Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio were voted in the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday. All are deserving. More should be joining them.
We could go into great detail as to why the voting system is incredibly flawed and why certain players should be in and who shouldn’t during what is without a doubt the most polarizing voting period the sport has ever seen due to the post-steroid era. I recommend, reading articles like these, which go into great detail as to why some voters are protesting or giving up their voting rights.
In short, I feel writers should be able to vote for more than 10 players, and that those who used steroids — IF they were still the greatest players of their era — should be let in.
Mike Piazza received 69.9% of the votes this year, just 5.1% from the 75% needed to be elected. He’s the most prolific hitting catcher in the game’s history. He’s not in because many feel he was probably on juice — even though it’s never been proven so. Is that fair?
It’s impossible to know who used PEDs and who didn’t, and even if we do know for sure (Mark McGwire), it was something players did to stay on the field and wasn’t illegal by any means until after the fact.
Again, I could keep rambling… you’re probably sick of me by now. But long story short — was it fair for baseball to allow players to use steroids, only to shun them years later?
That being said, here is who I would like to see in the Baseball Hall-of-Fame. Here are the guys who have the numbers to back it up, including the guys who were voted in Tuesday.
The 2015 baseball Hall of Fame ballot included Gary Sheffield, Nomar Garciaparra, Troy Percival (the aforementioned elected) and returning candidates (with their 2014 election percentages): Craig Biggio (74.8%), Mike Piazza (62.2%), Jeff Bagwell (54.3%), Tim Raines (46.1%), Roger Clemens (35.4%), Barry Bonds (34.7%), Lee Smith (29.9%), Curt Schilling (29.2%), Edgar Martinez (25.2%), Alan Trammell (20.8%), Mike Mussina (20.3%), Jeff Kent (15.2%), Fred McGriff (11.7%), Mark McGwire (11.0%), Larry Walker (10.2%), Don Mattingly (8.2%) and Sammy Sosa (7.2%).
Joining Cooperstown includes a ballot vote in which players need 75 percent of the nearly 600 votes cast by qualified members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Related: Cooperstown: My Trip To The Baseball Hall of Fame
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
Photo Credit: Getty
Players Who Should Make Baseball HOF
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Barry Bonds
Pittsburgh/San Francisco - 1986-2007
2014 Status: 36.8% of vote
Does anyone like Barry Bonds? It doesn't matter. He was a bonafide Hall-of-Famer before he was accused of steroids or HGH.
Let's look at the basics:
- 1st all-time HRs - 762
- Record for HRs in a season - 73
- 1st all-time Walks - 2558
- 14x All-Star
- 7x NL MVP
- 12x Silver Slugger
Bonds is literally the most prolific hitter in history -- even when you include Babe Ruth. What kind of "Hall-of-Fame" is it when you don't include the most feared man to ever step in a batter's box?
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John Smoltz
Atlanta (Boston/St. Louis) - 1988-2009
2014 Status: ELECTED (82.9% of vote)
Smoltz has a career 3.33 ERA, a Cy Young, and is the only pitcher in history with 200 wins and 150 saves. The hurler went 15-4 in postseason play, leading Atlanta to five World Series' and the championship in 1995.
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Mark McGwire
Oakland/St. Louis - 1986-2001
2014 Status: 10% of vote
One of my more controversial picks for sure, here's why Big Mac deserves to be in the Hall:
- 12x All-Star
- 1 Gold Glove
- 3x Silver Slugger
- MLB All-Century Team
- Broke Roger Maris' HR record of 62 HRs in a season with 70 in 1998
- 10th all-time in HRs (583)
- That's more career HRs than HOFs Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams.
It's obvious he was one of the best of our generation. He deserves a nod.
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Mike Piazza
Los Angeles Dodgers/New York Mets (Florida/San Diego/Oakland) - 1992-2007
2014 Status: 69.9% of vote
His 427 HRs rank No. 1 for catchers all-time and his career .308 average is better than Hall-of-Famers Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra and Carlton Fisk. Piazza has never been proven to have been on juice. It's a joke he's not in the Hall of Fame.
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Pedro Martinez
Boston/New York Mets (Los Angeles Dodgers/Montreal/Philadelphia) - 1992-2009
2014 Status: ELECTED (91.1.%)
Martinez, who finished with the second highest vote in the class of '15, has three Cy Youngs and over 200 wins. He won the ERA title five times over his career and helped the '04 Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years.
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Randy Johnson
Seattle/Arizona (Montreal/Houston/New York Yankees/San Francisco) - 1988-2009
2014 Status: ELECTED (97.3 % of vote)
This one was easy.
The Unit won five Cy Youngs, had over 300 wins, 4,875 strikeouts (2nd all-time) and a 104.3 career WAR (9th all-time).
The dude is nearly seven-feet tall and threw 100 mph. Absolutely terrifying.
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Roger Clemens
Boston/New York Yankees (Toronto/Houston) - 1984-2007
2014 Status: 37.5% of vote
Did he juice? Probably. He's still not only the best pitcher of our generation, but arguably of all-time.
- 354 wins
- 3.12 career ERA
- The only player to win 7 Cy Youngs
- 11-time All-Star
- 1986 MVP
- 2x Triple Crown winner
- MLB All-Century Team
The Rocket, regardless of his reputation, should be in the Hall.
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Sammy Sosa
Chicago Cubs (Texas/Chicago White Sox/Baltimore) - 1989-2007
2014 Status: 6.6% of vote
Another one of my controversial picks, Slammin' Sammy is 8th all-time in HRs (609). He's also a 7-time All-Star and 6-time Silver Slugger.
Sure, he's one of the most notorious juicers of our era, but he was glorified when he helped bring baseball back during the great home run chase of '98 with McGwire -- now we demonize him for something he was doing that was legal at the time? It's not right. Put Sammy in.
