"So which players did you elect?", Federal Baseball.com's editor Winston Smith asked me as he put out the fifth cigarette of our weekly Sunday night baseball conversation. "Well I was looking at a list of first-ballot electees, 'electees' is that right?"-- "It'll do," Mr. Smith responded. -- "So I looked at a list of people elected their first time on the ballot and there was no one from this year's crop that seemed to measure up in my mind..."
"I don't understand that," Mr. Smith said. "Don't understand what?" I asked since obviously prompted. "I think either a player is worthy or not, if they don't go in on the first ballot, how do they somehow become more impressive? Do writers change their minds? Is it because new writers come along, that presumably know less about the older generation of players, and they decide the player that other people actually saw is deserving because of new statistical data or something? If they're not elected the first time, that should be it."
"So, in your opinion, I should just vote for the people left on the list of eligible players who weren't elected in the previous year's years' voting?"
"I suppose," Winston Smith said. "But, uh, did you write (previous year's) above, as in last year's ballot, or (previous years') as in all previous votes?"
"I voted for Bert Blyleven and Andre Dawson."
"That's it? You really don't think anyone from this year is electable?"
"Well, who do you think should have been elected? Who should the writers select?"
"You're getting close to asking the question you want to?"
"And you can't just help the process along by answering what you know i'm trying to ask? You need to be correctly prompted to reply?"
"Ask me the right way?"
"(mumbles obscenities) Which players did you vote for, Mr. Smith?"
"I voted for the Dawson and Blyleven, and Lee Smith, Jack Morris, Fred McGriff, Edgar Martinez."
"Crime Dog?"
"Crime Dog's a Hall of Famer? Who did the SB Nation's writers elect?
Here Are The Results:
• SB Nation Hall of Fame Voting Results (spreadsheet link).
• 52 ballots were cast, with writers given the opportunity to vote for 10 players...39 votes were required to reach the 75% mark necessary for induction as per the rules set forth by the Baseball Hall of Fame...and according to the 52 voting writers of the SB Nation, Bert Blyleven was the only player to appear on at least 75% of the ballots; (48 ballots, 92.3%). Roberto Alomar fell one vote short. (38 ballots, 73.1%)...Anyone receiving less than 5% is taken off the ballot and must be elected by the Veteran's Committee according to the (current) official rules.
(%of vote/player/# votes)
(92.3), -- Bert Blyleven, 48
(73.1), -- Roberto Alomar, 38
(63.5), -- Barry Larkin,33
(53.8), -- Tim Raines, 28
(51.9), -- Mark McGwire, 27
48.1), -- Edgar Martinez, 25
(40.4), -- Alan Trammell, 21
(32.7), -- Andre Dawson, 17
(26.9), -- Lee Smith, 14
(25.0), -- Fred McGriff, 13
(17.3), -- Dale Murphy, 9
(13.5), -- Jack Morris, 7
(11.5), -- Don Mattingly, 6
(7.7), -- Harold Baines, 4
(3.8), -- Dave Parker,2
(3.8), -- Kevin Appier,2
(1.9), -- Ellis Burks,1
(1.9), -- Ray Lankford,1
(1.9), -- Shane Reynolds,1
"Just Blyleven?" Winston Smith asks.
"Looks like it..." I respond. "I think I showed restraint in not voting for Tim Raines, who was my all-time favorite Expo before he put on the 'pinstripes' later in his career. Shows that I at least took the process seriously. I think I deserve some credit for that...at least."
"Sure, sure, very impresive restraint...happy?" Winston Smith says as he lights another cigarette.