It seems fitting that during the maelstrom of arguments concerning baseball PEDs and their impact on sluggers that two pitchers are elected into the Hall of Fame. Joining them is Frank Thomas who many see as possibly the last clean slugger of the steroid era.
For the first time since 1971, six living people were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame. For the first time since 1999, three guys were elected on their first year of eligibility. They will join three legendary managers: Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre.
He is how the final vote shook out with each person’s vote percentage (75% needed to be elected):
ELECTED
Greg Maddux 97.2%
Maddux is one of the most impressive pitchers of all-time, dominating during the early years of the PED era. His resume is golden with 355 wins, four Cy Young awards, four-time ERA champion, along with 18 gold gloves, which is the most by any position. The biggest surprise is that sixteen writers didn’t vote for him.
Tom Glavine 91.9%
For a decade, Glavine was Maddux’s teammate. If it wasn’t for Maddux, Glavine would have racked up more than his two Cy Yong awards. His 305 Wins will only get more impressive over time as the milestone is harder and harder to reach for modern pitchers.
Frank Thomas 83.7%
The Big Hurt makes history as the first guy elected who played primarily as a DH. He was a back-to-back MVP with the Chicago White Sox en route to 521 HRs. Not just a power guy, he also had a .301 career batting average. His career OPS is 14th all-time. He was one of the first players to speak pubicly against steroids after early injuries forced him to DH.
SNUBBED – MAYBE NEXT YEAR
Craig Biggio 74.8%
Biggio missed out by two (two!) measly votes, which is one of the closest non-elected total ever. The others who were this close (Nellie Fox and Pi Traynor) eventually got in and Biggio will probably do the same. Biggio is one of the best second basemen of his generation. It took Ryne Sandberg three years to get in so it makes sense it will take some time for Biggio. Of course, writers like Ken Gurnick, who publicly stated he wouldn’t vote for anyone during the PED era, should expect some hate mail from Astros fans.
Mike Piazza 62.2%
There has been plenty of suspicion of PED use around Piazza and stories of back acne but he never failed a test and never was accused like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Piazza was the only guy besides Biggio to go up in votes from last year. He jumped 5%. Suspicion aside, Piazza is one of the greatest hitting catchers of all-time. He hit more home runs than any catcher (beating #2 by 38) to go along with a .308 batting average. He is 6th in career WAR for catchers despite questionable defense.
Jeff Bagwell 54.3%
Like Piazza, there are rumors and hearsays of PED use but Bagwell never showed up in anything but a misquoted report on the Mitchell Report. He is getting hurt by the era he played in, but also lacks big milestone numbers. He was more of a all-around really good player. Only first baseman with 400 home runs and 200 steals. His WAR is greater than some major heavies like Joe Dimaggio.
SNUBBED? DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK
Edgar Martinez 25.2%
Fan favorite in the great Northwest. Edgar was more known for hitting singles and doubles during an era known for home run blasts. Using sabremetrics, Edgar has a strong case. His career .933 OPS is 17th highest since 1988… 13th if you take out the drug guys. His WAR is 14th highest (after taking out the drug guys) during the same time. Really good but whether it is Hall of Fame good is questionable.
Alan Trammel 20.8%
His 63.7 career WAR is 14th all-time for shortstops. Trammel has the age old argument going for him — he is better than some guys already in but he doesn’t meet many of the minimals that many voters look for.
FINAL TRY
Jack Morris
In his final year of eligibility, the former Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays ace fell short with only 61.5% of the votes. His counting stats were good enough to get him consideration, but his overall numbers makes him pale in comparison. His best chance is with his peripheral numbers of Opening Day and World Series starts. If elected, he would have been the only member of the 1984 World Series winning Tigers team.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
Mike Mussina 20.3%
Big Moose has some interesting numbers to make a strong case but when compared to Maddux, Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera and John Smoltz, he will have a tough time to find votes. His win total during the five-man rotation era will garner him votes.
Jeff Kent 15.2%
One of the best hitting second baseman of his era. Like Mussina, he is overshadowed by more worthy guys and will need to wait awhile. His MVP and Silver Slugger Awards will help.
Tim Raines 46.1%
Good hitter but not great enough even in his own era.
Lee Smith 29.9% drops
One of the all-time great relief pitchers isn’t saying much when so many after him are already passing him by.
Fred McGriff 11.7%
He may get a strong consideration but only if Edgar Martinez and Raines get in first.
Larry Walker 10.2%
Coors Field helped his career numbers but Coors Field hurt his HOF perception.
STRONG PED ACCUSATIONS
Anyone with strong ties to performance enhancing drugs is being shut out of the Hall. All of them lost votes from last year and will continue to lose votes as more guys enter eligibility. Rafael Palmeiro didn’t get enough votes to even make next year’s ballot despite 3,000 hits and 500 homers.
Roger Clemens 35.4% goes down in votes
Barry Bonds 34.7% goes down
Curt Schilling 29.2% drops
Mark McGwire 11.0%
Sammy Sosa 7.2%
Brian Reddoch is a CraveOnline reporter and rabid fan of all teams Seattle. You can follow him on Twitter @ReddReddoch or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
