Hall of Fame Ballot Reveals nears 44 percent

[rico43]

The not-so-early returns speak to a possibly unprecedented Hall of Fame election next month. You need 75 percent, and no less than four players are coming up just short.

And Andruw's candidacy is in serious trouble.

With 185 ballots revealed by 1/15 (43.56 percent of those issued), well, we'll let the numbers speak for themselves -- except for this:

Chipper Jones currently stands at 98.4 percent of the vote. For years, Tom Seaver had the highest vote percentage at 98.84 percent. That was broken by Ken Griffey Jr. who brought home 99.32 percent. Good company.

Chipper - 98.4%
Thome - 93.5%
Vlad - 94.6%
Edgar Martinez 81.1%
Hoffman - 78.4%
----------
Mussina - 73.5%
Clemens - 65.4%
Bonds - 65.4%
Schilling - 66.5%
Walker - 39.5%
Vizquel - 30.3%
Manny - 24.3%
McGriff - 17.3%
Sosa - 12.4%
Wagner - 9.7%
Rolen - 11.9%
Kent - 11.4%
-----
Andruw - 5.4r%
Sheffield - 9.7%
Johnny Damon has three votes!

[Enscheff]

I’m a little surprised to see Thome getting more votes than Chipper.

Andruw at 10% is a complete joke.

[rico43]

I’m a little surprised to see Thome getting more votes than Chipper.

Andruw at 10% is a complete joke.

There are at least a half-dozen names that are far different than I would have guessed!

[rico43]

After trailking both Clemens and Bonds through much of the early voting, Mussina making late push to make this one of the largest classes ever. That would be justice for one of the 'clean guys'.

[thewupk]

After trailking both Clemens and Bonds through much of the early voting, Mussina making late push to make this one of the largest classes ever. That would be justice for one of the 'clean guys'.

Bonds and Clemens are still long shots. They missed it last year by 90+ votes and have only gained 1 vote so far. Moose missed by 100+ but has gained 14 votes so far this year. He will get eventually but likely loose out this year.

Right now I think the 4 that are locks are Chipper, Thome, Vlad, and Hoffman. Edgar is making a strong push but will likely fall short.

[clvclv]

Bonds and Clemens are still long shots. They missed it last year by 90+ votes and have only gained 1 vote so far. Moose missed by 100+ but has gained 14 votes so far this year. He will get eventually but likely loose out this year.

Right now I think the 4 that are locks are Chipper, Thome, Vlad, and Hoffman. Edgar is making a strong push but will likely fall short.

Going to be really interesting to hear those who don't vote for Edgar make their cases since Thome spent well over half his career as a DH and Ortiz is viewed as a slam-dunk by most.

The 10 vote limit is so utterly ridiculous it's not even comical anymore - I heard an interview with Heyman the other day where he mentioned that he had voted for Martinez in each of the last 5 years but had to leave him off this year to vote for someone else since he could go back and vote for him NEXT year. Would be fitting if he comes within one vote this year and doesn't make it next year.

What's so idiotic about those guys using that reasoning is that they'll leave someone that only has a year or two left off and vote for someone that's borderline at best (say Rolen or Vizquel for instance) when it's their earlier years on the ballot and they have 10+ years left to be voted on rather than someone like Edgar or Moose who is running out of time. If you use the "I'll vote for him next year" defense, why not do it with those guys instead of Martinez, Mussina, Hoffman, etc.???

[BeanieAntics]

I’m a little surprised to see Thome getting more votes than Chipper.

Andruw at 10% is a complete joke.

Agreed 100%. At least Andruw should stay on the ballot, but damn...

[rico43]

I’m a little surprised to see Thome getting more votes than Chipper.

Andruw at 10% is a complete joke.

Means little. He has 51 votes, Chipper 50. One guy voted only for Thome and Vizquel.

[zitothebrave]

I’m a little surprised to see Thome getting more votes than Chipper.

Andruw at 10% is a complete joke.

Thome is a media darling, Chipper was not.

[thewupk]

Thome is a media darling, Chipper was not.

Chipper is better than Thome but both are clear 1st ballot guys. I won't cry if Thome ends up with more votes. That matters little at this point.

[goldfly]

lol to all of that

[jpx7]

Thome is a media darling, Chipper was not.

The guy who voted for Thome but not for Chipper admitted it was because of his tweets (specifically his believing Sandy Hook was a hoax).

[zitothebrave]

The guy who voted for Thome but not for Chipper admitted it was because of his tweets (specifically his believing Sandy Hook was a hoax).

Yup, Chipper is a much more controversial player. I mean after John Rocker he's probably the second most hated Brave for the Mets which represent a healthy chunk of the media market.

[BedellBrave]

The guy who voted for Thome but not for Chipper admitted it was because of his tweets (specifically his believing Sandy Hook was a hoax).

Smh

[goldfly]

The guy who voted for Thome but not for Chipper admitted it was because of his tweets (specifically his believing Sandy Hook was a hoax).

Chipper blocked me on twitter cause i told him how ****ing stupid he was after those tweets

silly to not vote for him 1st ballot though but i'm not gonna cry about this, he is getting in on the 1st ballot

[rico43]

Up to 17.3 percent, 71 ballots.

[rico43]

Up to 90 ballots, 21.6 percent. Bonds, Clemens, Mussina on the ragged edge. One, two, all three or none could make it. Four or over 85 percent and Trevor Hoffman is holding steady at 78 percent. A seven-man induction class is amazing and breaks the logjam in the future. One thing I read was that only Mariano Rivera is a slam dunk in the Class of 2019. That figures now to be the year for Bonds, Clemens, Mussina and Schilling to ascend. In Fred McGriff's last year, will he get a record bump?
What that also does is allow other players who are the 11th and 12th men on a 10-man ballot to get their votes. Talking Larry Walker, Andruw Jones, Vizquel,

[rico43]

185 ballots counted fo far. Andruw gets another vote. Chipper remains top vote getter. Mussina still ohso close.

[CyYoung31]

I’m a little surprised to see Thome getting more votes than Chipper.

Andruw at 10% is a complete joke.

All of this.

[Enscheff]

Means little. He has 51 votes, Chipper 50. One guy voted only for Thome and Vizquel.

I didn’t claim it meant anything.

I said it was surprising.