Hall of Stats

Yesterday, the Baseball Hall of Fame released the ten names that will make up the 2018 Modern Era Hall of Fame ballot. I was (predictably) disappointed.

Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Marvin Miller, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons, Luis Tiant and Alan Trammell are the candidates the Modern Baseball Era Committee will consider for Hall of Fame election for the Class of 2018.

While the ballot is a strong one with name recognition, it’s not quite as strong based on Hall Rating:

• Alan Trammell (143)
• Luis Tiant (130)
• Ted Simmons (112)
• Tommy John (106)
• Dale Murphy (87)
• Dave Parker (78)
• Don Mattingly (78)
• Jack Morris (76)
• Steve Garvey (61)
• Marvin Miller (executive)

So, why am I disappointed? There were many eligible players that I would have liked to see on the ballot instead—and some of them have ridiculously high Hall Ratings. Take Lou Whitaker and Bobby Grich for instance. I had a feeling Grich would be snubbed again, but I thought for sure we’d see a Trammell/Whitaker/Morris ballot. Whitaker led all candidates with a 145 Hall Rating. Grich was right behind him at 140. Rick Reuschel (136), Graig Nettles (126), Reggie Smith (126), Buddy Bell (124), Dwight Evans (124), and Willie Randolph (124) weren’t far behind. But instead, we see many of the same recycled candidates getting another shot.

Last night, I hopped on the phone with Graham Womack of The Sporting News and Baseball Past and Present to discuss the ballot (listen above). Graham is a longtime friend and we’ve often talked about starting a podcast together. Is this the beginning of that? I’m not sure. All I know is it sure was fun and if you like it let us know. That might inspire us to record some more.