My hall-of-fame ballot (if I had one)

THUNDER BAY -- I’m not a baseball hall-of-fame voter, but I occasionally play one on Twitter.

Every December the hall of fame presents its ballot, which is sent out to members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who have covered the game for 10 or more years.

Every December fans like me flock to sites like BaseballReference.com to remind ourselves what this year’s hopefuls accomplished during their playing days.
And then we make a list.

And like Santa, we check it twice. OK, we probably agonize over it for days and check it dozens of times.

At first glance, it’s an easy exercise – pick up to 10 players who are worthy of induction.

How hard can that be?

Well, one look at this year’s class shows just how tough the ballot can be.

Sure, guys like Orlando Cabrera and Matt Stairs stand no chance, two former Expos who are near and dear to my heart – and one the long-time starting shortstop on my Strat-O-Matic team.

But there are at least a dozen guys who deserve consideration this year, the steroid era be damned.

Here’s my hypothetical ballot.

1. Tim Raines: The long-time Montreal Expos outfielder is generally regarded as the second-best leadoff hitter of the modern era, if not all time. It’s a shame he’s not been voted in yet. He’s a seven-time all-star, stole 808 bases, won a batting title and finished with 2,605 hits. He had a little power and ended his career with a WAR of 69.1 It’s his last chance, as he’s reached the 10-year threshold before his name is dropped.  And, well, I’m an Expos fan.

2. Barry Bonds: Bonds was the best player of his generation, period. Yeah, he’s got the steroid allegations hanging over his head, but I’m not going to hold it against him (or the generation he played in) He’s the career leader in home runs (762) and runs (2,227), fourth in RBI (1,996), a five-time 30-30 guy, seven-time MVP and was regularly walked – with the bases loaded.

3. Roger Clemens: Like Bonds, he’s been tagged with the PED label, which is why he’s still waiting for Cooperstown’s call. A five-time 20-game winner, only Cy Young (he won seven of the awards named for him) and Walter ‘Big Train’ Johnson have a better WAR than Clemens’ 139.2. He’s third all-time in strikeouts. It’s time.

4. Jeff Bagwell: Hitting 449 home runs while playing most of your career at the cavernous Astrodome alone merits induction. He walked, hit for average and power, stole bases and had a pretty good glove at first. Bagwell ended his career with a 79.6 WAR and helped Houston to its only World Series appearance in 2005, his final season.

5. Ivan Rodriguez: Pudge helped redefine the position. He’s among the career catching leaders in all offensive categories and rivalled last year’s inductee Mike Piazza in the battle to be called the game’s best backstop.

6. Mike Mussina: Winning 270 games in any era is worthy of hall consideration. Doing it between 1991 and 2008 should be all but automatic. He never won a Cy Young, but was always in the running and his career WAR topped 80, well above Cooperstown’s standard of 70.

7. Edgar Martinez: Yeah, he was mostly a DH, but man could he hit. A two-time batting champion, he topped .300 on 10 occasions, displayed plenty of power and was a seven-time all-star. Like Raines, he’s running out of time in his eighth year on the ballot.

8. Vladimir Guerrero: It would have been nice to see him hang on for a couple more seasons, but 449 long balls and 1,497 RBI aren’t too shabby. A nine-time all-star, he won the 2004 American League MVP, his first season with the Anaheim Angels, after eight in Montreal.

9. Trevor Hoffman: I’m a little reluctant to include a reliever, but Hoffman  was one of the all-time best, retiring as the career saves leader with 601. Hells Bells on the stadium sound system usually meant the end of days for opposing batters.

Actual voters are allowed to choose up to 10 potential inductees, but I think I’ll stick with nine.

Near misses included Curt Schilling, whose post-baseball career has soured me on his worthiness for enshrinement. At least for now.  Maybe I’ll cast an imaginary vote for him next year.

Fred McGriff is nearing the end of the line, but like Gary Sheffield, just doesn’t feel like a hall-of-famer. Same with Larry Walker, whose numbers were improved by several years at Coors Field. Jorge Posada? Not quite. Manny Ramirez, not on the first ballot. Too many failed drug tests.

My prediction is Raines, Bagwell and Rodriguez get in this year, with Clemens, Bonds, Hoffman and Guerrero as near misses.

Follow @NotMrTibbs on Twitter to keep up-to-date with his real-time hall of fame ballot tracker that tallies every vote that’s been made public – the source of my prediction with 74 ballots counted as of Wednesday morning. I’m at @LeithDunick.