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To your point, a few writers knew there was a lot of talk about Rivera having the potential to be the first unanimous vote getter for the HOF and they "didn't want to be the guy who blocked that". Basically these few guys didn't believe Rivera, or any closer with a limited number of innings pitched in a career relative to a starter, deserved a spot in the Hall, especially on the first ballot. But that fear of the online mob (most notably the shouting heads on ESPN and Fox Sports as well as sports radio) coming after them led them to sit out and not vote at all, different than turning in a blank ballot. Rivera got 100% of the ballots cast, but you could asterisk that percentage! Last edited by ParisianJohn; 02-12-2023 at 01:12 PM. |
#2
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#3
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Also keep in mind that in 2016 the BBWAA voted to no longer have anonymous voting for the HOF, with the first year that going into effect being 2018 https://www.mlb.com/news/anonymous-h...018-c210445566. This was rejected by the Hall, but, the pressure was on to "shame" some, or at least make them answer for their bonehead choices. Last edited by ParisianJohn; 02-12-2023 at 02:15 PM. |
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My understanding is that, starting with Mariano Rivera's year, BBWAA ballots are no longer secret ballots. After the vote totals are announced, the individual ballots are made public. So, writers who used to vote "no" for every first ballot player are now voting "yes" to avoid public shaming.
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Thanks for all the replies- very helpful!
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One other point: if you receive a ballot and do not return it, your are not considered to have voted. If you return a blank ballot, you are considered to have voted for no one and that will be counted as part of the results (lowering the % for anyone who does a receive a vote).
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#7
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Total Ballots Cast 2016: 440 2017: 442 2018: 422 2019: 425 2020: 397 2021: 401 The number of voters has been trending downwards since the BBWAA started implementing rules to remove voters who hadn't covered the game in a very long time. I don't see anything that suggests people didn't vote in 2019 in some kind of secret protest, seeing as the number of votes cast was higher than the prior year and the 2020 number was also lower.
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It has become the Hall of Very Good. Diluted more and more all the time…..
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#9
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The Baseball Hall of Fame with players like Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr., Harold Baines, et al. That just sounds silly... I never understood the need to exclude an obvious HOFer in their first year of eligibility. Well, not many voters/writers did so that tells you something about those that did.
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#10
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Here's a list of HOF selections by year...I always find it interesting how quickly things went downhill. People talk about it like it's a recent phenomenon, but really, it started in the second election. https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fam...ctions-by-year
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#11
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The baseball HOF has zero credibility or relevance anymore. Synonymous with the Rock and Roll HOF. Doesn't carry the weight it once did. Too many deserving not in; too many undeserving of late got in.
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#12
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It may not have been that many in 2019 but I do know Bill Balou said he'd not vote at all because he didn't want to cost Rivera the first 100% vote. There may have been others. https://nesn.com/2018/12/boston-area...-hall-of-fame/ |
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But his logic is pretty terrible. "He's the best closer, but doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame because saves are a bad statistic" is non-sensical. Even if saves were not a stat, wouldn't Rivera STILL be the best closer? I always thought the "percent of the vote" thing is given more attention than it deserves, both from those who would "protect" the "unanimous" and those who concern themselves too much with who got what. An awful lot of this is all context driven...the first class didn't have low percentages for obvious reasons. A player who was on a weak ballot might see a bit higher percentage. One minor thing that public ballots has more or less done away with is the whole "local writer throws a vote to local favorite who's clearly not a Hall of Famer". Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I don't really have an opinion on.
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#14
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Jerry Remy, who grew up right around Boston and spent most of his career with the Red Sox, got a HOF vote. Had to have been a local writer. Eric Karros got two HOF votes! |
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