So I did one of these posts 2 years ago around this time, which you can find HERE I'm going to continue off that post since as per usual the Baseball Hall of Fame is a very slow moving process however 5 players on that ballot have since been voted in... Yay! So here are the returning votes:
Todd Helton: I've made no secret that I think Helton belongs in the Hall but voters hate guys that played in Colorado. Walker eventually got in on his last shot, Helton was less of a player than he was but hopefully with voter turnover Helton will get there one day.
Jeff Kent: Kent is on his 8th year on the ballot and hasn't really gained any notable ground. He is one of the best hitting 2B of all time, especially in the power department and has an MVP award with his name on it but it seems he'll be left on the outside looking in. I'll continue to check his name on my make belief ballot knowing he'll likely need a committee nomination to get in.
Scott Rolen: Unlike Kent, Rolen has seen some pretty nice gains since he was first included on the ballot and it seems he may actually get there one day, as he absolutely should. He was a quiet 3B that fielded everything cleanly and hit enough to be among the best of his era.
Omar Vizquel: Yikes, rough time for Vizquel to get some allegations against him. I definitely believe women and Vizquel was already a borderline case struggling to get support due to his lack of offence and now his ex-wife has claims domestic abuse. He'll stay on my ballot this year but expect him to drop off next year as soon as someone more deserving gets on.
Billy Wagner: He lacks the gawdy save totals the other relievers have in the hall, however the hall of fame is coming around on relievers and Wagner is as elite as they come so he should be given his due while he's still on the ballot.
Alright, let's check on the first year players:
Mark Buehrle
A.J. Burnett
Michael Cuddyer
Dan Haren
LaTroy Hawkins
Tim Hudson
Torii Hunter
Aramis Ramirez
Nick Swisher
Shane Victorino
Barry Zito
All these guys had fine careers but the only ones that really deserve a deep look are Buehrle, Hudson and Hunter. It'd be nice if these guys got the 5% they needed to stay on the ballot but no slam dunks here so I'll leave them off my ballot for now.
Now here's the other returnees I haven't touched on yet:
Bobby Abreu: When Abreu first hit the ballot last year he was in the same boat as the newcomers above I listed and he made it but unfortunately I'm not prepared to give him a spot on my ballot yet.
Barry Bonds: The roids and a loaded ballot kept him off my ballot in my 2019 write-up but with the ballot clearing class that year I added Bonds last year on my ballot and he stays on this year as he was likely a HOF without the roids he just wanted to be the best so he juiced like the other best players were doing.
Roger Clemens: See Bonds, Barry above. He gets my vote.
Andruw Jones: Jones was a borderline case for me in my last write-up as he had an absolute crazy peak of 5 years but not a whole lot outside of that. The loaded ballot clearing class of '19 also gave me the opportunity to add Jones on '20's ballot and he remains on this year as he's gotten some intriguing support as of late.
Andy Pettitte: In my last write-up I said I believed Pettitte was a HOF'er I just didn't have room on the ballot for him until this year with Jeter/Walker getting in last year. He was one of the last to get in because of the roids connection which may hold him back as he hasn't gotten much new support over the years but he still has time.
Manny Ramirez: Manny was a great hitter, but also a known roid user and was suspended for it multiple times even when it became illegal unlike the other known roid users on this list. I'm not completely shutting the door on voting Manny eventually but I just can't bring myself to drop anyone for a guy who failed several drug tests.
Curt Schilling: Racist asshole, working in his favour is he hasn't said or done anything stupid recently, he'll need to keep that up for another year as another year of silence may just get the writers to vote him in on his last chance on the ballot. But I can't see his name appearing on mine.
Gary Sheffield: Another one from my last write-up that I kinda glossed over due to the roid connection. He was a hell of a hitter and a hell of a bad defender. If he DH's consistently his numbers look great and he probably gets in. Unlike Manny he never failed a drug test once it became illegal and since I'm voting Pettitte, Bonds and Clemens I should have no problem adding Gary to the ballot so he'll take the other spot opened up from Jeter and Walker getting in.
Sammy Sosa: So based on the above I should vote for Sosa as well right? Well maybe. Like Manny I'm not closing the door on ever voting for him but I don't think any singular player was aided more by roids then Sammy. He went from likely being included in the "good career, but not a HOF'er" section to "The 600 homers say he should be in".
That's all folks so to recap I'd be checking off 10 names on my ballot:
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Todd Helton
Andruw Jones
Jeff Kent
Andy Pettitte
Scott Rolen
Gary Sheffield
Omar Vizquel
Billy Wagner
