In what was not a surprise to most analysts (including this one), the voting writers of the Baseball Writers Association (BBWAA) did not elect a single player into the National Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York this year. With the top four returning candidates from 2020 all immersed in controversy, the lack of Hall of Famers this year was expected. After electing 22 players between 2014 and 2020, the BBWAA today pitched its first shutout since 2013.
The top vote-getter on the accumulated ballots (all returned by mail at the end of December) was pitcher Curt Schilling, who got 71.1% of the vote, putting him 16 votes shy of the 75% required to be elected into the Hall. Schilling, who got 70.0% of the vote in 2020, became the first player since Jim Bunning in 1989 to get 70% or more of the vote in a given year and then not clear the bar and get a plaque in Cooperstown in the subsequent vote. Shortly after the announcement, Schilling publicly released a startling letter that he sent to the Hall of Fame, excerpted here:
“I will not participating in the final year of voting. I am requesting to be removed from the ballot. I’ll defer to the Veterans Committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player. I don’t think I’m a Hall of Famer, as I’ve often stated, but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor.”
— Curt Schilling (in letter sent to the Hall of Fame)
On the MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal indicated that the way the rules are written in the Hall of Fame voting, the Hall actually can’t remove Schilling from the 2021 ballot. However, given the fact that Schilling has become a political lightning rod due to his political views, I would be surprised if he is elected by the writers next year. There will be enough writers out there who will say, “well, he didn’t want to be on the ballot, so screw him.”
After Schilling, the top two vote-getters were Barry Bonds (61.8%) and Roger Clemens (61.6%), two of the greatest players in the history of baseball who remain on the outside looking in thanks to their reported links to Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). Given the fact that Bonds and Clemens (along with Schilling and Sammy Sosa) will be on the ballot for the 10th and final time in 2022, it seems apparent that they will not make it into the Hall of Fame.
Anyway, since the Hall postponed the two Eras Committee votes last December, there will be no members for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. However, there will be an induction ceremony this summer. The Hall’s Class of 2020 (Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller posthumously) will be honored, with their planned inductions being canceled this past July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In other notable news today, the biggest “gainer” from 2020 to 2021 was third baseman Scott Rolen, who surged from 35.3% last year to 52.9% this year. Given that this is just Rolen’s 4th year on the ballot and that he is popular with the sabermetric community (due to his 70.1 WAR), his election in the next couple of years seems virtually assured. The other big gainers on the ballot were relief ace Billy Wagner, first baseman Todd Helton, and center fielder Andruw Jones.
For the record, here are the final tallies for the 2021 Hall of Fame voting:
| Player | Vote % | YOB | 2020 Vote | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curt Schilling | 71.1% | 9th | 70.0% | +1.1 |
| Barry Bonds | 61.8% | 9th | 60.7% | +1.1 |
| Roger Clemens | 61.6% | 9th | 61.0% | +0.6 |
| Scott Rolen | 52.9% | 4th | 35.3% | +19.6 |
| Omar Vizquel | 49.1% | 4th | 52.6% | -3.5 |
| Billy Wagner | 46.4% | 6th | 31.7% | +14.7 |
| Todd Helton | 44.9% | 3rd | 29.2% | +15.7 |
| Gary Sheffield | 40.6% | 7th | 30.5% | +10.1 |
| Andruw Jones | 33.9% | 4th | 19.4% | +14.5 |
| Jeff Kent | 32.4% | 8th | 27.5% | +4.9 |
| Manny Ramirez | 28.2% | 5th | 28.2% | 0 |
| Sammy Sosa | 17.0% | 9th | 13.9% | +3.1 |
| Andy Pettitte | 13.7% | 3rd | 11.3% | +2.4 |
| Mark Buehrle | 11.0% | 1st | NA | NA |
| Torii Hunter | 9.5% | 1st | NA | NA |
| Bobby Abreu | 8.7% | 2nd | 5.5% | NA |
| Tim Hudson | 5.2% | 1st | NA | NA |
| Aramis Ramirez | 1.0% | 1st | NA | NA |
| LaTroy Hawkins | 0.5% | 1st | NA | NA |
| Barry Zito | 0.2% | 1st | NA | NA |
| *YOB = year on ballot |
In other news from today’s results, fans of first-timers Mark Buehrle, Torri Hunter, and Tim Hudson can smile knowing that their heroes will be back on the ballot in 2021 (since they all cleared the requisite threshold of 5% to remain on future ballots).
There were 14 players on the ballot who were returnees from a year ago: only one saw his support shrink. Omar Vizquel (who got 52.6% of the vote in 2020) saw his support sag to 49.1%. The most obvious reason for this is the news that broke in December (when most of the writers still had their ballots in hand) that he had been accused by his wife of multiple instances of domestic violence. Depending on how that news plays out, Vizquel’s future election by the BBWAA is in doubt.
Gary Sheffield and Jeff Kent both made modest gains but they’re both running out of years of eligibility and are therefore unlikely to make the Hall of Fame via the BBWAA.
For more on this year’s candidates and a look ahead to the ballots of 2022-25, please take a look at my “phantom” choices (I don’t have a real vote) and preview for the upcoming years.
Thanks for reading. Please follow Cooperstown Cred on Twitter @cooperstowncred.
Ivan Rodriguez is in the Hall of Fame and Bonds/Clemens won’t be. Even if there’s a precedent for some crimes (throwing, betting on baseball) being too great for the Hall, there’s something weird about that.
I SAID IT BEFORE AND I’LL SAY IT AGAIN, THE WRITERS SHOULD NOT VOTE ,THE PLAYERS DON’T VOTE FOR THE WRITERS HALL OF FAME, GET PLAYERS FROM THE ERA OF THE PLAYER WHO WOULD BE GOING TO THE HALL. LET HIS PEERS VOTE FOR OR AGAINST ,AND LET THE WRITERS VOTE FOR WRITERS. NO GRUDGES,NO
WRITER WHO NEVER PLAYED HURT ,VOTE FOR A PLAYER. WOULD A MAN TELL A WOMEN HOW TO WEAR A DRESS? I HOPE YOU GET MY POINT
Just something else to LOOK AT . Look at ALBERT BELLS NUMBERS. HE SHOULD BE IN THE HALL . The WRITERS HAVE UNDERSERVE POWER . Once again LET THE PLAYERS OF THAT ERA VOTE,NOT THE WRITERS.OR LET
PLAYERS OF ALL SPORTS VOTE FOR THE WRITERS WHEN THEY ARE DO FOR THE HALL.LETS SEE THOSE NUMBERS.
THAT SHOULD READ ALBERT BELLE
The Hall of Fame itself has the power to pick who should judge the players’ abilities and worthiness. The fact that Omar V’s problems with his wife are a main concern shows how ridiculous things have gotten. Why did the writers get the vote in the first place? Because in 1939, when the Hall inducted its first five members, writers were the most logical group to choose from. They attended every home game. They actually SAW the players play. There was no television. The writers were able to study the somewhat primitive statistics that were available. They interviewed the players every day in the clubhouse, and gained the inside scoop on who were team leaders, who were good sign stealers, and who actually helped the teams win with little things. They lived and breathed the game.
Now writers stay home and watch on tv. like the rest of us. I would bet that a much lower percentage of them grew up playing the game, like the writers of the past, when baseball, and not the Iphone, really was the National Pastime.
To me, the players of the time are not the best judges of talent, although their input is useful. They only see opponents when they play against them, 10 or 15 times a year, or maybe not at all, if the opponents are in different leagues. The most important judges are objectively minded people who can do three things: 1) Watch a lot of games on tv 2) Read and understand statistics, and be able to support their conclusions with logical arguments 3) Get to a lot of live games. These people could be fans, writers, ex-players, baseball employees…anyone who loves the game, and is willing to commit to do what it takes.
Baseball is one of the few games that ability really can be quantified quite well. If you watch Joey Votto play ten or 15 times a year, you might think he is a fine player. When you read his stats, you realize that he is one of the best players in history. Stats are the best judge of baseball contribution.
One other thing…..they need to change one of the voting rules Immediately. As it stands, voters are allowed to vote for as few players as they wish. We have had several cases of writers who leave their ballot blank, or just write one or two names. The rule should be that ALL TEN BALLOT SLOTS MUST BE FILLED EVERY YEAR. You vote for the best ten guys available. Period. Especially since the 15 year eligibility has been reduced to ten years. I wonder how many ballots Curt Schilling was left off of this year because of stupid political prejudice. Who cares what a guy’s politics are? Judge him by what he did on the field! Enough of the damn “character” issues. Nowadays, one guy’s virtue is another guy’s vice. Baseball is our escape from that, for Cat’s sake.
Vote for what a player did “ON THE FIELD. IN THE GAME”. Do not vote against a player because you dis agree with his political or personal characteristics. Stay out of voting is your ego won’t allow you to think this way.
What a horrible mistake the hall would be making if Andrew Jones is not voted in! Watching him take off after a ball that hasn’t been hit yet is incredible, but he had a gift! Called TALENT