The
Baseball Writers’ Association of America 2015 Hall of Fame ballot,
released Nov. 24, features 34 names, including 17 holdovers from
previous elections and 17 newcomers.
The new candidates on the ballot include Cy Young Award winners like
Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, along with sluggers
Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield, two-time batting champion Nomar
Garciaparra and closer Troy Percival.
Other first-time candidates include: Rich Aurilia, Aaron Boone, Tony
Clark, Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Cliff Floyd, Brian Giles, Tom Gordon,
Eddie Guardado and Jason Schmidt.
The 17 candidates returning to the BBWAA ballot (with
their 2014 election percentages) are: Craig Biggio (74.8%), Mike Piazza
(62.2%), Jeff Bagwell (54.3%), Tim Raines (46.1%), Roger Clemens
(35.4%), Barry Bonds (34.7%), Lee Smith (29.9%), Curt Schilling (29.2%),
Edgar Martinez (25.2%), Alan Trammell (20.8%), Mike Mussina (20.3%),
Jeff Kent (15.2%), Fred McGriff (11.7%), Mark McGwire (11.0%), Larry
Walker (10.2%), Don Mattingly (8.2%) and Sammy Sosa (7.2%).
Mattingly is eligible for the BBWAA ballot for the 15th-and-final
time. If he is not elected in January, he will become eligible for
consideration by the Expansion Era Committee beginning in the fall of
2016.
Biggio came within 2 votes of election last time. Most writers believe that he will be inducted in this ballot.
The Big Unit, Johnson, is clearly a first time Hall of Famer. His 22 year career totals: 303 wins, 166 losses, 3.29 ERA, 1.171 WHIP and 104.3 WAR.
Martinez is a "likely" HOFer because of the East Coast baseball bias. But his numbers don't stack up to Johnson's. Martinez's 18 year career totals: 219 wins 100 losses, 2.93 ERA, 1.054 WHIP and 86 WAR. BR has Roy Halladay, Curt Schilling and Tim Hudson as comparable pitchers. When 300 wins was the "gold" standard for starting pitchers, Martinez falls well short of that total. But he pitched in some big games with a major franchise so he may squeak by as a first timer because the rest of the ballot is weak.
The most interesting candidate is Smoltz. He was a dominate starter early in his career, with a Cy Young season in 1996, then became a dominate closer with a 55 save season in 2002. During his 21 year career, his record was 213-155, 3.33 ERA, 1.179 WHIP, 154 saves and 66.5 WAR. The WAR and number of wins would put Smoltz on the fence or falling short. He is compared to Schilling and Kevin Brown. But the idea of being a starter-closer-then starter during a career is a unique aspect of Smoltz during his era.
