Slim Pickings for Hall Class of '26

Slim Pickings for Hall Class of ‘26
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 13, 2026

While frigid temperatures are engulfing the majority of these United States, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is staying warm determining who will be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2026 will be made on Tuesday, January 20. And the Hot Stove season has been in full bloom as the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber and solitude.

Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2026 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) may inch closer to the magic 75 percent - the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility expired. To further slam the lid on Bonds and Clemens, the Contemporary Era Committee also denied them Hall admission in December 2025. Needing at least 12 of 16 votes, Bonds and Clemens each received fewer than five, thus making them ineligible for the next CEC vote in three years.

The Contemporary Era Committee did vote to admit Jeff Kent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, thus vindicating Dan Shaughnessy with The Boston Globe. For three years in a row, Shaughnessy cast his lone vote for Jeff Kent, explaining that his vote was a protest against the steroid players. BBWAA members may vote for up to 10 eligible candidates. In my annual Hall of Fame column I have never supported 10 candidates in any given year.

Perhaps Shaughnessy is on to something regarding Jeff Kent. A friend asked me to revisit Kent, heretofore not on any of my “ballots” in the previous nine years. He’s no fan of Kent, so it seemed worth the time. Kent played for six teams throughout his 17 year MLB career, was five times an all star, earned votes for the MVP seven times, including winning that award in 2000. He hit 377 career home runs, 351 as a second baseman - the most in history at that position. He hit at least 20 homers and drove in at least 100 runs eight times - also most for a second baseman. In total Kent had 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, drove in 1,515 runs, while scoring 1,320, and batted .290. Solid numbers for a  middle infielder and one who played cleanly. Kent appeared on 32.7 percent of the BBWAA ballots in 2022, thus it is unlikely he will more than double that number and qualify for the Hall in his final year of eligibility. (This paragraph is “borrowed” from my 2023 Hall of Fame column.)

Votes for Ramirez, in his ninth, and penultimate, year on the ballot inched up slightly to 34 percent in 2025 from 32.5 percent in 2024, while Rodriguez checked in with 37.1 percent of the vote in 2025, his fifth year on the ballot, up from 34.8 percent of the vote in 2024. Perhaps the mediocre vote totals for Ramirez and Rodriguez is a good sign the BBWAA voters understand how wrong it is to reward a player for cheating, and that the use of such substances is cheating. 

I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next six years as Alex Rodriguez is on the ballot for the fifth year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season - a suspension well merited.

Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”

Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, almost certainly would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

“...integrity, sportsmanship, character…” Those three words are the basis for not supporting the candidacy of Carlos Beltran, who on his third ballot garnered 70.3 percent of the BBWAA vote - the highest non-inductee in 2025. More than likely Beltran will reach the baseball Promised Land, as will be announced on January 20. Beltran not only participated in, but orchestrated, the 2017 trash can-sign stealing scandal that aided the Houston Astros in winning the World Series. This impacted Beltran so much as to cost him the job managing the New York Mets, a team for which he played seven years. He began his career winning the American League Rookie of the Year in 1999 and played his first seven years with the Kansas City Royals. For the remainder of his 20 year career Beltran suited up for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Astros, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Giants.

Tom Verducci penned a column for Sports Illustrated performing his best balancing act. He condemned Beltran for being the ringleader of the sign stealing scandal, while simultaneously excusing it, saying “using PEDs is a more egregious form of cheating than what Beltran did.” Verducci acknowledges Beltran’s cheating, but then declares his vote for Beltran to enter the Hall. I don’t walk that moral tightrope - cheating is cheating. It’s a shame, because I agree with Verducci on this point, Beltran statistically compares favorably to Hall of Famer Andre “Hawk” Dawson.

OPS+ AVG Hits       HR       RBI SB TB

Beltran 119         .279         2,725     435      1,597 312 4,751

Dawson 119        .279         2,774     438      1,591 314 4,787

Beltran’s career included 12 seasons hitting 20 or more home runs, eight times driving in 100 or more runs, seven times scoring 100 or more runs, batting .300 or better four times, reaching nine All Star teams, and winning three Gold Gloves. In 65 postseason games, over 15 series, Beltran batted .307, belting 16 homers, scoring 45 runs, and driving in 42 runs. Solid numbers for a drug-free player, but tainted by scandal nonetheless, and should not reach Cooperstown.

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026, a lone former major leaguer would earn my vote - a holdover. Twelve retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 15 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration.

Omar Vizquel, the quintessential shortstop of a generation, won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel, also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, did so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the ninth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having risen a tick to 17.8 percent of the vote in 2025 from 17.7 percent in 2024. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even again in 2026 due to allegations from the last decade of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 26 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as two Hall of Famers passed away during 2025.

Dave Parker (06/09/1951 - 06/28/2025) gained admission into the Hall of Fame via the Classic Baseball Era Committee in 2025, dying one month before his induction. Known as the “Cobra,” Parker played the bulk of his 19 year Major League Baseball career (1973-1991) with the Pittsburgh Pirates, including as a member of the 1979 “We Are Family” World Series champions. As a member of the then Oakland A’s in 1989, Parker won another World Series. He batted .342 in the postseason. Parker won the National League MVP in 1978 hitting 30 home runs, driving in 117 runs, and leading the majors batting .334. This followed a 1977 season where Parker led the NL with 215 hits, 44 doubles, batting .338. For his career, Parker batted .290, had 2,712 hits, 526 doubles, 339 home runs, and 1,493 RBI.

Ryne Sandberg (09/18/1959 - 07/28/2025) stood for induction to the Hall of Fame in 2005. “Ryno” played the first 13 games of his illustrious career with the Philadelphia Phillies and the remaining 2,151 games with the Chicago Cubs. An excellent fielder at second base, Sandberg won nine Gold Glove awards. The 10 time All Star won the National League MVP in 1984, the year the Cubs won the Eastern Division. Sandberg stroked 200 hits that year, led the NL with 114 runs scored, and led the majors with 19 triples. In two playoff series, 1984 and 1989 Sandberg batted .385, and in 1990 he led the league with 40 home runs. For his career, spanning 1981 through 1997, Sandberg batted .285, with 2,386 hits, 282 home runs, and 1,061 RBI.

May their memories be for a Blessing. May 2026 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while gaining new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007. 

Rose, Shoeless Joe Become Hall Eligible

Rose, Shoeless Joe, Become Hall Eligible
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
May 13, 2025

In a major league announcement made Tuesday, May 13, Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., has declared the late Pete Rose, the late “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and 15 other deceased players removed from the permanently ineligible list. 

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Historical Overview Committee will be tasked with determining who, if any, of the 17 deceased players are to be deemed worthy of appearing on a Hall of Fame ballot. Those ballotted players would be required to receive votes from at least 12 of the 16 members of the Classic Baseball Era Committee in order to earn enshrinement in Cooperstown. (The Village of Cooperstown in Otsego County, NY, is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.) Rose and Jackson would have been automatics if not for their transgressions. Now, their families and fans will have to settle, perhaps, for posthumous inductions.

Major League Baseball and the National Baseball Hall of Fame are separate entities and as such have their own policies and procedures. When Rose’s banishment by Major League Baseball became official in 1989, the Hall of Fame lacked any rule barring those on the ineligible list from appearing on Hall of Fame ballots. Rose would have been a lock for the Class of 1992 - joining Rollie Fingers, Hal Newhouser, and my favorite player - Tom Seaver. The Hall of Fame knew any discussion of Rose entering Cooperstown would create a tumult. In 1991 the Hall of Fame installed a rule barring those on the Major League Baseball ineligible list from Hall eligibility. Interestingly, as that rule had not heretofore existed, Jackson appeared on Hall ballots in 1936 and 1946 earning less than one percent of the vote in both years.

Yet, in a statement following Manfred’s announcement, Hall of Fame board chairman Jane Forbes Clark said “the National Baseball Hall of Fame has always maintained that anyone removed from Baseball’s permanently ineligible list will become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration.”

I would like to think that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) would have brains enough to continue to balk at Jackson’s entry, but he is a sentimental favorite having been a major character in Phil Alden Robinson’s 1989 film Field of Dreams. However, it was in John Sayles’ 1988 film Eight Men Out that dramatized the crux of the 1919 Black Sox scandal where the heavily favored Chicago White Sox threw the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Reds. Cavorting with gamblers, accepting payment to intentionally lose any game, let alone the World Series - actions have consequences.

The most immediate and long lasting consequence of the 1919 Black Sox scandal saw federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis installed as the first commissioner of Major League Baseball. He served from 1920 until his death in 1944. (Manfred, serving since 2015, is the tenth commissioner of Major League Baseball.) Landis had a goal to clean up baseball - get rid of the gamblers. 

Although the eight Chicago White Sox players won an acquittal in a court of law in 1921, having been sued by a fan who bet on the White Sox and, of course, lost. Landis banned them for life the very next day. “Regardless of the verdict of juries, no player who throws a ballgame, no player that entertains proposals or promises to throw a game, no player that sits in conference with a bunch of crooked players and gamblers where the ways and means of throwing games are discussed and does not promptly tell his club about it, will ever play professional baseball. Baseball is entirely competent to protect itself against crooks, both inside and outside the game,” Landis wrote.

Of the 17 deceased players who have now been freed from the permanently ineligible list, only three will be impacted by a potential enshrinement in Cooperstown. According to the BBWAA rules for election to the Hall of Fame, “3 - Eligible Candidates… B. Player must have played in each of ten (10) major league championship seasons… E. Any player on Baseball’s ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate.”

The following players played fewer than the requisite 10 seasons: William Cox, Cozy Dolan, Phil Douglas, Lee Magee, Jimmy O’ Connell, and Gene Paulette - all banned by Landis for gambling related offenses. In the case of Cox, at the time of his ousting he held the position of president of the Philadelphia Phillies and part owner of the team. His punishment included being forced to sell his portion of the team.

Benny Kauff also played fewer than 10 years in the majors. His banning came due to an indictment for auto theft, and even after being acquitted, the Landis ban stuck. In fact, Kauff sued Landis for reinstatement, but the suit was dismissed.

Joe Gedeon got himself caught up in the Black Sox scandal with gambling, but not as a White Sox player. During Gedeon’s seven year career he played for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Browns. Landis banned Gedeon in 1921, as he did with the eight White Sox players, six of whom also did not play 10 seasons in the majors. Although first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil retired from baseball following the 1919 season, he too faced permanent expulsion from Major League Baseball. The other five were centerfielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch, seldom used third baseman Fred McMullin, infielder Charles “Swede” Risberg, third baseman George “Buck” Weaver, and southpaw pitcher Claude “Lefty” Williams.

Weaver, who played a superb, and clean, World Series, maintained his innocence until his death in 1956, having applied for, and been rejected for, reinstatement on several occasions. Quite frankly, had his career trajectory continued for another nine seasons beyond the nine he played 1912-20, Weaver might have had an outside chance at the Hall of Fame. Lefty Williams, whose career spanned 1913-20, had a solid record of 82 wins and only 48 losses. In his last two seasons Williams went a combined 45-25, averaging 298 innings pitched per season. Continuing along that path could have led Williams to Cooperstown.

Right hand pitcher Eddie Cicotte, well established with a 14 year career - 1905-20, a 209 and 148 win-loss record and a rather impressive 2.38 Earned Run Average could also have made a run at Cooperstown. In his final two seasons Cicotte went 50 and 17, hurling more than 300 innings each season. Another half dozen seasons at that pace and Cicotte would have been a lock for the Hall of Fame. (Plenty of pitchers with worse records have plaques in Cooperstown.)

None of the above 14 deceased players banned by Landis that played fewer than 10 seasons of Major League Baseball can or will be admitted to the Hall of Fame. Nor should 14 year veteran Cicotte. Not even Jackson. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson had tremendous skills - fleet-afoot - could run down a fly ball in the outfield that no one else would reach. Jackson possessed great talent at the plate - in his 13 major league seasons spanning 1908-20 - Jackson hit an incredible .356 - good for fourth all time behind Ty Cobb’s .366, Oscar Charleston’s .365, and Rogers Hornsby’s .359. Four times Jackson collected more than 200 hits in a season. He showed no signs of slowing down as he led the American League with 20 triples in 1920. In his last two seasons Jackson batted .351 and .382. But throwing a World Series is akin to a capital crime and should never be rewarded. (No one from the 2017 Houston Astros should be admitted to Cooperstown for their “trashy” cheating, but that’s a story for another column.)

The difference between Cicotte, Jackson, and Rose is that Rose, who also gambled on baseball, did not bet against his own team. His competitive nature would not have allowed him to do so. A sterling example came in the 1970 All Star game - an exhibition game with no bearing on the regular season standings or statistics. With the game tied at four in the bottom of the 12th inning Rose hit a single. Two batters later, with Rose on second base, another base hit and Rose turned third heading toward the plate. Both Rose and the ball from outfield reach home plate simultaneously. Rose bulldozed through Ray Fosse, flipping him over backwards, as Rose scored the game winning run, while leaving the American League catcher flat on his back dazed and stunned for more than a few seconds. Several of his teammates and manager Earl Weaver poured out of the dugout to check on the injured Fosse, who would eventually go to a hospital. While Rose missed three games with a thigh bruise, Fosse would play the remainder of the season with a fractured and separated left shoulder which healed in the wrong place.  Fosse’s career was never the same.

Make no mistake, I am no fan of Pete Rose - I even told him as much in person having met him a number of years ago. I told him why - politely. My animus toward Rose had to do with an on-field fight he started during the 1973 National League playoffs between his Cincinnati Reds and my New York Mets. So while I told Rose I did not like him, I also told him I thought he belonged in the Hall of Fame. In fact, for years, since his banishment in 1989, I said Pete Rose will be inducted into the Hall of Fame a year or two after his death. This would be baseball’s final revenge on a less than contrite Rose, who for years denied he gambled on baseball. Not until his 2004 autobiography did Rose finally admit to betting on baseball - still not against his own team.

As a ball player, Rose, known as “Charlie Hustle,” holds the major league record for hits in a career with 4,256, games played at 3,562, won the Rookie of the Year award in 1963, MVP in 1973, three World Series titles, and was a 17 time All Star selection. For his performance on the field, Rose, who died September 30, 2024, should earn the necessary 12 votes from the Classic Baseball Era Committee in December 2027, and be enshrined in July 2028.

Although language from an electronic communication between Manfred and Jeffrey M. Lenkov, Rose’s attorney handling his several reinstatement applications, seems contradictory within itself. Manfred noted the only difference between the 2015 request for reinstatement and that made after the new year is the September 30 passing of Rose. Manfred explained, in his letter dated May 13, that a discussion had never ensued pertaining to the status of a deceased player on the permanently ineligible list. But Manfred referenced the term “lifetime ban,” a term oft-used instead of permanently ineligible. He noted the two expressions are not interchangeable. But Manfred seemed to endorse the definition of the latter, rather than the former based upon his announcement - meaning, Rose’s lifetime is over, and that should make him eligible again. For Manfred to remain consistent with Major League Baseball’s actual language, he would never have made the announcement.

This may be a matter of semantics, but the two terms have very different meanings. It all surrounds compliance with the language of Major League Baseball’s Rule 21, discussing conduct unbecoming, which includes gambling, specifically stating “permanently ineligible.” Manfred attempted to explain that with Rose deceased he could no longer violate Rule 21. 

“In my view, once an individual has passed away, the purposes of Rule 21 have been served. Obviously, a person no longer with us cannot represent a threat to the integrity of the game,” wrote Manfred to Lenkov.

Manfred further contradicted himself, writing, “While it is my preference not to disturb decisions made by prior Commissioners…,” yet never mentioned Landis and the fact that 16 of the 17 players Manfred removed from the permanently ineligible list had been placed there by Landis. Manfred merely mentioned Rose in regard to former Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti and the decision made by his office.

My support of Rose for the Hall of Fame may ruffle more than a few feathers amongst sitting hall of famers. During the May 13 Mets game, just hours after Manfred’s announcement, Mets broadcaster Howie Rose reminded fans of something the late Ralph Kiner said years ago. Kiner is a hall of famer who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and became one of the Mets original announcers in 1962. Paraphrasing, Rose said Kiner said if Pete Rose got into the Hall of Fame, there would be many already enshrined Hall of Famers who would not return to Cooperstown. My question is, how many of those unnamed Hall of Famers are still alive today?

With all the gambling websites, with all the gambling advertisements during baseball games (and most other sports as well,) with all the discussion of odds on this team or that team, it seems rather hypocritical to keep a Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame. He did not cheat like the 2017 Astros. He did not wager against his own team, like the 1919 White Sox. It seems baseball has come full circle - from gamblers with their mitts on the underside of baseball to a century later where the gambling is out in the open. Some would say that’s progress. I’m not so sure.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since 2007.

C.C., Ichiro Should Get Hall Call Leading Class of '25

C.C.,  Ichiro Should Get Hall Call Leading Class of ‘25
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 6, 2025

While a snowstorm is blanketing the overwhelming majority of these United States, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is staying warm determining who will be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2025 will be made on Tuesday, January 21. And the Hot Stove season has been in full bloom as the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber and solitude.

Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2025 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) may inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent - the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility expired. Votes for Ramirez, in his eighth year on the ballot dropped slightly to 32.5 percent in 2024 from 33.2 percent in 2023, while Rodriguez checked in with 34.8 percent of the vote in his third year on the ballot, down from 35.7 percent of the vote in 2023. Perhaps the shrinking vote totals for Ramirez and Rodriguez is a good sign the BBWAA voters understand how wrong it is to reward a player for cheating, and the use of such substances is cheating. 

(That said, the Classic Baseball Era Committee, on December 8, 2023, announced the election to the Hall of Dick Allen and Dave Parker. Parker, caught up in the cocaine scandal of the 1980s, should not gain induction into the Hall of Fame.)

I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next seven years as Alex Rodriguez is on the ballot for the fourth year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season - a suspension well merited.

Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”

Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, almost certainly would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, three former major leaguers would earn my votes - two rookie balloteers and one holdover. Fourteen retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 14 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration.

Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia pitched 19 seasons - 11 with the Yankees, eight with the Indians, and part of one with the Brewers. Sabathia posted a 251-161 win-loss record, a 3.74 ERA, 38 complete games, and 12 shutouts - stats for the current generation that are considered solid. The six time All Star averaged 6.4 innings pitched per start. Sabathia won 21 games once, and 19 games three times, including 2007 when he earned the Cy Young award. In addition to winning one Cy Young, Sabathia was named on five Cy Young ballots, five MVP ballots, and finished second for Rookie of the Year in 2001.

Sabathia is one of six pitchers with at least 250 victories, a .600 winning percentage, and at least 3,000 strikeouts. The other five are Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Tom Seaver, and Justin Verlander. His 251 victories rank Sabathia 47th all time, tied with Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Al Spalding. Sabathia’s 3,093 strikeouts rank him 18th all time, nine ahead of Hall of Famer John Smoltz, and 24 behind Gibson. Sabathia is one of three southpaws with more than 3,000 strikeouts, trailing Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton who amassed 4,875 and 4,136 respectively. Sabathia’s 560 games started rank him 28th all time, two behind Hall of Famer Kid Nichols, and six ahead of Hall of Famer Eppa Rixey. Sabathia would have my vote, and if he is not elected on his first ballot, he won’t have long to wait thereafter.

One sure-fire Hall of Famer to be who won’t have to wait beyond January 21 for his call from Cooperstown will be Ichiro Suzuki, known simply as Ichiro. Ichiro debuted in 2001 as the first Japanese-born position player, manning rightfield masterfully enough to win 10 Gold Gloves in a row, out of the gates starting as a rookie. Ichiro, in 2001, became only the second Major Leaguer to win both the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Fred Lynn accomplished the feat in 1975 with the Boston Red Sox. in that amazing rookie year, Ichiro batted .350 with 242 hits, and 56 stolen bases. That batting average lead the American League, while the hits total and stolen bases lead all of Major League Baseball. And in the era of massive strike outs, Ichiro struck out an average of a paltry 66 times in a 162 game season.

In his first 10 seasons, all played with the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro earned 10 All Star game appointments, batted over .300 each season, collected more than 200 hits each season, as well as stole more than 30 bases each season. Ichiro led all of Major League Baseball in hits seven times in that 10 year span, including a Major League record 262 hits in 2004. Ichiro surpassed the 257 hits collected by Hall of Famer George Sisler in 1920.

For his 19 year career which included 14 seasons with the Mariners, as well as time divided between the Yankees and the Marlins, Ichiro batted .311 with 3,089 hits, and 509 stolen bases. Including his years in Japan, Ichiro played 28 seasons amassing 4,367 hits, surpassing the all time hit king, Pete Rose, by 111. For his American hits total, Ichiro ranks 25th all time, 21 hits behind Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, and 29 hits ahead of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. Ichiro’s 509 stolen bases tie him with Hall of Famer Fred Clarke for 35th place all time, and put him three ahead of Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio. Without reservation, Ichiro would have my vote to enter the Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

Omar Vizquel, the quintessential shortstop of a generation, won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel, also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, did so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the eighth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having dropped from 19.5 percent of the vote in 2023 to 17.7 percent in 2024. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even further in 2025 due to allegations of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Two other former players on the ballot of note are Billy Wagner and Francisco Rodriguez. Wagner and Rodriguez are an interesting study because of their similar stat lines. Both closers pitched in 16 seasons and played for five teams each. Wagner’s record is 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and Rodriguez’s record is 52-53 with a 2.86 ERA. Wagner’s 422 saves ranks him sixth all time and Rodriguez’s 437 saves ranks him fourth all time. Wagner is in his 10th, and final year on the ballot, having fallen five votes short of induction in 2024. Wagner rose from 68.3 percent in 2023, to 73.8 percent in 2024. Wagner, a seven time All Star, appeared in 853 games, pitching 903 innings, and striking out 1,196 batters. Rodriguez, a six time All Star, appeared in 948 games, pitching 976 innings, striking out 1,142 batters. Rodriguez received 10.8 percent of the vote in 2023, as a freshman on the ballot, dropping to 7.8 percent in 2024. Wagner should be receiving a call from Cooperstown on January 21.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 27 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as four Hall of Famers passed away during 2024.

Orlando Cepeda (09/17/1937 - 06/28/2024) gained admission into the Hall of Fame in 1999 via the Veteran’s Committee. Known as the “Baby Bull,” the pride of Puerto RIco won Rookie of the Year honors in 1958 with the Giants in their first year in San Francisco, batting .312, and leading the National League with 38 doubles. In 1967, with the Cardinals, Cepeda won the MVP batting .325 and driving in a NL leading 111 runs. Cepeda’s most prolific season came in 1961, also with the Giants, as MVP runner up leading the NL with 46 home runs and 142 runs batted in. For his career, Cepeda batted .297, hit 379 homers, and had 1,365 RBI.

Rickey Henderson (12/25/1958 - 12/20/2024) earned his first ballot ticket to Cooperstown in 2009 by being the most prolific base stealer of all time. His 1,406 thefts far surpassed the 938 by Hall of Famer Lou Brock. At times a shameless self-promoter, on May 1, 1991, upon stealing third base against the Yankees, for career steal 939, Henderson pulled the base out of the ground and declared, “Lou Brock is the symbol of great base stealing, but today I am the greatest of all time.” Those stolen bases certainly helped Henderson set a new record for runs scored in a career with 2,295, eclipsing Hall of Famer Ty Cobb’s 2,245. Of Henderson’s 297 home runs, 81 came leading off a game, also a record, far above George Springer’s 60. Known as “the man of steal,” Henderson’s career stretched 25 seasons, from 1979 through 2003, 14 with the A’s and the rest spread over time with eight other teams. He led the league in stolen bases 12 times, runs scored five times, earned one Gold Glove, three Silver Slugger awards, made 10 All Star teams, and won the MVP in 1990.

Dorrel “Whitey” Herzog (11/09/1931 - 04/15/2024) gained admission into the Hall of Fame via the Veteran’s Committee in 2010. Herzog managed for 18 years (1973-1990), including 11 for the St. Louis Cardinals where he achieved his greatest success winning three National League pennants, the 1982 World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Manager of the Year in 1985. His Cardinals teams lost the World Series in 1985 to the Royals, and in 1987 to the Twins. As manager of the Royals, his teams won the AL West three years in a row from 1976-78, only to lose the playoffs each year to the Yankees. Herzog’s managerial record tallied in at 1281-1125-3 and a .532 winning percentage.

Willie Howard Mays (05/06/1931 - 06/18/2024), the “Say Hey Kid,” possessed the five tools of a ballplayer before they were called the five tools. The oldest living Hall of Famer at the time of his death, Mays began his professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, at age 17 playing in 13 games in his only season with the team. He made his Major League debut in 1951 with the New York Giants, remaining with the team through the move to San Francisco, until traded to the Mets in 1972. Mays ended his career in New York following the Mets defeat at the hands of the A’s in the 1973 World Series, where it started 23 years ago. In 1979 Mays earned election to the Hall of Fame overwhelmingly on his first ballot.

In the interim, Mays, considered the greatest baseball player of all time by many, became Rookie of the Year in 1951, earned universal praise for “the catch” during the 1954 World Series sweep over the Indians, and won his first MVP that year. Mays hit .345, hit 41 home runs, drove in 110 runs, scored 119 runs, and cracked 195 hits. In winning his second MVP in 1965, Mays hit .317, hit 52 homers, drove in 112 runs, and scored 118 runs with 177 hits. Mays appeared on 15 MVP ballots, won 12 Gold Gloves, led the league in home runs four times, in triples three times, and in stolen bases three years consecutively.

The Mays stat line includes a .301 batting average, 6,080 total bases, fourth all time,  660 home runs, sixth all time, 2,068 runs scored, seventh all time, 3,005 games played, ninth all time, 1,909 RBI, 12th all time, and 3,293 hits, 13th all time. Mays also earned selection to a record 24 All Star games.

Although Pete Rose (04/14/1941 - 09/30/2024) is not in the Hall of Fame, the all time hit king certainly deserves his plaque in Cooperstown, even posthumously. Rose holds claim to the most hits in MLB history with 4,256, most games played with 3,562, second all time with 746 doubles, sixth in runs scored with 2,165, ninth in total bases with 5,754, a .304 batting average, and a 44 game hitting streak - the longest in NL history. A 17 time All Star, Rose earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1963, won the NL MVP in 1973, and found himself in the running for MVP 14 other seasons. 

I’m not dismissing the gambling scandal, but with all the gambling advertisements throughout the entire sporting landscape, including college sports, that the world of professional sports has embraced online gambling, legal sportsbook betting, and the like, it seems Rose’s scandal might likely not be much of one in this climate. 

May their memories be for a Blessing. May 2025 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while gaining new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.

First Timers Beltre, Mauer Lead Hall Class of '24

First Timers Beltre, Mauer Lead Hall Class of ‘24
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 17, 2024

While baseball fields and stadia across the fruited plains lay dormant under a shiny, pristine, white crust of crunchy, unpunctured snow, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) labored at determining who would be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2024 will be made on Tuesday, January 23. The Hot Stove season has been in full bloom as the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber.

Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2024 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) may inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent - the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility expired. Votes for Ramirez, in his seventh year on the ballot moved slightly upward to 33.2 percent in 2023 from 28.9 percent in 2022, while Rodriguez checked in with 35.7 percent of the vote in his second year on the ballot, up from 34.3 percent of the vote in 2022. 

I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next eight years as Alex Rodriguez is on the ballot for the third year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season - a suspension well merited.

Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”

Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, more than likely would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.

Rodriguez banged out 696 home runs, good for fifth all time, 2,086 RBI, fourth all time, 2,021 runs scored, good for eighth place, 3,115 hits, for 23rd place, seventh place in both total bases with 5,813 and extra base hits with 1,275. Rodriguez won three MVP awards, appeared on MVP ballots in 15 seasons, and made it on to 14 All Star teams in a career spanning 1994-2016.

Ramirez, who played 1993-2011, hit 555 home runs - 15th all time, 1,122 extra base hits, good for 18th place all time, 1,831 RBI, 20th all time, a two-time World Series winner with the Red Sox, a 12 time All Star, and 11 times batted over .300. He cracked 2,574 base hits for a .312 career batting average - impressive for a power hitter.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2024, six former major leaguers would earn my votes - two holdovers, and four first timers, including a charity vote for Bartolo Colon.  Twelve retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 14 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration. 

Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the seventh year on the ballot for Vizquel, having dropped from 23.9 percent of the vote in 2022 to 19.5 percent in 2023. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even further in 2024 due to allegations of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

While this is his sixth year on the ballot, Todd Helton had earned my support from his first year of eligibility. The 17-year MLB veteran played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies (1997-2013) batting .316 in 2,247 games with 2,519 hits, 369 home runs, scoring 1,401 runs, and driving in 1,406 runs. The Knoxville native finished second in the 1998 Rookie of the Year balloting, earning five All Star game selections in consecutive years, from 2000 through 2004. Appearing on MVP ballots in six years, Helton’s breakout season was in 2000, leading the National League in hits with 216 and all of MLB with 59 doubles, 147 RBI and a .372 batting average, yet could only manage a fifth place finish in the MVP race that season. Earning 52 percent in 2022, Helton enjoyed the largest leap of any returning candidate of 20.2 percent to 72.2 percent of the vote in 2023, but fell short of admission by 11 votes. Helton will more than likely earn induction this summer.

I’m throwing Bartolo Colon a vote when I doubt he will receive the requisite five percent to remain on the ballot. But, as a member of my New York Mets, Colon, larger than life, was a fan favorite. For a guy who batted .084 in a 21 year career, when Colon cracked his lone home run, a two-run blast in San Diego, on May 7, 2016, the baseball world turned upside down. Mets television broadcaster Keith Hernandez said of Colon’s trip around the bases, “I want to say that was one of the longest home run trots I’ve ever seen, but I think that’s how fast he runs!”

Colon hit that home run at age 42, and pitched until age 45. The Dominican-born right handed hurler won 247 games with 2,535 strikeouts and was named to four All Star teams. Colon pitched for 11 teams, and won the Cy Young award in 2005 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, with a record of 21 and eight.

While Colon may only appear on the ballot for one year before being eliminated from contention, both Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer could very well also appear on the ballot for one year. Beltre and Mauer both have excellent chances of gaining election to the Baseball Hall of Fame on their first ballot and head to Cooperstown this July.

In his 21 year career, which began at age 19, Beltre suited up with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, and Rangers. He struck for 3,166 base hits - 18th all time, 1,707 RBI - 25th all time, 477 home runs - 31st all time, 636 doubles - 11th all time, 5,369 total bases - 15th all time, and 1,151 extra base hits - 15th all time. Beltre earned spots on four All Star teams, and garnered five Gold Gloves at third base.

Beltre played 2,759 of his 2,933 Major League games at the Hot Corner - second all time behind only the late great Brooks Robinson who played 2,870 games at third base. If and when Beltre gets inducted at Cooperstown, he will be the fifth Dominican-born player to reach the Hall, after Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martinez (2015), Vladimir Guerrero (2018), and David “Big Papi” Ortiz (2022).

Joe Mauer, a St. Paul, MN native played his entire 15 year Major League career with his hometown Minnesota Twins. It might be a close call, whether or not Mauer will be a one and done on the ballot heading to Cooperstown, but no doubt he will be enshrined there. In the first two-thirds of his career, Mauer, as a full time catcher had his best years and by far should be enough to vault him into the Hall of Fame. Mauer won three batting titles - most ever for a catcher, batting .347 in 2006, .328 in 2008, and his career best .365 in 2009, also his MVP season. In that MVP season, Mauer reached career highs in hits, with 191, home runs, with 28, and RBI, with 96. In those first 10 years, Mauer earned three Gold Gloves, was named to six All Star teams, and batted .323, before closing out his career at .306.

Another player who stayed with one team his entire career, New York Mets third baseman David Wright, must be classified as a “what might have been.” And although Wright did not grow up in the environs of Shea Stadium, a childhood in Norfolk, VA proved the next best thing, as that, for 38 years, housed the Mets Triple-A team, for whom Wright rooted. As a Met for his 14 season career, Wright, like Mauer, both a fan favorite and had his best years in a 10 year stretch. During that time, Wright averaged 144 games played with a slash line of .301/.382/.506. He hit 216 home runs, drove in 899 runs, and scored 866, while being named to seven All Star teams, and earning two Gold Gloves at the Hot Corner. Wright played in 77 games during his last three seasons, giving way to severe Spinal Stenosis. It should be noted that Wright is but one of four third basemen with 350-plus doubles, 200-plus home runs, and 150-plus stolen bases. Each of the others, George Brett, Chipper Jones, and Michael Jack Schmidt, are in the Hall of Fame. While not expected to make the Hall, hopefully Wright can earn enough votes to warrant another year or two on the ballot.

Three other former players on the ballot of note are, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, and Francisco Rodriguez. Sheffield is in his 10th and final year on the ballot. He played for eight teams in a 22 year career, driving in 1,676 runs and scoring 1,636 runs. The number of interest will be the home runs - 509, ranking Sheffield 27th all time. But 500-plus home runs is no longer an automatic ticket to the Hall of Fame - eight players who are above Sheffield - six not in the Hall due to steroids/PEDs allegations and two who have not yet appeared on Hall ballots, but are certain locks for the Hall. The nine time All Star appeared on 55 percent of the ballots in 2023, up 14.4 percent from 2022, but that same jump will not allow Sheffield to reach 75 percent. Sheffield did appear in the Mitchell Report that investigated steroid/PED usage. His only hope is the Veterans Committee, but for me, I pass.

Wagner and Rodriguez are an interesting study because of their similar stat lines. Both closers pitched in 16 seasons and played for five teams each. Wagner’s record is 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA and Rodriguez’s record is 52-53 with a 2.86 ERA. Wagner’s 422 saves ranks him sixth all time and Rodriguez’s 437 saves ranks him fourth all time. Wagner is in his ninth year on the ballot, and fell 27 votes short of induction in 2023. His 17.1 percent jump from 51 percent in 2022 was second highest behind only Helton. Wagner, a seven time All Star, appeared in 853 games, pitching 903 innings, and striking out 1,196 batters. Rodriguez, a six time All Star, appeared in 948 games, pitching 976 innings, striking out 1,142 batters. Rodriguez received 10.8 percent of the vote in 2023, as a freshman on the ballot. Wagner’s fate may very well be a harbinger for Rodriguez.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 21 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson passed away on September 26, 2023, at age 86.

Brooks Robinson (05/18/1937 - 09/26/2023) earned admission into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot in 1983 with a commanding 92 percent of the vote. Known as the “Human Vacuum Cleaner,” Robinson could turn a certain double or triple smashed down the third base line into a putout at first with seamless relative ease. He played the entirety of his 23 year career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the American League MVP in 1964. Robinson also won the MVP of the 1970 World Series, as the Orioles defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games. Named to 18 All Star teams, Robinson also won 16 Gold Glove awards - in consecutive seasons, with a career fielding percentage of .971.

Robinson “was so beloved in Baltimore that sportswriter Gordon Beard wrote, ‘Brooks (Robinson) never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore, people named their children after him.’” (The National Baseball Hall of Fame ® Almanac) I had the enormous pleasure of meeting Brooks Robinson in 1998 at a political function in Baltimore, MD.

May his memory be for a Blessing, may 2024 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while earning new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.

"Crime Dog" McGriff to Stand Alone on Hall Stage

“Crime Dog” McGriff To Stand Alone on Hall Stage
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 17, 2023

Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby (1896-1963) said, “People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” 

Hornsby, who entered the Hall in 1942, following a career that ran 1915-37, played 18 of his 23 seasons in St. Louis - 13 with the Cardinals and five with the Browns. So prolific a hitter, during the 10 year period 1920-29, Hornsby played in 1,430 games, batting .383 for the decade with 2,085 hits in 5,451 at bats.

While the players remained dormant, well, many worked off-season jobs working for actual workingman’s wages during the baseball season, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) labored at determining who would be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year, the announcement from Cooperstown to determine the Class of 2023 will be made on Tuesday, January 24. The Hot Stove season has also been in full bloom while the ballparks enjoy the winter slumber.

Still at issue, those ballplayers tainted by substance allegations. The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2023 as cheaters such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez may inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent - the required minimum to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. In the cases of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, the BBWAA voters rejected those candidacies, and after 10 years, their eligibility has expired. Votes for Ramirez moved slightly upward to 28.9 percent in 2022 from 28.2 percent in 2021 in his sixth year on the ballot, while Rodriguez checked in with 34.3 percent of the vote in 2022, his first year on the ballot. 

In previous years I have complained that the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA are not released to the public. Now, the BBWAA has gone to the opposite extreme. Updates regarding the running percentage of votes received for the Hall candidates are disclosed periodically leading up to the vote deadline. This is a dangerous practice as those results could potentially influence the members of the BBWAA who have not yet cast their ballots - especially when personalities or personal bias is at play. Those votes should be announced for public consumption - after the Hall of Fame makes its official announcement of who has vaulted the 75 percent threshold. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA. 

A prime example is Dan Shaughnessy with The Boston Globe. For three years in a row, Shaughnessy cast his lone vote for Jeff Kent, explaining that his vote is a protest against the steroid players. Members of the BBWAA are permitted to vote for up to 10 candidates, but many do not vote for 10. In my annual Hall of Fame column I have never supported 10 candidates in any given year. I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next nine years as Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) is on the ballot for the second year. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season - a suspension well merited.

Ramirez, while expressing some sense of contrition during a 2019 interview with Boston 25 News, still should not be admitted to the Hall. On getting caught using steroids Ramirez said, “it was a good thing for me because it made me grow up. Maybe a lot of people didn’t get caught and they were doing maybe some crazy stuff and they’re not learning from it. So I think everything happens for a reason and everything is working for the good. I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been, even when I was playing, so I don’t regret it because it made me grow up.”

Players like Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Rodriguez, and Sosa, they more than likely would have been enshrined in Cooperstown sans steroids.

Rodriguez banged out 696 home runs, good for fifth all time, 2,086 RBI, fourth all time, 2,021 runs scored, good for eighth place, 3,115 hits, for 22nd place, seventh place in both total bases with 5,813 and extra base hits with 1,275. Rodriguez won three MVP awards, appeared on MVP ballots in 15 seasons, and made it on to 14 all star teams in a career spanning 1994-2016.

Ramirez, who played 1993-2011, hit 555 home runs - 15th all time, 1,122 extra base hits, good for 18th place all time, 1,831 RBI, 20th all time, a two-time World Series winner with the Red Sox, a 12 time all star, and 11 times batted over .300. He cracked 2,574 base hits for a .312 career batting average - impressive for a power hitter.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2023, only four former major leaguers would earn my votes - three holdovers, and a charity vote for first timer R.A. Dickey. Of those four, it is doubtful any of them will be enshrined on Sunday July 23, or anyone else for that matter, save for Fred McGriff. McGriff, a.k.a. the “Crime Dog” secured his spot in the Hall via the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee this past December. Fourteen retirees are on the ballot for the first time with another 14 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration. 

Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the sixth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having dropped from 41.1 percent of the vote in 2021 to 23.9 percent of the vote in 2022. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even further in 2023 due to allegations of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In his fifth year on the ballot, Todd Helton has earned my support. The 17-year MLB veteran played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies (1997-2013) batting .316 in 2,247 games with 2,519 hits, 369 home runs, scoring 1,401 runs, and driving in 1,406 runs. The Knoxville native finished second in the 1998 Rookie of the Year balloting, earning five All Star game selections in consecutive years, from 2000 through 2004. Appearing on MVP ballots in six years, Helton’s breakout season was in 2000, leading the National League in hits with 216 and all of MLB with 59 doubles, 147 RBI and a .372 batting average, yet could only manage a fifth place finish in the MVP race that season. Earning 44.9 percent in 2021, Helton enjoyed a modest bump to 52 percent of the vote in 2022, but will more than likely not earn induction this summer.

Perhaps Shaughnessy is on to something regarding Jeff Kent. A friend asked me to revisit Kent, heretofore not on any of my “ballots” in the previous nine years. He’s no fan of Kent, so it seemed worth the time. Kent played for six teams throughout his 17 year MLB career, was five times an all star, earned votes for the MVP seven times, including winning that award in 2000. He hit 377 career home runs, 351 as a second baseman - the most in history at that position. He hit at least 20 homers and drove in at least 100 runs eight times - also most for a second baseman. In total Kent had 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, drove in 1,515 runs, while scoring 1,320, and batted .290. Solid numbers for a  middle infielder and one who played cleanly. Kent appeared on 32.7 percent of the BBWAA ballots in 2022, thus it is unlikely he will more than double that number and qualify for the Hall in his final year of eligibility. 

I’m throwing R.A. Dickey a vote when I doubt he will receive the requisite five percent to remain on the ballot. But, as a member of my New York Mets, Dickey won the Cy Young Award on the strength of a 20-6 record, 2.73 ERA, as well as making the all star team. Dickey led the league in complete games with five, three shutouts, and 239 strikeouts.

Neither those retired players earning my support nor those without, seem destined to reach the vaunted 75 percent on January 24. And, quite frankly, it’s a safe bet that the majority of the first timers will be a one and done, garnering less than five percent of the votes. Scott Rolen, Todd Helton, and Billy Wagner, the only holdovers garnering more than 50 percent of the votes in 2022 have the greatest chance of approaching paydirt this year.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Ramirez and Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who may be enshrined this July 23 and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community as two Hall of Famers passed away in 2022, Gaylord Perry at age 84, and Bruce Sutter at age 69.

Gaylord Perry (09/15/1938 - 12/01/2022) entered the Hall of Fame in 1991 having pitched from 1962 through 1983. Infamously known to have doctored the ball with too many substances to mention, his election to the Hall in the first place should be considered dubious. Perry won 314 games while losing 265, completing an amazing 303 games out of the 777 in which he appeared for eight teams. Perry tossed 53 shutouts and 5,350 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.11. He won 20 or more games five times, earned votes for the Cy Young and MVP awards five times each, and appeared on five all star teams. Pitching for Seattle during his age 45 season in 1983, Perry could be considered the Ancient Mariner. He was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues - for the Cleveland Indians in 1972 and the San Diego Padres in 1978.

Bruce Sutter (01/08/1953 - 10/13/2022) earned admission into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2006. Sutter pitched for three teams during his 12 year career from 1976 through 1988. The fourth reliever inducted into the Hall at the time, and the first inducted never having started a game, Sutter posted a record of 68 wins and 71 loses, a 2.83 ERA and 300 saves, the most in the National League at the time of his retirement. He pitched 1,042 innings in 661 games, leading the league in saves five times. Sutter won the Cy Young Award in 1979 with the Cubs, receiving votes for that award four additional times, earned votes for the MVP six times, and named to six all star teams. On September 8, 1977, in a two inning relief stint versus the Montreal Expos, Sutter, in the ninth inning, pitched an immaculate inning - nine pitches, nine strikes - fanning Ellis Valentine, future Hall of Famer Gary Carter, and Larry Parrish. In another two inning relief effort, Sutter slammed the door on the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1982 World Series for the Cardinals recording the final six outs of the series.

May their memories be for a Blessing, may 2023 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season continue to excite its fans while earning new fans to discover the greatness of America’s national pastime.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.

Schilling and Big Papi - a Pair of Sox for the Hall in 2022?

Schilling and Big Papi - a Pair of Sox for the Hall in 2022?
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 20, 2022

Major League Baseball returned to relative normalcy in 2021 following the 60 game Covid-laden season MLB stumbled through in 2020. MLB suited up for a full complement of games in 2021 culminating in the 117th World Series being won by the Atlanta Braves over the Houston Astros four games to two. This was the second championship for the Braves in Atlanta and fourth in franchise history.

Fans returned to ballparks around the nation, including at the minor league level, which had been shuttered through the entirety of the 2020 season. Fans were ushered into stadiums initially on a limited basis and allowed the numbers to grow throughout the season until reaching full capacity. Fans and stadium personnel alike donned masks as per Covid requirements, but at least with the roar of the crowds (albeit muffled) and the familiar smells wafting through the ballparks, there was finally some joy in Mudville.

If only the traditional rules of our beloved game were restored to their proper order. Gone should be seven inning doubleheaders, extra innings beginning with a runner on second base, relief pitchers required to pitch to either three batters or the end of the inning, circumstances where the home team bats in the tops of innings and a visiting team has the opportunity for the very unusual walk-off. At least the National League dropped the designated hitter, and quite frankly so should the American League as well, but that seems like a pipedream, especially with the current Players Association contract under renegotiation. 

The traditionally active Hot Stove season is currently dormant thanks to the lockout by the teams’ owners in the every few years battle between billionaires and millionaires while the fans face rising ticket prices and insane costs for parking, food, and souvenirs. The silence of the mostly snow encrusted stadiums is matched by the no talk, no contact lockout. Yet while the ballparks enjoy their winter slumber, there is business of the utmost importance emerging from Cooperstown on Tuesday, January 25.

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is finalizing their votes to determine who will fill the Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Is this finally the year for Curt Schilling? How about the likes of Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens - tainted by substance allegations? The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2022 as cheaters such as Bonds and Clemens inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent - enough to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. Yet in the cases of Bonds and Clemens, the BBWAA voters’ support of Bonds rose from 60.7 percent in 2020 to 61.8 percent in 2021, and Clemens’ totals jumped from 61 percent in 2020 to 61.6 percent in 2021. Fortunately, remaining in low numbers are Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez. Sosa’s support moved from 13.9 percent in 2020 to 17 percent in 2021, while voting for Ramirez remained unchanged at 28.2 percent in 2021, his fifth year on the ballot. Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa are on the ballot for their tenth and final year, and hopefully they will not reach the vaunted 75 percent in 2022.

The voting results are due to be released on Tuesday, January 25. In previous years I have complained that the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA are not released to the public. Now, the BBWAA has gone to the opposite extreme. Updates regarding the running percentage of votes received for the Hall candidates are disclosed periodically leading up to the vote deadline. This is a dangerous practice as those results could potentially influence the members of the BBWAA who have not yet cast their ballots - especially when personalities or personal bias is at play. Those votes should be announced for public consumption - after the Hall of Fame makes its official announcement of who has vaulted the 75 percent threshold. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA. 

A prime example is Dan Shaughnessy with The Boston Globe. For the second year in a row, Shaughnessy will cast his lone vote for Jeff Kent, explaining that his vote is a protest against the steroid players. Members of the BBWAA are permitted to vote for up to 10 candidates, but many do not vote for 10. In my annual Hall of Fame column I have never supported 10 candidates in any given year. I remain a consistent and virulent opponent of the steroid players and will continue to do so for the next 10 years as Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid) steps up to the plate to begin his balloting journey.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022, only four former major leaguers would earn my votes - three holdovers and one fresh face - David “Big Papi” Ortiz. Of those four, maybe two will be enshrined on Sunday July 24 - hopefully Ortiz and Schilling. Thirteen retirees are on the ballot for the first time with an additional 17 holdovers. Candidates who do not attain 75 percent of the vote must receive at least five percent of the vote or will be eliminated from future consideration. Of those 13, only two are worthy of discussion - Ortiz and Rodriguez. The last thing to be said about A-Roid speaks volumes as to why he should never earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Admitting his use of steroids/banned substances, Rodriguez found himself suspended for 211 games from August 2013 through the entire 2014 season.

As an anti-steroid baseball fan, I feel compelled to address the elephant in the room. According to www.cbssports.com, a story leaked in 2009 that Ortiz was one of more than 100 active players to have failed a test in 2003 indicating use of a substance that had NOT been banned by Major League Baseball. That same story also indicated that Ortiz passed hundreds of subsequent tests, failing exactly none of them over the last 13 years of his MLB career. He had no involvement in the BioGenesis scandal, nor have any teammates or opponents ever suggested Ortiz behaved in an illegal manner.

Now onto the positive. Ortiz, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, spent the first six seasons of his 20 year career (1997-2016) with the Minnesota Twins, but truly excelled and flourished the remaining 14 with the Boston Red Sox. Not just a premier player, Ortiz was beloved by the Fenway Faithful, and his love of the fans was reciprocated. This was especially true when an ebullient Big Papi took to the microphone and gave an impassioned speech condemning the terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon in 2013 and reminding the fans to remain Boston Strong to a rousing ovation.

Those ovations came often throughout his career, as Ortiz slammed 541 home runs, good for 17th on the all time list; ripped 1,191 extra base hits, ranking him eighth in the majors; 632 doubles - 12th place; 1,768 RBI - 23rd all time; as well as 2,472 hits and 1,419 runs scored. Ortiz garnered MVP votes in eight seasons and made 10 All Star teams, drove in more than 100 runs 10 times, and batted over .300 seven times accomplishing all four in his final season. Ortiz seemed to have found the Fountain of Youth in that career ending season of 2016 batting .315 with a Major League leading .620 slugging percentage and 48 doubles, along with an American League leading 127 RBI. He also hit 38 homers that season. Not a bad swan song. Ortiz was equally productive in the postseason batting .289 with 17 home runs, 22 doubles, 61 RBI, and 51 runs scored in 85 games. Ortiz played on three World Series winning teams (2004, 2007, and 2013) winning the MVP in 2013. 

Curt Schilling could finally reach 75 percent in this, his tenth year on the ballot. Schilling inched ever so closer leading all candidates in 2021 with 71.1 percent, up from 70 percent in 2020. Schilling, bloody sock and all, is a six-time All Star who pitched 20 seasons in the big leagues – three with the Orioles, one with the Astros, eight-plus with the Phillies, three-plus with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then calling it a career with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling tossed 83 complete games, and had three 20-plus win seasons within a four year span at ages 36, 38, and 39. Schilling, a member of three World Series winning teams (2001, 2004, and 2007 - Diamondbacks and Red Sox) was outstanding in the postseason. Schilling posted an 11-2 postseason record and a 2.23 ERA in 133 innings, of which he went 4-1 in the World Series with a 2.06 ERA in 48 innings. In 2001, Schilling shared World Series MVP honors with teammate Randy Johnson, already enshrined in Cooperstown, and was a Red Sox teammate with Ortiz in the 2004 and 2007 World Series triumphs. Schilling should have his ticket stamped this summer – was my mistaken prediction the last nine years, and while I believe some members of the BBWAA are holding his politics against him, Schilling still belongs among those earning a plaque in Cooperstown.

While the 2004 World Series ended an 87 year drought for the Red Sox, getting there may have been more memorable. Playing the hated Yankees in the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox fell behind three games to none before marching back, winning the final four games, a feat never before accomplished. Sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in that famed World Series seemed an inevitable aftermath. (Just don’t remind the 1986 Red Sox players and their fans about inevitability.)

Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the fifth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having dropped from 52.6 percent of the vote in 2020, to 41.1 percent in 2021. Vizquel’s numbers may dip even further in 2022 due to allegations of a rather serious nature. Until they are adjudicated, I will not traffic in rumors and/or innuendo. Should Vizquel be found guilty, I will withdraw my support of his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

In his fourth year on the ballot, Todd Helton has earned my support. The 17-year MLB veteran played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies (1997-2013) batting .316 in 2,247 games with 2,519 hits, 369 home runs, scoring 1,401 runs, and driving in 1,406 runs. The Knoxville native finished second in the 1998 Rookie of the Year balloting, earning five All Star game selections in consecutive years, from 2000 through 2004. Appearing on MVP ballots in six years, Helton’s breakout season was in 2000, leading the National League in hits with 216 and all of MLB with 59 doubles, 147 RBI and a .372 batting average, yet could only manage a fifth place finish in the MVP race that season. Earning 29.2 percent of the votes in 2020, Helton enjoyed a sizable bump up to 44.9 percent in 2021, but will more than likely not earn induction this summer.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, Sosa, and Rodriguez, the focus must be on the greats who will be enshrined this July and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the game of baseball as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community. While the Class of 2021 remained bereft of new members, three members passed away - all in January within 15 days of one another, following a year of loss as seven Hall of Famers died in 2020. Longtime Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda died on January 7 at age 93, followed by pitcher Don Dutton 11 days later on January 18 at age 75, and four days later, on January 22, Mr. Henry Aaron, the true home run king, died at age 86.

Tommy Lasorda (09/22/1927 - 01/07/2021) entered the Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997 spending the entirety of his managerial career with the Dodgers from 1976 through 1996. During his tenure he led his team to four National League pennants and two World Series titles in 1981 against the Yankees and in 1988 versus the Oakland Athletics. In Game One of the 1988 World Series a barely able to walk Kirk Gibson made Lasorda look like a genius. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, trailing four to three and one runner on base, Gibson, in his lone at bat of the entire World Series, clouted a pinch hit two-run homer to win the game five to four in a series the Dodgers would win in five games. Only in Hollywood.

Don Sutton (04/02/1945 - 01/18/2021) pitched six of his 23 seasons (1966-88) for Lasorda as a member of the Dodgers, and entered the Hall of Fame in 1998 receiving 81.6 percent of the votes. Sutton won 324 games, placing him 14th on the all time list; striking out 3,574 batters, good for seventh place; tossing 5,282 innings, also good for seventh place; and issuing 58 shutouts, putting him in 10th place all time. Sutton was named to four All Star teams and earned votes for the Cy Young Award five times. The Dodgers retired Sutton’s number 20 in 1998. Additionally, Sutton worked 30 years behind the mic for the Dodgers, Braves, and Nationals - 27 for the Braves, who inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mr. Henry Aaron - yes, he preferred Henry to the media-assigned Hank (02/05/1934 -  01/22/2021) played 21 of his 23 seasons with the aforementioned Braves. He entered the Hall of Fame on his first try in 1982 garnering 97.8 percent of the vote. Who were the nine BBWAA members of the 415 not to have voted for Aaron? Did they drop into Earth from Saturn? Aaron began his MLB career in Milwaukee with the Braves (moving to Atlanta in 1966) in 1954 and concluded his career back in Milwaukee in 1976 with the Brewers. During that time Aaron put up such prolific numbers that still rank among the elites. His 2,297 RBI, 1,477 extra base hits, and 6,856 total bases are still number one in all of Major League Baseball. Aaron’s 3,771 base hits rank third all time, and his 2,174 runs scored place him second. His 756 home runs should still be best in MLB history, but that’s a different argument for a different day. 

What must be said about Aaron and his home run total is the difficulty he endured while chasing the almighty Babe Ruth. Ruth retired with 714 home runs in 1935 - a record that stood almost 40 years. As Aaron climbed the home run ladder, reaching 500 in 1968, 600 in 1971, and ending the 1973 season with 713 - exactly one shy of tying Ruth, Aaron received torrents of death threats both orally and in writing - G-d forbid a Black player should pass the legendary Babe Ruth. Aaron handled the threats and pressure that accompanied them with grace and aplomb - the same way he played baseball and carried himself in life. When Bonds passed Aaron with home run number 756 in 2007, Aaron had a congratulatory video message for Bonds played at the San Francisco Giants stadium. A class act, no surprise.

On May 17, 1970, when Aaron collected his 3,000th base hit, he became the first player in MLB history to accumulate 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Aaron’s Braves defeated the Yankees in the 1957 World Series, the same year he won his lone MVP award. Aaron earned votes for the MVP in 19 seasons, appeared on 25 All Star teams (1959-62 two All Star games would be played each season), won three Gold Gloves, and two batting titles. In 2002 Henry Aaron was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed upon an American civilian, by President Goerge W. Bush.

May their memories be for a Blessing, and may 2022 be a better, healthier year for one and all, and may the baseball season start on time.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.

More Memorials than Inductees at Hall in 2021

More Memorials than Inductees at Hall in 2021
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
January 19, 2021

The 2020 Major League Baseball season, we hardly knew ye. Thanks to the evil Covid, the home plate umpires were not the only ones who donned masks. The 60 game season came and went in an instant, with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning their first World Series since 1988. With the 2020 season in the books, let’s hope 2021 will be a complete 162 game season, attended by at least some fans, and with a return to the traditional rules of the game.

Gone should be seven inning doubleheaders, extra innings beginning with a runner on second base, relief pitchers required to pitch to either three batters or end the inning, circumstances where the home team bats in the tops of innings and a visiting team has the opportunity for the very unusual walk-off. Also, the designated hitter should be dropped from the National League, and quite frankly the American League as well, but that seems like a pipedream. 

Now with the rather active Hot Stove season underway, with no umpires or players on the fields, many of which are blanketed under a bed of smooth, white, crusted snow - silent, slightly more silent than they were during the regular season. Yet while the ballparks enjoy their winter slumber, there is business of the utmost importance emerging from Cooperstown on Tuesday, January 26.

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) is finalizing their votes to determine who will fill the Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Is this the year for Curt Schilling? How about the likes or Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens - tainted by substance allegations? The only way steroid/HGH-addled balloteers should be admitted to the Hall of Fame is with a paid ticket for admission to the museum.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame. They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here,” wrote late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan in a November 2017 letter to the BBWAA, hoping to influence their Hall votes in 2018. Hopefully Morgan’s letter continues to resonate in 2021 as cheaters such as Bonds and Clemens inch closer to the magic number of 75 percent - enough to grant one admission to the Hall.

The cloud of controversy has been dark and heavy, while initially eliminating some from Hall of Fame contention. Yet in the cases of Bonds and Clemens, the BBWAA voters’ support of Bonds rose from 59.1 percent in 2019 to 60.7 percent in 2020, and Clemens’ totals jumped from 59.5 percent in 2019 to 61 percent in 2020. Fortunately, remaining in low numbers are Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez. Sosa’s support moved from 8.5 percent in 2019 to 13.9 percent in 2020, while voting for Ramirez moved from 22.8 percent in 2019 to 28.2 percent in 2020, his fourth year on the ballot. Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa are on the ballot for their penultimate ninth year, and hopefully they will not reach the vaunted 75 percent by 2022.

The voting results are due to be released on Tuesday, January 26. What is not released are the ballots of the voting members of the BBWAA. Those votes should be disclosed to the public. Let the BBWAA voters defend their votes as I defend mine, even if not as a member of the BBWAA.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has a so-called character clause. “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the team(s) on which the player played.” So-called because it has existed since 1945 and more than a fair share of miscreants have found their way to Cooperstown. (https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bbwaa-rules-for-election)

With voting in mind, were I a privileged member of the BBWAA charged with the task of electing the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2021, only three former major leaguers would earn my votes - all three, holdovers. Of those three, maybe one will be enshrined on July 25. Candidates must receive at least five percent of the vote in order to remain on the ballot should they not attain 75 percent the previous year.

Curt Schilling could finally reach 75 percent in this, his ninth year on the ballot. Schilling’s stock rose more than nine points from 60.9 percent in 2020, up to 70 percent in 2020. Schilling, bloody sock and all, is a six-time All Star who pitched 20 seasons in the big leagues – three with the Orioles, one with the Astros, eight-plus with the Phillies, three-plus with the Arizona Diamondbacks, then calling it a career with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling tossed 83 complete games, appeared in three World Series, and had three 20-plus win seasons within a four year span at ages 36, 38, and 39. Schilling should have his ticket stamped this summer – was my mistaken prediction the last eight years, and while I believe some members of the BBWAA are holding his politics against him, Schilling still belongs among those earning a plaque in Cooperstown.

Omar Vizquel, was the quintessential shortstop of a generation, having won 11 Gold Glove awards during his 24 year career, second most at that position all time. Vizquel was also the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove, having done so at age 39 in 2006. After five years with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel took his talents to Cleveland continuing to be the defensive gem that will vault him into Cooperstown.

Vizquel was three times an All Star, overshadowed by Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, who was elected to Cooperstown in a near-unanimous vote in 2020. On the field, Vizquel led the league in Fielding Percentage six times as a shortstop and is the all time leader in Fielding Percentage at .985. Vizquel shares the season record with Cal Ripken, Jr. for committing the fewest errors by a shortstop playing in at least 150 games with a paltry three. Additionally, Vizquel is first all time in double plays turned by a shortstop, third all time in assists at shortstop, and 11th all time in putouts made by a shortstop.

At bat, Vizquel compares rather favorably to Hall of Fame shortstops Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio, and Luke Appling. Vizquel hit more home runs than Smith and Appling, trailing Aparicio by only three. Vizquel drove in more runs than Smith and Aparicio, stole more bases than Appling, hit for a higher batting average than Smith and Aparicio, while collecting more hits than all three. This is the fourth year on the ballot for Vizquel, having earned 52.6 percent of the vote in 2020.

In his third year on the ballot, Todd Helton has earned my support. The 17-year MLB veteran played his entire career with the Colorado Rockies (1997-2013) batting .316 in 2,247 games with 2,519 hits, 369 home runs, scoring 1,401 runs, and driving in 1,406 runs. The Knoxville native finished second in the 1998 Rookie of the Year balloting, earning five All Star game selections in consecutive years, from 2000 through 2004. Appearing on MVP ballots in six years, Helton’s breakout season was in 2000, leading the National League in hits with 216 and all of MLB with 59 doubles, 147 RBI and a .372 batting average, yet could only manage a fifth place finish in the MVP race that season. Earning 29.2 percent of the votes in 2020, Helton will more than likely not earn induction this summer.

While it is important to not sully the Baseball Hall of Fame with the likes of Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez, and Sosa, the focus must be on the greats who will be enshrined this July and how they will continue to be the true ambassadors to the community as so many before them have been. Sadly, this is an ever shrinking community. The Class of 2020, Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons, and Larry Walker, to be enshrined this July, as Covid “rained out” last summer’s ceremony, raised the total membership to 333, of which, as of March 20, 2020, 82 were living. Sadly, as of January 20, 2021, that number has dwindled to 73. A daunting record seven Hall of Famers passed away in 2020, five within a 42 day period.

Al Kaline, “Mr. Tiger,” who never played a game in the minor leagues, and spent the entirety of his MLB career with Detroit, lived December 19, 1934 to April 6, 2020. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, Kaline accumulated 3,007 hits, 399 home runs, 1,582 RBI, and scored 1,622 runs during a career that ran from 1953 through 1974. The right fielder earned 10 Gold Glove Awards, was voted into 18 All Star games, and garnered MVP votes in 14 seasons. In 1955, Kaline led the American League with 200 hits and a .340 batting average. Kaline was  particularly effective in the postseason, batting .379 in the 1968 World Series win over the St. Louis Cardinals. In seven games Kaline had 11 hits, cracked two home runs, and drove in eight runs. 

“Tom Terrific, The Franchise,” Tom Seaver, who put the then hapless New York Mets on the map lived November 17, 1944 to August 31, 2020. Seaver pitched 12 of his 20 year career, from 1967 through 1986, with the Mets achieving fame as the ace of the staff recording 311 wins and 205 loses, with a 2.86 ERA and 3,640 strikeouts. Seaver, a US Marine, earned election into the Hall of Fame in 1992, with the then highest percentage of the vote at 98.8 percent. Along the way, Seaver won Rookie of the Year honors in 1967, three Cy Young Awards, selected to 12 All Star games, earned MVP votes in 10 years, and was the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1969. Although he pitched many gems while with the Mets, it was not until Seaver became a member of the Cincinnati Reds that he finally tossed his lone no-hitter, on June 16, 1978 in a 4-0 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, at Riverfront Stadium. Seaver won 20 or more games in five seasons while leading the National League in wins three times and in strikeouts five times.

Lou Brock, the “Rocket,” who retired leading all Major League Baseball with 938 stolen bases, and still ranks number two, lived June 18, 1939 to September 6, 2020. The speedy left fielder played from 1961 through 1979, was selected to six All Star games and entered the Hall of Fame in 1985. In a record 12 consecutive years Brock stole 50 or more bases and stroked 200 or more hits four times, amassing 3,023 hits for his career, batting .293. In 1968 Brock led the National League with 46 doubles, 14 triples, and 62 stolen bases. Brock put up prolific numbers in three World Series, batting .391 in 21 games with 34 hits seven doubles, two triples, four homeruns, 13 RBI, while scoring 16 runs and stealing 14 bases.

Bob “Gibby” Gibson, who pitched with such ferocity he would have thrown at his own mother, or so the myth went. The career St. Louis Cardinal, who played from 1959 through 1975, lived November 9, 1935 to October 2, 2020. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981, the right-hander won 251 games and lost 174 with an ERA of 2.91, while striking out 3,117 batters. Gibson won an MVP Award, two Cy Youngs, an impressive nine Gold Gloves, while also being named to nine All Star teams. So dominant was Gibson in 1968 with a miniscule 1.12 ERA, that Major League Baseball lowered the pitcher’s mound from 15 inches to 10 inches after his brilliant season. During the 1968 campaign, Gibson won 22 games while losing an astounding nine - talk about a lack of run support. Gibson led the National League with 13 shutouts and 268 strikeouts, along with the almost invisible ERA, en route to capturing the Gold Glove, Cy Young, and MVP awards that year. Gibson also put up solid postseason numbers, pitching in three World Series, winning seven games, losing but two, with a 1.89 ERA. He started nine games, completed eight, striking out 92 batters in just 81 innings.

Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford a.k.a. The “Chairman of the Board,” lived October 21, 1928 to October 8, 2020. He played the entirety of his career, 1950 through 1967, with the  New York Yankees, earning induction into the Hall of Fame in 1974. Ford won 236 games and lost 106, with an ERA of 2.75. Throughout his career, the southpaw Ford averaged 230 innings pitched per season and was selected to 10 All Star games. He led the American League in wins three times and in ERA twice. Ford posted career highs in 1961 with 25 wins, 283 innings pitched, and 209 strike outs, on his way to winning the Cy Young Award. He followed up his regular season by winning the World Series MVP winning two games, losing none, with a spotless ERA of 0.00. In total Ford won 10 and lost eight in 11 World Series with a 2.71 ERA.

Joe Morgan, “Little Joe,” the “Little General,” lived September 19, 1943 to October 11, 2020. He played the bulk of his 22 year career with the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds, which ran from 1963 through 1984. At the time of his death, Morgan had been serving as Vice Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Board of Directors. An integral part of the Big Red Machine and a slick fielding second baseman, Morgan won five consecutive Gold Gloves, one each in 1975 and 1976 while winning the National League MVP both years. In those two years Morgan batted .327 and .320, stole 67 and 60 bases, drove in 94 and 111 runs - all career highs. His defensive career at second base continues to hold up, even 34 years after his retirement. Morgan ranks second in games played at the keystone sack, third in assists, fourth in putouts, and sixth in double plays turned. Morgan also successfully worked in the ESPN booth with Jon Miller calling Sunday Night Baseball for a number of years.

Phil “Knucksie” Niekro, who pitched until he was 48, looked every bit the part while still just in his 30s. Niekro lived April 1, 1939 to December 26, 2020. Niekro spent 21 of his 24 years in the majors with the Braves - the first two while the team still played in Milwaukee. The righthander pitched from 1964 through 1987, and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1997. Niekro won 318 games and lost 274, pitching 245 complete games with 3,342 strikeouts in 5,404 innings - fourth all time. The knuckleball will take a pitcher a long way for a long time. He earned five Gold Gloves, votes for the Cy Young five times, and selected to five All Star games. Niekro worked like a veritable horse from 1977 through 1979, during his ages 38-40. In those three seasons, he pitched an average of 335 innings totaling 1,006, 18.6 percent of his career total, with 65 complete games. Niekro won 20 or more games three times, while losing 20 or more twice, including 1979 when he led the National League in both wins and loses, going 21-20, the last pitcher to win and lose 20-plus in the same season.

May their memories be for a Blessing, and may 2021 be a better year for one and all.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has been a Patron-level member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2007.