Hall of Fame: Just One Slam-Dunk Each of Next Three Years
By Matt Veasey
The Baseball Hall of Fame will see a number of great players voted on over the next three years, but only one each year is a slam-dunk for first ballot enshrinement.
There is a great deal of discussion taking place right now in regards to voting on Baseball Hall of Fame ballots.
A number of truly worthy candidates are on this year’s ballot, players who should absolutely find themselves enshrined one day. These include the greatest player who I ever saw in person, Barry Bonds. He still may fall just short this year as voters continue to evaluate his PED usage.
There would appear to be four men at the current time who stand a reasonable chance of gaining enshrinement in the summer of 2017.
When results of the BBWAA voting are released in three weeks we could very well find as many as four players elected. Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Trevor Hoffman, and Ivan Rodriguez each could gain that measure of baseball immortality.
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Of those players, only Rodriguez is a first ballot nominee, and the result for ‘Pudge’ is likely to be a close one.
Bagwell is in his 7th season on the ballot. Voters have struggled with his possible PED involvement. Raines is in his 10th and final year on the regular ballot. Some struggle with his use of cocaine during the 1980’s. Hoffman is in this 2nd year on the ballot. A number of voters still struggle with the importance of the closer position.
Of the players who will enter the voting process for the first time between 2018-2020, only one player each year would appear to be a no doubt, first ballot Hall of Famer.
Let’s examine each ballot for the first time nominees, and make that obvious call to the Hall.