Thank goodness three new members were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. If they hadn’t been, the 2015 ballot would have featured as much Cooperstown-worthy talent as Cooperstown itself.
OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But this isn’t: Even after last year’s selections, the 2015 ballot might be as loaded as the 2014 ballot.
Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas gained entry to Cooperstown last year, but notables like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell all fell short. Joining them on the ballot for the first time are names like Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz.
There are several hundred Baseball Writers Association of America members with Hall of Fame votes, and their selections for this year’s class are due to be announced Tuesday, Jan. 6. But because a few more expert opinions can’t hurt, B/R’s MLB Lead Writers are here to show who they would have voted for.
Jason Catania, Joel Reuter, Mike Rosenbaum, Zachary D. Rymer, Jacob Shafer and Anthony Witrado have each filled out a hypothetical 2015 Hall of Fame ballot (which, for the record, allows for a max of 10 selections) and explained their choices accordingly. Read on to hear their two cents.
Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.