My 2019 Hall of Fame Ballot

Whether it's the ranking of sets released this year or my card of the year post that I put out earlier this week, the end of the calendar year always entails certain special posts that I always have a fun time writing. This year, I'm writing one of them, my 2019 Hall of Fame ballot, a little bit early.

Unfortunately, I don't actually have a say in who's to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame this January, so this ballot merely acts as what my choices would look like if I was on the committee. 

After I predicted last years' inductees on my 2018 ballot, there's a little bit of added pressure to keep up this streak.

This time around, I don't expect my ballot to be 100% correct simply because some of my choices are a little bit unexpected. The group includes 3 players whose first year it is on the ballot and 2 guys on their last year. 

The chances of my ballot being completely accurate are slim but at the end of the day, the 5 players I'm about to talk about belong in Cooperstown, at least in my book.

Considering he had received just 27% of the votes 3 years ago, Edgar Martinez came a long way to reach 70% in 2018. Now, all he needs is that final push to make the Hall of Fame on his final year on the ballot just like Tim Raines did in 2017. His stats, specifically his career .312 average and 2,247 hits speak for themselves as Martinez was one of the most consistent hitters of the 90s. 

While he was never able to capture AL MVP, he was a 7-time All-Star who drove in 100+ runs 6 times in his career. He's made far largest jumps on the ballot than 5% over the last few years, giving him a fairly high likelihood of being elected to Cooperstown.

Frankly, it's pretty much certain that Fred McGriff won't be elected to the Hall of Fame on his 10th and final ballot due to falling just shy of 25% of the votes needed to become a Hall of Fame inductee. It's unfortunate because McGriff ended his career with 493 home runs, the same total as Lou Gehrig, 1,500 RBI, and 10 hits shy of 2,500. 

What I think McGriff lacked throughout his career, more than anything, was the ability to be a true impact player. While he was a phenomenal hitter, he never really got the chance to make a huge splash in the Baseball world and was instead overshadowed by other hitters of the 90s. As a result, he became one of the most underrated players in Baseball history.

Easily the greatest Colorado Rockie to ever play the game, Todd Helton excelled as a power hitter in one of the toughest ballparks to hit a home run in all of the MLB. In addition to sporting a career .316 batting average, Helton put together a stellar resumé over the course of his 17-year career, including over 350 home runs, 2,500 hits, and 1,400 RBI.

However, Helton's ability went beyond career stats as he was the winner of the 2000 NL Batting Title with a .372 average and was the winner of 3 Gold Glove awards for his stupendous defense at first base. Even as he grew older, Helton maintained his status as a consistent and well-respected player, traits that should lead him to the Hall of Fame.

With 2019 being his first year on the ballot, the late Roy Halladay is likely to be one of the most debated players on whether he belongs in Cooperstown or not. Despite playing a semi-short career of 16 years which is still pretty impressive, Halladay captured 2 Cy Young awards, 1 in each league, and struck out over 2,000 batters in around 2,700 innings pitched.

Halladay completed 67 starts throughout his career, including 20 shutouts, and was a major factor behind the 2009 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Though he struggled in his last 2 seasons, they do not represent who he was as a player. His career 3.38 ERA showcases Halladay as one of the best pitchers of the century, someone whose plaque deserves to hang in Cooperstown.

RIP Doc.

Even though this years' class is being called one of the weaker Hall of Fame classes that we've seen over the last few years, I think there's one player we can all agree deserves Baseball's highest honor. Whether you think relief pitchers belong in Cooperstown or not, Mariano Rivera was more than just your average closer, way more, in fact.

His 652 saves were rivaled only by 2018 inductee Trevor Hoffman, and he still finished his career with 50 saves fewer than Mariano. He remains one of the most consistent players we ever saw play the game of Baseball, even if his role was different than that of a position player. A 2.21 ERA, 1,173 strikeouts, and his 13-time All-Star appearances are just some of his credentials. Believe me, I could go on.

While I felt pretty confident that Thome, Guerrero, Hoffman, and Jones would all be inducted this year, I'm not too certain about all my choices for 2019. However, with the evidence presented above, each player is capable of making a strong case for the Hall of Fame.