Red Sox: Hall of Fame voting fallout

What the voting results for the Class of 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame mean for players with ties to the Boston Red Sox organization.

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The votes are in and the tally reveals that baseball’s Hall of Fame will be inducting two new members this summer.

This year’s class is headlined by Ken Griffey, Jr., who appeared on 437 of the 440 ballots in his first year of eligibility for a record 99.3 percent of the votes. Griffey’s 630 career home runs are the sixth most all-time, which is made all the more impressive given that he was one of the few power-hitting stars of the steroid era whose reputation was never tainted by steroid accusations. This is why many believed that Junior had a chance to become the first ever unanimous selection, until he ultimately fell short by three votes. We can debate the logic of the three writers that inexplicably left Griffey off their ballot or the flawed voting process that will likely prevent anyone from being a unanimous selection, but does it really matter? All that matters is that he got in, with the honor of a record percentage of the vote serving as the icing on the cake.

Junior will be joined in Cooperstown this summer by Mike Piazza, who received 83 percent of the votes in his fourth year on the ballot. Viewed as the greatest offensive catcher the game has ever seen, Piazza is the career leader at the position in home runs (427) and OPS (.922). Piazza’s name has been dragged into the steroid scandal by those that assume he was cheating based solely on his powerful physique, despite that he never failed a drug test or had any substantive accusations made against him. His selection this year shows that more voters are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, which bodes well for other unfairly accused sluggers such as Jeff Bagwell, who narrowly missed the cut this year with 71.6 percent of the votes.

While baseball fans from all over can appreciate the accomplishments of these great players regardless of the team their allegiance is to, this year’s class doesn’t carry the same weight with Red Sox Nation as last year’s did, when Pedro Martinez stealing the show at the induction ceremony became one of the highlights of the year. While we won’t see a player enshrined wearing a Red Sox cap this year, there are several takeaways from the voting results that a relevant to players with ties to this franchise.

Next: Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens

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Here on BoSox Injection we have stated the case before as to why Roger Clemens belongs in Cooperstown, so now is not the time to rehash all the reasons why his lofty accomplishments outweigh his reputation that has been tainted by the steroid scandal. We don’t need to remind you that The Rocket compiled a Hall of Fame worthy resume during his 13 years in Boston, before the dark cloud of performance-enhancing drugs hovered over him.

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Instead let’s examine the progress that Clemens made in this year’s results, jumping from 37 percent last season to just over 45 percent. Fellow poster boy for the steroid era, Barry Bonds, saw a similar jump to over 44 percent. While they each remain far short of the 75 percent that is required to be selected, they are certainly trending in the right direction.

What does this mean? It could be that a significant number of voters are starting to change their minds about excluding players connected to PEDs from their ballots. We have heard from prominent voices in the sports writing community, such as Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, stating their cases for why they finally decided to include Clemens and Bonds on their ballots. There may also be a portion of those writers that once took a hard line against PED users that didn’t vote this year. In 2015 there were 549 ballots cast, but that figure dropped to 440 this year. Since induction is based on a percentage rather than total votes it would stand to favor players connected to PEDs if a significant number of those hardliners were among the 100+ writers that are no longer casting a ballot.

If the stance on PEDs is beginning to shift then perhaps we’ll see another leap for Clemens next year, which is noteworthy for Boston fans considering he’s likely to wear a Red Sox cap if inducted. It also helps pave the way for other former players with a tainted past, such as Manny Ramirez.

Next: Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling

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The outspoken Curt Schilling may cost himself a few votes with some of his controversial viewpoints, but it’s encouraging to see him rise from 39 percent last year to 52 percent.

There’s no doubt that Schilling is worthy of more consideration than that, with the archaic voting rules that limit the writers to only 10 players per ballot being the primary factor standing in his way. At least he’s trending in the right direction. Of the players that were not selected this year, Schilling received the fourth most votes, signaling he’ll have a legitimate shot next year with many writers that didn’t vote for him having an additional two spots free on their ballots.

Schilling won 216 games during his 20 year big league career, owning a 3.46 ERA and producing an 80.6 WAR that ranks 26th all-time among pitchers. The six-time All-Star finished as the runner-up for the Cy Young award three times, while finishing in the top-10 in MVP voting twice. He has three seasons on his resume in which he piled up at least 300 strikeouts and joins Clemens as the only pitcher among the top-15 in career strikeouts to not already be in the Hall of Fame.

As good as he was in the regular season, it’s his postseason career that puts him over the top. Schilling was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in his postseason career, establishing himself as one of the greatest big game pitchers in history while collecting three championship rings.

While he spent only the final four years of his career in Boston and would likely be enshrined wearing a Phillies cap, seeing Schilling inducted would still be a special moment for Red Sox fans given his contributions to two World Series titles. His gutsy performance in the infamous “Bloody Sock” game during the 2004 ALCS remains one of the most treasured memories of his storied career.

Next: Edgar Martinez

Edgar Martinez

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One of the biggest jumps from last year is Edgar Martinez, who rose from 27 percent to 43 percent. Why is this important? Well, it’s a sign that voters may be moving away from their bias against players that spent the majority of their career as a designated hitter.

That bodes well for David Ortiz, whose name will join the ballot five years after he retires at the end of this season. If Martinez gets in before that it greatly enhances the chances of Ortiz getting in as well.

Let’s compare the careers of the two best DH’s in league history.

Martinez: .312/.418/.515, 309 HR, 1261 RBI, 147 OPS+, 68.3 WAR
Ortiz: .284/.378/.547, 503 HR, 1641 RBI, 139 OPS+, 50.4 WAR

Martinez was more adept at getting on base, but Big Papi more than makes up for that with his tremendous edge in power. Add in Ortiz’s clutch postseason heroics and three World Series rings and you can easily make a case that he is just as worthy as Martinez to get a call to the Hall.

There is no doubting that Martinez was one of the best hitters of his generation, but many voters have held it against him that he rarely fielded a defensive position. No matter what he did with his bat, playing only half the game reduces his value, which is why his career WAR falls short of what other Hall of Fame hitters produced.

The same will be said for Ortiz once he becomes eligible, so Martinez getting in ahead of him would set a precedent that should help Ortiz garner more support.

Next: Nomar Garciaparra