MLB 2019 Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in January, so here's everything you need to know about voting and who is on the ballot this year.
A few rules of Hall of Fame voting that are helpful to know:
-Only active and qualified members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America are eligible to vote.
-Voting is based on a player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.
-A player must be on 75% of the voters ballots to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
-Once a player has been on a ballot for 10 years but hasn't been voted in, they aren't eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame anymore.
Things to know about this years ballot:
-The most notable players who are on the ballot for the first time this year are Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay.
Mariano Rivera was a closer for the New York Yankees for 17 seasons, and has some very impressive stats. He's MLB's all-time saves leader, a 13-time All-Star, and 5-time World Series champion.
Roy Halladay, a Pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, was the third person ever to win a Cy-Young in both the American League and National League. He consistently had an era below .300 for many seasons in a row. He was also the only pitcher in MLB history to have more hits at the plate himself than he allowed in a playoff game. Halladay died tragically in 2017 in an airplane crash.
-Other people to look out for on this years ballot:
Edgar Martinez, who is in his last year on the ballot, is expected to make it into the Hall of Fame this year. He's one of eight players to have an MLB award named after him, and many consider him the greatest designated hitter (DH) of all time. He had two seasons where he had at least 25 home runs, 50 doubles, and 100 walks. The only other people with those stats: Everyone else in the hall of fame combined. An interesting fact about Edgar: Ten players have at least 300 home runs and a .415 on-base percentage. Eight are in the Hall of Fame, one is Barry Bonds, and the other is Edgar.
Barry Bonds is in his seventh year on the ballot, and its quite controversial if he should be voted in or not. He's MLB's all-time home runs leader, an 8-time gold glove winner, 7-time MVP, 14-time All-Star, and 12-time Silver Slugger. Of course, his use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) is a big red flag for the voters, and is a main reason why he hasn't been voted in yet.
Roger Clemens, also on his seventh year on the ballot, has a similar situation to Bonds. He has an impressive stat line, but has also been accused of using PEDs. He is a 7-time Cy Young award winner and 11-time All-Star.
Omar Vizquel, who is on the ballot for his second time, is a 3-time All-Star and 11-time Gold-Glove award winner. He was known for his outstanding defensive ability and has the most double-plays turned (of shortstops) of all-time.
What I think:
First of all, EDGAR EDGAR EDGAR! I think Edgar completely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and I don't know why he hasn't been voted in yet. As others have noted, he’s a hitting genius who put up numbers not seen since the Babe Ruth era. He was also considered the toughest out in baseball by the top pitchers of his era like Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera. Of course, it does come down to the sportswriter's decisions, but I think Edgar should be an easy yes.
Next, I think Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are both very controversial players on the ballot, and there's a lot of things to consider when voting them in or not. They both used preformance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), which does make us question if their accomplishments were the result of pure talent or PEDs.
Lastly , I think Rivera will make it in this year, on his first year on the ballot. Some are even saying he could be the first unanimous inductee, which is almost unheard of. Rivera had a .70 ERA in his 96 total playoff appearances, and in 19 seasons with the Yankees, his only missed the postseason twice. I can't wait to see who gets voted in, and good luck to all the candidates!