Our Hall of Fame class for the year of 2020 has officially been elected! I gave my thoughts on the Veterans Committee vote a month ago, but now, here are my opinions on how the BBWAA vote went.
Jeter: One Vote Short
396 votes out of 397 balloters isn't bad at all for one of the greatest players of my generation, but Jeter should've been unanimous! Whatever. At least he got in. Not that anyone thought he would be anything less than a first ballot Hall of Famer. Congrats, Captain!
Larry Walker Finally Gets His Respect
I wasn't expecting Walker to get in this year, but that doesn't mean he's not deserving of the election. He made it by less than ten votes, but 75% is 75% when it comes to HoF voting, and Walker broke the benchmark. Justice is finally served for one of the best hitters of the 90s.
Schilling Barely Misses Induction By 5%
The should-be Hall of Famer missed the mark again, but his 70% on the ballot is a step in the right direction. Because of the weak first-comers next year, he should be in the Hall by 2021, despite his off-field antics.
Big Boosts for the Fielders
Omar Vizquel and Scott Rolen were sixth and seventh on the voting this year, which is quite interesting given their expertise in fielding. You can say anything you want about their hitting, but it's their gloves that boosted them up so much on the ballots. Don't get me wrong, I love a Gold Glover, but fielding metrics are still very new to the Cooperstown scene, so I'm still a little skeptical about their inductions. Give me a few years, and then maybe I'll warm up to them more.
Todd Helton: The Next Alan Trammell?
Ok, maybe I'm a little biased here, but it seems that Helton will be the next should-be Hall of Famer to hover around 20%-30% for the next several years, just like my Hall of Fame birthday buddy, Trammell, did for his time on the BBWAA ballot. Helton is worthy!
No Love for Paul Konerko
2.5% for Paul Konerko officially knocks him off the ballot for future years, which is really such a shame. Konerko will be a Hall of Famer, but it stinks that it'll now be a VC election rather than a BBWAA election. Just look at his stats and think about what he did for the South Side of Chicago. A legendary slugger, indeed.
What did you think of the Hall of Fame vote last week? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it. Check back soon for more of "all the buzz on what wuzz."
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