Former Red Sox players on Hall of Fame ballot who deserve to get in
There are several players with ties to the Boston Red Sox on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot. There are the ones I’d vote for.
Allow me to preface this by acknowledging that I don’t have an official vote for the Hall of Fame. I’m not a member of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. I’m merely a fan of the Boston Red Sox with a passion for sharing opinions based on my own analysis and knowledge of baseball’s storied history.
Those who do have a vote are in the process of casting their ballots, about a quarter of which have been publically revealed thus far. We’re a few weeks away from learning who will be inducted into the Class of 2019. In the meantime, many of us will debate our own choices by assembling the hypothetical ballots we would cast if we had the opportunity.
A quick refresher on the ballot rules. Candidates must have completed at least 10 seasons in the majors and become eligible five years after they retire from being an active player. The player must appear on at least 75 percent of the ballots in order to be inducted. They can remain on the ballot for up to ten years unless they dip below the minimum 5 percent threshold.
As this is a Red Sox website, I’ll focus primarily on those with ties to this franchise. My full ballot will be revealed at the end but first, let’s discuss the former Red Sox players who should make it to Cooperstown.
The PED allegations that tarnished the legacy of Roger Clemens is the only factor that prevented him from being inducted over the course of the previous six years he’s been on the ballot. Based on his career accomplishments, the Rocket is an obvious choice for enshrinement.
Clemens is the all-time leader among pitchers in Wins Above Replacement by FanGraphs’ measurement with 133.7 fWAR. He ranks third with 4672 career strikeouts and ninth with 354 wins. His 3.12 ERA is tied for 19th by a starting pitcher since 1969, the year the mound was lowered to increase offense.
The 11-time All-Star won seven Cy Young Awards, six in the American League and one in the National League at the age of 41. He led the league in ERA seven times, including twice when he won the pitching Triple Crown. Clemens is one of the rare pitchers who has taken home the MVP award, which he won during his first Cy Young campaign with the Red Sox in 1986.
Voters appear to be softening their stance on suspected PED users based on the latest ballot results but there’s still a significant faction who refuse to vote for these alleged cheaters. I understand the viewpoint of those who take the moral high ground with this stance but I don’t agree with it. The Hall of Fame is a museum showcasing the history of the game. Like it or not, the steroid era was a part of this history that we simply can’t ignore.
I also factor in that Clemens was only tied to PEDs after he left Boston. There was never any evidence that he was using during his time here and his declining results in his last few years with the franchise supports that notion. During his 13 seasons with the Red Sox, Clemens won 192 games with a 3.06 ERA and 2590 strikeouts. He made five All-Star appearances, won three Cy Youngs and an MVP during that span.
Clemens should be in the Hall of Fame based on his production with the Red Sox alone, negating the argument for his overall numbers being tainted by alleged steroid use. Those who refuse to vote for him do so as punishment for his crimes, not because he wouldn’t have been worthy without cheating.
The case for keeping Schilling out of Cooperstown may be even more asinine. He’s not a cheater, some writers simply won’t vote for him because they don’t like him.
Schilling has become a controversial figure in his post-playing days. His political beliefs are often a hot topic, his public comments and tweets got him fired from his job at ESPN, and he wasted millions of dollars from the taxpayers in Rhode Island on his failed video game company. It didn’t help his cause when he “liked” a social media post that made a joke in ill-taste about lynching journalists. It’s probably not a great idea to make an enemy out of those who vote for the Hall of Fame.
So yeah, Schilling has made his fair share of mistakes and angered a lot of people. You may not agree with everything he says but that has nothing to do with what he accomplished on the field.
When Schill was on the mound, few were better during the era he played. He ranks 20th all-time among pitchers with 78.1 fWAR, won 206 games and tallied over 3,000 strikeouts. Schilling was a six-time All-Star who finished as the runner-up for the Cy Young three times.
The postseason stage is where Schilling shined brightest and that’s what puts him over the edge in this debate. He was 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 19 playoff starts. Schilling won three World Series rings, including two with the Red Sox, and was named World Series MVP when his Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic.
The official BBWAA rules mention integrity and character as factors for voters to consider yet the Hall of Fame is full of racists, womanizers, cheaters, and others with questionable ethics. Some voters continue to hide behind this clause as an excuse to keep out a player they personally don’t like.
I have no beef with Schilling. The man has done nothing to me aside from leading my favorite team to a pair of championships and helping the franchise reverse an 86-year old curse. That, along with his career accolades, earns him my vote.
This one is a little harder to justify despite that I’ve already shown support for Clemens in the wake of his scandalous association with PEDs. The difference is that there was never any concrete proof that Clemens cheated. We have enough evidence to paint a fairly accurate picture but he never failed a drug test and succeeded during an era when MLB looked the other way on steroid use. That’s not the case for Manny, who was suspended multiple times for failed drug tests after MLB installed strict programs to prohibit PEDs. Ramirez knew better and still got caught.
That probably shouldn’t surprise us coming from the often lovably aloof, sometimes infuriating Ramirez. Whether it’s diving to cut off a throw that wasn’t meant for him, taking a bathroom break inside the Green Monster, or forgetting which hamstring was supposedly injured. It’s all part of the Manny being Manny package.
Manny did a lot of things that left us scratching our heads but what he could do at the plate made our eyes widen with awe. Ramirez hit .312/.411/.585 over his 19-year career. He’s 15th on the all-time home run list with 555 and 18th with 1831 RBI.
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The 12-time All-Star and nine-time Silver Slugger surprisingly never won an MVP, mostly because he didn’t provide much value on the defensive side. His hitting prowess always put him in the conversation though. He finished third on the MVP ballot twice and he was in the top-10 on nine occasions. He won a batting title and had seasons in which he led the league in homers and RBI, although none of those accomplishments came in the same season to earn him the Triple Crown.
Manny was also a stud in the playoffs. He hit .285/.394/.544 in 410 postseason at-bats. He holds the record for most postseason home runs with 29 and walks with 72. Ramirez also ranks second with 78 RBI and 223 total bases, as well as fifth with 19 doubles in the postseason. He won a pair of World Series rings with the Red Sox and was the World Series MVP in 2004.
Ramirez is arguably the greatest right-handed hitter of his generation. He clearly has the numbers to get in but his failed drug tests set him apart from other alleged PED users. That’s going to be harder for some voters to overlook. He would still be on my ballot and I believe he’ll get in eventually but his punishment should be that he’s forced to sweat it out a bit longer. It’s only his third year on the ballot so Ramirez should be forced to wait a few years before finally being inducted.
My Ballot
Voters are allowed to select up to 10 players on their ballot but that doesn’t necessarily mean you must vote for that many. Some years there aren’t 10 worthy candidates and it would be irresponsible to vote for an unqualified player simply because open spots remain on your ballot.
The debate over how to handle players tainted by PEDs has led to an overcrowded ballot. Since I’m not opposed to considering PED offenders, I was able to find 10 worthy candidates. Some are admittedly on the edge of consideration so it’s easy to see why some voters would select fewer than 10.
Here are the players (in no particular order) I would vote for if I were to cast an official ballot.
- Roger Clemens
- Curt Schilling
- Manny Ramirez
- Barry Bonds – If the Rocket gets in then we have to let Bonds in too, right? He’s the all-time home run king who also ranks fifth in OBP and Slugging. He trails only Babe Ruth with a career 164.4 fWAR.
- Mariano Rivera – First on the all-time saves list, an unhittable cutter, and a ridiculous 0.70 ERA in the postseason. One of the few Yankees that even Red Sox fans had to admire.
- Edgar Martinez – The DH bias can’t be held against him anymore now that Harold Baines is in. A career .312 hitter who won two batting titles. Getting enshrined as a primary DH further paves the way for David Ortiz.
- Mike Mussina – Never the best pitcher in the league but consistently very good for a long time. Moose piled up 270 career wins and posted a 3.68 ERA while pitching his entire career in a loaded AL East during the peak of the steroid era.
- Roy Halladay – Doesn’t have the longevity to match Mussina’s wins or K’s but was more dominant at his peak. Won a pair of Cy Youngs and finished as the runner-up twice.
- Larry Walker – Playing in the pre-humidor Coors Field inflated his numbers but he was a 20/20 threat before moving to Colorado and remained a solid hitter on the road. Coors boosts home run totals but power wasn’t what made Walker special. He won three batting titles, seven Gold Gloves, and an MVP. A five-tool player who would have thrived in any environment.
- Billy Wagner – Sixth all-time with 422 saves and 24.1 fWAR by a reliever. His 11.92 K/9 puts him in the top-10 in strikeout rate among relievers with 300+ innings. The Today’s Game committee recently inducted Lee Smith and Wagner is arguably the better closer of the two.
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Most of these players won’t get in this year, as Rivera is currently tracking as the only sure bet. Some of them may never get in. You can make a case for or against almost any of them and there may be some players I excluded who deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Only ten are allowed on each ballot and these are the players I would select. Who would you pick?