bagwell may have stood out more, but he played first base in the National League at the same time as Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Andres Galarraga, Mark Grace, Ryan Klesko, and Todd Helton.
4. Trevor Hoffman - He's second all-time in career saves behind Mariano Rivera, second for the Cy Young Award in 1998 and 2006, and sported a career ERA of 2.87.
5. Billy Wagner - Sixth all-time in saves, Wagner often hit over 100 mph on the radar gun and was feared by hitters. He had a career ERA of 2.31, had a K/9 of 11.9, and a WHIP of 0.99. Only John Franco had more saves as a left-handed closers.
6. Ivan Rodriguez - Known for being one of the best defensive catchers of all-time, Rodriguez had an amazing arm that he would use to throw base runners out all the time. Pudge wasn't bad with the bat either. He had 312 homers, a .296 career batting average, over 1,300 RBI's, and 2,844 base hits. He won the AL MVP in 1999, won the Silver Slugger 7 times, and 13 Gold Gloves.
7. Fred McGriff - Overlooked because he played first base in the National League while so many other stars also played, many people don't realize how good he exactly was. He retired with 493 homers (tied for the most with Lou Gehrig for players who failed to reach 500), 1,550 RBI's, a .284 career batting average, and three Silver Slugger awards.
8. Mike Mussina - Mike Mussina won 270 games, stuck out over 2,800 hitters, won seven Gold Gloves, and he only failed to reach double digit wins in a season once in his career (during his rookie season). The Moose was in the top 10 for Cy Young votes nine times, but the closest he ever came to winning was in 1999 when he came in second. Good to the end, Mussina was 20-9 with a 3.34 ERA and a Gold Glove his final season.
9. Vladimir Guerrero - One of the freest swinger hitters in recent times, Guerrero is one of two first-time ballot eligible players I voted for this year (Ivan Rodriguez is the other). He hit 449 homers, had 1,496 RBI's, a .318 career batting average, and 2,590 career hits. He won the MVP during his first season with the ANAHEIM Angels and won eight Silver Slugger awards. If the Gold Glove was solely based on arm strength, Guerrero would have won some. He had a cannon for an arm which kept him playing in the outfield for a couple extra seasons before being converted to a designated hitter. In 2002, he was one homer short of being a 40-40 player. He is also the last former Montreal Expo left with a valid chance at making it to the hall. If he receives enough votes to get in, I hope he goes in as an Expo.