2025 Hall of Fame Ballot, a breakdown

[@FoolishBailey]

Missed Manny Ramirez, but it's the same outcome as A-Rod: total stagnation. He got exactly 32.5% of the vote two years ago, and exactly 32.5% of the vote last year. No gains to be made and no hope of reaching 75% because of his PED connections.

[@MovingBlanketStudio]

So Manny being erm... A-Rod?

[@matthew01234]

I remember when King Felix *almost* played for the Braves. I was so excited because he dominated in Spring training. Then 2020 happened and his MLB career ended.

[@vojtechnovacek7776]

Hey Bailey, do you think the induction of Dick Allen, who had 1848 hits, by Classic Bsb Era comitee will change the general opinion on players on this ballot that have under 2000 hits or will it make little to no impact?

[@FoolishBailey]

@@vojtechnovacek7776 I don't think so. I don't think the decisions of the Veteran's Committee apply to the Writers' Ballot. VC already put in guys like Oliva and Hodges recently who were below 2k as well.

[@billcook4768]

Because all the folks voted in the past 20 years never did PEDs.

[@skidrat55]

Main channel upload. Nice

[@AndrewJano24]

This is not the main channel

[@rileycarlson193]

@@AndrewJano24oh but it is

[@AndrewJano24]

@@rileycarlson193is foolish baseball not his main channel? That account has 3 times more subs and is where his most iconic videos are

[@AndrewJano24]

@@rileycarlson193and in his account description it say “secondary channel for foolish baseball”

[@mattinm]

@@AndrewJano24Please rewatch 29:00 to understand the joke and move on.

[@pathutchison7688]

You’re exactly the type of person who actually SHOULD have a HOF vote. You won’t leave a guy out because he was rude to you once in 1994.

[@WESsential]

Ichiro is 100% a first ballot HOFer. It's insane that he was able to reach 3000 hits considering how late he debuted in the states.

[@chasebingaman]

Should be. Some racist loser will move goalposts

[@almightysosa3007]

Just as much of a unanimous decision as Mariano.

[@nicholasbustin6266]

The fact that FB can even voice the possibility that he might not be, and stand a decent chance of being right, shows how broken the voting system is.

[@Weaponator18]

No question. By whatever metric you wanna make up, Ichiro is a first ballot hall of famer. Unless you get someone like Dan lebetard who just wants to be a contrarian just because he thinks its funny, he should be a unanimous first ballot.

[@43bg1]

Are there writers who won’t vote for anyone on the first ballot unless they’ve won a World Series?

[@TroysSweetCornhole]

Hey Bailey, want to come to my house? My mom's making Kraft dinner with all the hot dogs cut up

[@MovingBlanketStudio]

4 "T's" within a 5 consecutive letter sequence in your last name is definitely grounds to keep someone out.

[@lionheartzcs2]

Ichiro NOT getting unanimous just seems wrong. Rarely do you see a player so universally loved/respected like Ichiro, its like a crime to not like him.

[@queenautumnween2796]

Here's my thinking on this. Voters are known for purposely not picking a guaranteed hall of famer because "they are already getting in". Rickey Henderson 100% should've been unanimous, wasn't unanimous. Griffey 100% should've been unanimous, wasn't unanimous. I feel like there's gonna be a handful of voters who will decide against voting for ichiro

[@SconnerStudios]

If a writer doesn't vote for him, we should all universally recognize them as a racist. That's the only reason you possibly couldn't like Ichiro. Any writer should feel exclusively shame and nothing else.

[@LukeMalousek]

Someone is going to look at the numbers and say that he's not deserving because of that. (1st ballot at least) But with Ichro you have to factor in how much of an icon he is and how much he grew the game.

[@alexandermammel6127]

Unanimous is seriously overrated. The only reason anyone cares about it now is because Mariano Rivera was somehow the first and only person to get it. Yes it's stupid how people vote, but It doesn't matter what the percentage is, it only matters if you get in. No one talks about how CY YOUNG got in at 76% or Jackie Robinson at 77%. What does matter is when people who should be in get snubbed.

[@cgk1276]

@@SconnerStudiosread the comment above yours and you’ll see a reason people might not vote for him that has 0 to do with race

[@justingerald]

As a Yankee fan and a Black guy who has struggled with depression, I am very happy about CC getting this moment. He is a guy whose struggles were because his father abandoned him and I hope he is able to appreciate all he's accomplished. And Dick Allen got in, which is great. I can't imagine dealing with racism in his era.

[@princejellyfish3945]

Dick Allen’s induction is long overdue. As a phillies fan its gross how they’ve failed to honor him even after all be dealt with

[@AnimeBronx]

huh?

[@ericancion2442]

I agree with what foolish said about the standards for HOFers changing when it comes to counting stats. Because we're realizing the trend started by Felix Hernandez , throwing the ninety miles per hour change ups, throwing a hard off speed and hard fast balls leads to more injuries and that if we're gonna keep inducting pitchers into the hall of fame a lot of them are going to follow the new framework of higher velocity, more strike outs and therefore will most likely have lower counting stats because of frequent injury.

[@warlordofbritannia]

No, King Felix’s career ended prematurely because he tossed 1500 innings by the time he was 26. General idea is correct, you just chose the wrong player to example it.

[@fortynights1513]

Not to mention, pitch counts today are paid more attention to than they were in the 2000’s and earlier. And as such fewer pitchers get the opportunity to go beyond the seventh inning. Therefore their innings and counting stats will inevitably be lower.

[@deathminder9206]

I agree the idea will need to be adjusted but DeGrom for example has been hurt and simply missed too much. He is 36 now and only has had 4 season with even 150 innings pitched. I think you will need to at least hit 2k innings to be considered. Blake Snell is another example, he is good but only over 150 innings twice.

[@sp0rtsba11]

⁠think snell might have a chance just because of the cy young’s. But can see arguments for both sides

[@robertcampbell8070]

Or you could just be a great pitcher like Verlander and toss a bunch of innings with high velocity. The hall is supposed to be for players who were great over all or most of their careers, or at least transcendent over a shorter time frame, not guys that were pretty good for 5 years.

[@ILoveMisty1985]

Congratulations to Dick Allen and Dave Parker who got in off the Veteran's Committee!

[@fortynights1513]

Congrats to them indeed. Among those who were passed over, I’d say Tommy John (who also was the only one to get more than five votes) was the next best player.

[@GoofsTOS]

I would’ve loved to see Vic Harris as well honestly but maybe he will get in at another time

[@CadChamberlain]

Mark Buehrle's hall of fame candidacy is my favorite of any player. Its a great exercise in how voters value peaks vs primes. Buerhle has one of the best primes of any 21st century starting pitcher, but he has maybe 2 seasons I would consider to be 'great.' I personally think the volume and quality he provided is hall of fame worthy though. Dont often see a guy with that kind of prime, even in the era where 200 innings was common.

[@willocueva]

6:33 sorry Bailey but this may be your worst take yet. King Felix doesn’t have “every bit as much the peak” of CC Sabathia. Hernandez’s peak blows CC’s out of the water.

[@SteveWilliams-xg3vd]

Not really a crazy take

[@frankanuzzi9740]

Cc to me isn’t a hof his era way too high

[@SteveWilliams-xg3vd]

@@frankanuzzi9740 he also has 60 career war and was one of the best innings eaters of his day. And he has a cy young along with the counting stats. Era isn't everything

[@Flying_Skier]

somewhat ironically, I think that if Felix had come up a couple years later (age 24 season instead of his age 19 season) and had an otherwise identical career (same seasons, just a couple years older) he'd have a better shot at making the hall

[@warlordofbritannia]

1400 innings through age 25 does that to a pitcher

[@deathminder9206]

Valid point.

[@coburnboeder2320]

Can you rank the 2025 ballot by how cute you think their HOF plaque would be?

[@ByiLHS]

Bailey, honestly your beginning self-deprecation, while I get is a joke, is just wholly untrue man. IMO, you're super deserving of a vote

[@BodatiousStuff]

It’s an annoying joke. The current system is a joke as well but I’m sick of hearing about it.

[@MustardOverlord]

Very surprised you didn't 'vote' for King Felix, if only to keep him around on the ballot. To me, he's the second-best exemplar of what a hall of fame pitcher should look like going forward. Number one being Johan Santana, of course, who I maintain is basically Sandy Koufax.

[@MetFanMac]

Santana was great but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[@CycloneBurnesMusic]

When I think of Adam Jones, I also remember his inside-the-park home run against the Nationals feat. Nyjer Morgan .

[@wildboar1911A1]

when i think of adam jones i think of a silverburst LP

[@Paulburg3r]

John Donaldson editing lol

[@RileyAicher1]

Tough stuff lmao

[@triletto]

a BBWA voter would never have done that

[@BearIslandComics]

Nice to see the main channel getting some attention

[@Zentomo21]

This video was perfectly timed, I was just about to go back and watch some old OOTP episodes!

[@evanperzanowski1413]

Mark "Didn't need a Pitch Clock" Buehrle ⚾️⚾️⚾️ Gotta love it!

[@mightysamurott1679]

I feel like Ken Boyer's candidacy as a whole just flew completely under the radar. Over 60 WAR, MVP, an 8 year peak where he averaged 6 WAR per season, over 2000 hits, 14th all time in 3rd base JAWS only behind hall of famers and should be hall of famer Graig Nettles. That sounds a lot like a hall of fame baseball player to me

[@JohnBtons]

Thanks for the Lou W. Shout out. Love the episode again

[@roopter-8119]

Nice to see some attention to the main channel

[@brianontiveros-kersch2412]

Glad to see a new video on your main channel again!

[@greengiant2732]

When are the Big Boy Baseball Awards for 2024 coming out?

[@B-Ran_the_Man]

Still criminal to this day that Andruw Jones isn't in the hall of fame and may not get in until his 10th year on the ballot.

[@pez_dispensary]

Criminal... like Andruw Jones

[@triletto]

Criminal is a great word to describe it

[@owen______]

His voting trend is on probation

[@ejb5x]

just curious because I've been wondering about it, but if jim edmonds was one and done, what does andruw jones have that makes him more deserving?

[@triletto]

@@ejb5x Edmonds was a good but overrated-at-the-time defensive CF. Andruw Jones is the single greatest outfielder to ever play the sport. Edmonds’ peak and career was more years but he would also miss a month of literally every single season. Edmonds has the longevity advantage in terms of years but not necessarily in terms of games. Edmonds was the better hitter but his hitting counting stats are either only slightly ahead or behind Jones. Edmonds doesn’t have any milestones Jones doesn’t have. Jones has 400 HRs, Edmonds doesn’t. Also just vibes. People immediately glossed over Edmonds because he didn’t have HOF vibes while he was playing. People literally thought they were watching another Willie Mays when Jones was out there. Also, Edmonds shouldn’t have been a one and done, that is crazy

[@mariokart9227]

Another classic for the main channel thank you mr.Bailey

[@tracedykes4411]

Bailey you’re so clutch I needed an hour long video desperately

[@avimisra1312]

Pete Rose was banned for reasons outside of baseball too. The "16 year olds" were too tempting

[@ILoveMisty1985]

Good to see Bailey tackle the Hall of Fame ballot! I'll vote for anybody I think is deserving, whether they're steroid guys or not. My virtual ballot would include Carlos Beltran, Mark Buehrle, Felix Hernandez, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Ichiro, Chase Utley, and for the first time Billy Wagner. Regarding how big of an honor it is to even get on the ballot, I did some research at how many players qualified for the Hall of Fame ballot by playing in parts of ten seasons going back to the first Hall election I followed which was in 1999. Of all 5,495 players that last played between 1993 and 2019, there are 1,276 that played in at least ten seasons to qualify for the Hall of Fame ballot. Of those only 412 made the cut and appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot. And of those 412 only 51 have found their way into the Hall of Fame (which includes the five that got in via a Veteran's Committee).

[@fortynights1513]

For that matter, a majority of those 412 assuredly didn’t make the 5% cut, or fell below it at some point. Guys like Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, in a few years Manny Ramirez and Omar Vizquel and so on who didn’t make it in, but kept breaking 5% till their eligibility ran out aren’t common either.

[@andrewreillyy]

These interview videos with Silly Batgame are really great Bailey. I think you should keep bringing him on as a guest as much as possible!

[@gavingrossman6810]

What I will always love about CC’s career is the reinvention from flamethrower to 5 pitch junk ball lefty

[@MattyIceYT]

I'll make the Zobrist case. He revolutionized the position of the "utility player" and transformed it from a bench player role to a guy who moves around everyday, all while racking up nearly 45 career war. Without him we wouldn't have guys like Chris Taylor, Wilmer Flores, and even Betts moving around and contributing in such a wide range of positions over the last 10 years on such a consistent basis.

[@sunny1992s]

Rizzo, Javi, and Baez get all the love and attention from the 2016 Cubs(and deserved); but Zobrist played a crucial role in that roster. Zobrist basically played every position aside from Pitching cause he was that skilled all around. If Zobrist wasn't caught up in the divorce drama, I would argue his WAR would have been a few points higher.

[@hrr2b239]

@@sunny1992sAs somebody from Chicago, Zo definitely was a guy who got a lot of love here as well, just less of the national media attention compared to the guys you mentioned. Him being Maddon’s darling was something well known from the start of his time here, and his production in the WS that year alone would have been enough to make us never forget his name. And, unfortunately, a few years later the situation with his wife gave us a less fun reason to remember him. Definitely one of my favorite guys on that team and was pleasantly surprised to see the shout out in this video.

[@AICaliceinchains]

@@sunny1992sIt absolutely would have, but unfortunately we can’t count what ifs. Coming from a lifelong cubs fan with family in his hometown lol

[@7varm2]

1:01:39 love the restart

[@louisoddie4667]

been looking forward to this for ages! thanks bailey!

[@master_bdoof200]

Congrats to Dick Allen and Dave Parker, surprised Luis Tiant wasn’t included. Also how is Tommy John’s elbow in the Hall but not himself Ichiro and Wagner i believe are definitely locks for this year. I’m not huge myself on CC but he’s a likely 1st or 2nd ballot guy because i’m not as smart as the baseball writers. My hope is Felix can get in eventually, one of my favorite pitchers growing up but there really needs to be some kind of restructuring of what makes a hall of fame pitcher sooner than later

[@hockeydude6]

Tommy John was the right-handed Jamie Moyer. Why so many baseball fans think he's HOF worthy is baffling to me.

[@frankanuzzi9740]

Cc to me isn’t hof his era is too high

[@fortynights1513]

@@hockeydude6I think that kinda sells him short. If we are going by WAR, Tommy John clears Jamie Moyer by about 12. He also has far more quality starts (431 vs 341). In fact every pitcher with as many quality starts as Tommy John is in Cooperstown except Roger Clemens. Granted Moyer was the better strikeout pitcher (he had more strikeouts in nearly 700 fewer innings). I would agree that both had compiler type careers and were known more for their longevity than their peak. But I think John could be seen as a borderline Hall of Famer whereas Moyer wouldn’t be that caliber of player in my book.

[@rogerj21]

For me to be a HOFer, you gotta absolutely hit some milestone stats...For batters: 2500hits, 5002B, 500HR, 1500RBIs, .300BA, .500SLG, 60WAR (3 at least) & For pitchers: 250Ws, 2500Ks, 3000IPs, 400SVs, > 3.50 ERA, >1.10 WHIP, 50 WAR (at least 3).

[@j_Brew]

Amazing as always. Idk how much you script and reshoot but the flow and editing is very nice.

[@kaleiwahea]

would love to see a Foolish breakdown of what careers of notoriously wasted talents _could have been_ so like felix, maybe do a trout one, im sure there are several players who you could do a projection of what Felix win count would have been if he had been traded to this or that offense, and just do a realistic alternate version. Could be some "hidden" legends on bad teams.

[@jamesonrapp281]

Good idea but provably more of a jolly olive video

[@ahogg5960]

Hidden legends on bad teams? Dave Stieb. The best pitcher of the 1980s stuck on a bad Blue Jays for most of that time.

[@SylviusTheMad]

Ichiro's single-season hit record is notable, but his single-season singles record is absurd. The modern record was 198 singles (set in 1927), and the all time record was 206 (set in 1898). Ichiro hit 225.

[@fortynights1513]

Will we ever see the singles record topped?

[@DonkeyPuncher1976]

Gotta love the only player to be unanimous is a Closer.

[@jroggs85]

To be fair, do bums like Hank Aaron, Randy Johnson, Willie Mays, and Babe Ruth REALLY belong in the Hall of Fame? I need to see a little more than what those losers could manage, personally.

[@YeetLord420]

@@jroggs85worlds worst rage bait, how is bum and Randy Johnson in the same sentence

[@Djdjsosskdndk]

@YeetLord420 you gotta improve your sarcasm detector

[@fortynights1513]

Granted that closer is pretty much universally regarded as the best in the history of the position

[@samogden4265]

really enjoying your main channel

[@thursday13]

feels like it's been years since a video with "a breakdown" in the title was worth a shit. Good job rescuing the brand Bailey

[@vaithless]

man, how is Lou Whitaker still not in the hall.

[@fortynights1513]

Whitaker you could say was initially rejected because his best case may be his sabermetric stats, and in 2001 the more advanced analytics still weren’t well known by the mainstream of baseball writers. And my best guess is that he might be getting overlooked by the committee now because he was a one and done when he came up initially. By contrast, not that Steve Garvey is a Hall of Famer, but I’m sure one of the things that stood out to the committee that put him on the era committee ballot was that he stayed on the ballot long enough for his eligibility to expire.

[@jameskm03]

Like your ballot. Kept Lee watching the whole hr+ for the humor. As a fellow fan of the self deprecating humor and braves fandom will always be a fool for life.

[@DevinMahone-b5m]

ahhh he returns to the main channel

[@spartacus778]

if you don't vote for Ichiro, you should have your voting rights taken away, and then given to Bailey

[@dominicwanzer2057]

Every time I watch CC clinch the WC game for the Brewers I get goosebumps and cry a little bit. Listening to BA call it... "SABATHIA...." and Rock screams "YES.... YES"

[@heyitswesty]

you are my favorite baseball writer. Your ballot is the only one I care about every year.

[@iyelawolf2196]

I am simply glad that Ben Zobrist is on it. He deserves it in a "nobody had ever done that before" way.

[@ohsoedgy6888]

Dick Allen and Dave Parker got in!

[@joeykendrick8754]

I never followed or cared about HOF voting before you started making videos on it, they're very informative

[@Tomilesean]

i so want Ichiro and king Felix get in but sadly probably the king won't get in at least this year

[@jrave5353]

I love when a video drops and you know you’re going to watch it 10+ times

[@Nammm37]

I agree with all of your breakdowns! I also agree with all of your mock votes excepttt Alex Rodriguez. There are too many reasons why I wouldn't vote for him. I wouldn't vote for a 10th candidate. If I really had to, I'd vote for Torii Hunter. Great content Bailey!!

[@hauntedhaunter6148]

Pedroia is the first 2nd baseman to win AL MVP since the 1950s. He had similar if not better numbers than most other HOF 2nd basemen. Dustin Pedroia is a Hall of Famer.

[@hockeydude6]

Totally agree. Lou Whitaker should get in first, but Pedey is at least equal to Bobby Doerr -- and far better than Bill Mazeroski, Red Schoendienst, Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, Luis Aparicio. etc...

[@josephbartels8998]

Welp there goes an hour of my day

[@TheCoolreaper44]

I would only vote for 6 Beltran King Felix Andrew Jones C.C Ichiro Billy Wagner Andy Petite gets in via the veterans committee in 35 years

[@jimlapbap]

As someone who saw Ichiro his rookie year for the BlueWave in 1994 when he broke the Japanese hit total by a wide margin at age 20 (when people stopped pitching to him after that), MLB never got to see how Ichiro was at that level for 7 years in Japan, and with 30 fewer games in Japan, how many more hits he could have gotten in MLB had he been able to move earlier….

[@zackc3767]

Getting to watch Andruw Jones on TBS during his heyday was amazing. If he'd died tragically in 2006 he'd be a first ballot HOF.

[@drolakdum7751]

if you're willing to vote for A-rod, i don't see how you don't also vote for Manny

[@legogandalf5453]

I really hope Felix manages to make it in, but I have to agree that it doesn’t really seem likely. He’s going to be screwed over more by playing for the Mariners than for his longevity though.

[@mistershabba]

Loved CarGo so much, that walk off homer he hit for the cycle was an absolute nuke as well. Fun player to watch in his prime and a very pretty swing.

[@bladestaff46]

I think KZbinrs who do videos of your quality should be full card-carrying members of the BBWAA, it's basically what you do and if anything your videos reach more eyes than most writers do!

[@batteriesfx]

felix having a perfect game as part of his peak will probably put him over the edge in voting. he was legendary in his time

[@bowlingod90]

You are the authority on baseball things and that rules, you’re pretty awesome

[@peterharris6409]

You’re completely right. If CC hadn’t hung tough through the end of his career and had crashed and burned and not lasted quite as long, he doesn’t get to those numbers and might not get in. But he was able to pitch well enough towards the end and it probably gets him in

[@EpicGamer14_]

My mock Ballot: Bobby Abreu Carlos Beltran Mark Buehrle (Added from last year) Felix Hernandez Andruw Jones Andy Pettitte CC Sabathia Ichiro Suzuki Chase Utley Billy Wagner Dustin Pedroia was probably the 11th player for me because I think McCann and Martin have to be voted for together and I already had 9 votes. Manny and A-Rod are different from Pettitte since they were actually suspended. If I had more spots I'd vote for them but I value guys who weren't suspended over them. David Wright and K-Rod were other guys I considered, but ultimately just missed due to the 10 vote maximum.

[@hockeydude6]

Pedroia should get in before Beuhrle and Abreu.

[@bruinstud117]

Just here to comment that the Carlos Beltran slander IS ABSOLUTELY WARRANTED. He is one of the main organizers of the worst cheating scandal in MLB history and should never sniff the hall of fame. If no Bonds then no Altuve, Verlander, and definitely no Beltran. Period.

[@Cream147player]

The steroids era cheating is way way worse and the obvious evidence of this is Barry Bonds’ numbers 2001-2004. These are stupid numbers, so utterly ridiculous that they literally ruin baseball stats in so many ways. All the time you’re searching through stats you constantly bump into Bonds cheated stats leading the way - usually by a huge margin. That doesn’t happen when you look at Houston 2017 stats because the cheating helped them not all that much. This isn’t an argument for Beltran but rather just pointing out that Bonds brought the sport into disrepute in a way that the game still hasn’t recovered from and as such his cheating is at a whole different level. Altuve didn’t participate in the cheating. The worst he could be accused of is knowing about it and not reporting it - which whilst bad, is by far less bad again than an active participant (how many players in Altuve’s position would have reported it - I’ll guess hardly any). So for me Altuve is an obvious pick, Verlander is fine, Beltran is a question mark, and Bonds is a firm no.

[@bruinstud117]

@@Cream147player I really disagree with the steroid take. Steroids made great players awesome and good players great, but they still had to play the game. The Astros literally knew what pitch was coming! That’s way easier to take advantage of than just being “stronger”. Altuve DID cheat. I don’t care about some Astro fan’s charting or your favorite KZbinr’s opinion. He was a leader the team. He was the MVP of the team. He knew about the whole thing. He did nothing about it. Same goes for Verlander.

[@Weaponator18]

@@Cream147player Except Altuve objectively did participate in the cheating though. Granted, it was at a much lower clip than the rest of the 2017 Astros on average; but the video/sabermetrics of him using the system does exist. The question is does this disqualify him? I say no, because baseball's response was so pathetic that I'm more mad at that than what Altuve did. Plus, I'm a 'let all the steroids guys in because everyone was that was the playing field at the time' guy, so I gotta be consistent. But to say Altuve didn't cheat is an outright lie.

[@SconnerStudios]

No, but his role in the scandal has created a just punishment. He WAS a first ballot HOF'er, but now has to wait a while. But he never did steroids in the steroid era, which is a much bigger crime. And even though cheating is wrong period, it doesn't even take into account that the 2017 Astros probably did worse off with that scheme.

[@thepresidenthatesme5045]

then no CC sabathia smh

[@lilflo36]

As a Cubs fan I'm just glad I got to see Zo's magic in the 2016 playoffs and I'm glad he's here. Maybe not a HOF'er but definitely a bright spot for Cubs (and even Royals) fans. I'll say the same when time comes for Heyward. HOF...no probably not, but that speech was everything the Cubs needed to get over the curse

[@konfety_yf]

i am so excited for the ben zobrist love. native flordian and he was my all time favorite player ever since he came to my school in the middle of nowhere and signed a lot of stuff for me. his walk up songs were his wife's songs (she was/is a singer). just a really honest down to earth nice dude, a really solid utility player, and he holds one of the greatest umpire strike zone fails of all time

[@BearIslandComics]

I’ve been a big baseball fan for 45 years and I had never heard of Brian McCann until today.

[@benjaminwhodge]

Cleared out my schedule just for this

[@BrokenGoldfishFilms]

“I’m a pathetic worm” - Foolish Bailey / for real be a nice conversation to have in baseball media for higher quality baseball content creators to have a vote guys like Foolish Bailey and Jon Bois need to exist

[@danlowe]

The real baseball writers don't even need baseball to come up with their narratives

[@daltonfarris]

Wagner, andruw jones, arod, manny ramirez, carlos beltran, and ichiro, petite are all hall of famers. And id vote for k rod, utley, tulo, or mccan to stay on the ballot all though matt holliday and lance berkman were better than basically everyone on this list aside from the definitive hall of famers and they went 1 and done.

[@michaelchen1838]

CC hanging on after sucking for the last 7 years of his career takes away HOF from me. If he didn’t play for the Yankees and put those stats up in Cleveland his whole career. He wouldn’t be in 1st ballot or at all

[@frankanuzzi9740]

Ty cc to me is not a hof his era way too high

[@justinporter7818]

If ichiro isn’t unanimous strip the voting credentials from those writers

[@CadChamberlain]

As my personal rule of thumb, if you have 8+ years of great baseball, you should be in the hall of fame. King Felix has about 9 straight years of 4+ bWAR.

[@ziggmiceter]

I think that Jones would be a hall of famer if it weren't for the dv arrest, because at the very least many people that would be outspoken about getting him in are probably not speaking about it because of that. I certainly would be an advocate for him if it weren't for that.

[@warlordofbritannia]

Pedroia is a solid lower-tier Hall of Famer. Same career as Bobby Doerr, less power but more contact.

[@LukeMalousek]

Ichro is a no doubt hall of famer. Is he overrated compared to his numbers? yes, but his impact he had on the game, expansion into new markets, and coming over at 27 should all be considered when talking about an icon. But will not be 100% due to the strictly number weirdos.

[@TheDudeSmashTrash]

finally we get an analyst who's looking at the IMPORTANT things like the number of T's in Andy Pettitte's name

[@FoxxofNod]

Hernandez not getting in on the first round would bring the entire notion of a baseball hall of fame into disrepute. He pitched a perfect game, A PERFECT GAME! What more could he do? Pitch nine consecutive immaculate innings? The hall is for the greatest to ever do it and a perfect game is the greatest it could ever be done.

[@Feanor026]

Ichiro started at 27 y/o and still got 3000+ hits. ROY-MVP rookie season. 10 first years in MLB with EACH years having: A Gold Glove, a Silver bat with 200H+, and an ALG starter appearance (also hit the 1st and only insidethepark HR (2007) and set the MLB HIT record in 1 season in 2004. Also he won the World Cup twice and he is still playing at 51 in Japan looking in better shape than some currents pro (Yeah I know the last 2 facts don't count) and of course, never cheat in any way. It would be awesome and well deserved if he becomes the 1st unanimous position player included. So glad to have witnessed his last MLB game in Tokyo in 2019.

[@fortynights1513]

There have been other inside the park homers; but no others in the All Star game.

[@Feanor026]

Yes that's what I meant, sorry if it wasn't clear English is not my 1st language.

[@fortynights1513]

@@Feanor026All good

[@foundthingsifound]

The Andy Pettitte (should be Pettite) T analysis just won you a fan for life jajajaja

[@coolj9496]

To me Ichiro has always been one of the most iconic MLB players. I think it's a travesty if he is not a unanimous decision. Even as a kid he's one of the players I was always excited to see come to town for a game

[@hockeydude6]

Dustin Pedroia and Bobby Doerr are close comps - which is especially impressive given Manny Machado literally kneecapped Pedey's career. Too many people are going to assume that he didn't play long enough to be a HOFer... but a lot of second baseman have been elected for less.

[@seanwinter4784]

Thanks, I needed some baseball content, really enjoyed this. Ichiro should be unanimous

[@OmegaTyrant]

The whole "2000 hits rule" gets hyped up by people as more meaningful than it actually is. The reason why the writers haven't inducted anyone with under 2000 hits since Ralph Kiner is simply because until very recently (with the deemphasizing of batting average and greater emphasis on walks + HRs), it was very rare for a player to put up a legitimate hall of fame career without sticking around long enough to accumulate 2000 hits, rather than the writers making a conscious decision to automatically deny anyone with less than 2000 hits (I can't even recall seeing a writer use the lack of 2000 hits as their reasoning for not voting for someone). Looking at the list of eligible players with 60+ rWAR (or catchers with 50+) that have less than 2000 hits and aren't in the HOF: *Bobby Grich - 71.1 rWAR/1833 hits: Grich in general was a player that was grossly underrated in his day, being a well-rounded second baseman that walked a lot and didn't have a flashy BA, with him only getting MVP votes in five seasons and never finishing higher than 8th (altogether having a paltry .44 MVP Share that's 553rd all-time). Another 200 hits wouldn't have made a difference, Grich simply played 40 years too early and had no hope with the HOF electorate of the 90s. *Mark McGwire - 62.1 rWAR/1622 hits: McGwire was denied purely because of steroids, otherwise he would have shattered the supposed 2000 hits barrier over a decade ago. *Sal Bando - 61.5 rWAR/1790 hits: Like Grich, a well-rounded third baseman that walked a lot with a mediocre BA, one of the most criminally underrated archtype of players before the sabermetric era. Unlike Grich he did fare a lot better in MVP voting, including once finishing runnerup and has three top five finishes, but altogether his MVP Share comes out to 1.37 (198th all time), so the writers of his time never thought especially highly of him and another 200ish hits wouldn't have made a difference either to his HOF chances. *Jim Edmonds - 60.4 rWAR/1949 hits: While Edmonds was always thought of as a very good player, he was never really thought of as one of the absolute best in the game, with him getting MVP votes in only six seasons and only twice finishing top 5 or even top 10, with a career MVP Share of 0.90 (320th all time). Edmonds also played during the Steroid Era, so his 393 career HRs wasn't seen as impressive as it would have been in prior eras. Most importantly though, Edmonds simply debuted on the HOF ballot a few years too early, debuting in the peak of the 2010s ballot logjman, where on his debut ballot Edmonds didn't even crack the top 10 in JAWS, while the ballot had 11 HOFers on it (and soon to be 12 once Wagner is voted in), as well as the trio of Bonds/Clemens/Schilling, Sheffield, Sosa, Kent, and McGwire; any voter would have a very hard time justifying voting for Edmonds over 10 other players on that ballot, and so indeed very few did. If Edmonds debuted a few years later where the ballot would have been less horrifically stacked and sabermetrics would have gotten a larger foothold among the electorate, Edmonds certainly would have survived and likely gain momentum from there with the other sabermetric darlings. *Andruw Jones - 62.7 rWAR/1933 hits: Jones is basically a shoo-in at this point and is set to break the 2000 hits barrier (his stalling this past year was really due to the ballot getting a lot more loaded and Jones not being urgent yet as he still has a couple more years), but even before, his slow start on the HOF ballot and still not being in yet has a lot more to do with his mediocre BA, 434 HRs being devalued in the Steroid Era, the defensive metrics that contribute a big bulk of his value being treated with more skepticism even by sabermetric nerds (but especially by traditional voters), and, just like the other previous players, never actually being thought of by the writers as a best-in-the-game player even in his prime (only five seasons with MVP votes, with a runner-up and one other season where he broke top 10, for a MVP Share of 1.10 that ranks 254th). *Chase Utley - 64.5 rWAR/1885 hits: Well-rounded second baseman that walked a lot and lack a flashy BA that was underrated when he played, never getting anywhere remotely near the MVP votes he deserved... wait haven't we heard this already? Yeah Utley is as pure a sabermetric case there is, and the fact he debuted stronger than all the other big sabermetric darlings that recently got in or are on pace to soon, bodes very well for his eventual induction. ...And that's it, that's the entire list, just six players with a strong HOF argument and under 2000 hits, only two of which played before the 90s. If you want to knock it down to 55 rWAR (45 for catchers) and under 2000 hits, that adds Dick Allen (who just got in, and wasn't already in before for the reasons you laid out), Bobby Bonds (yet another player criminally underrated in his day for being well-rounded with a mediocre BA), Robin Ventura (a third baseman who derives a large chunk of value from his defense and that even the most hardcore sabermetric nerds wouldn't vote for), Jim Wynn (corner outfielder with a .250 BA and under 300 HRs that only got MVP votes in three seasons), Chet Lemon (well-rounded center fielder that never got a single MVP vote), Wally Schang (pre-integration catcher), Gene Tenace (a catcher that hit for a low BA and walked a ton, of course he was underrated like hell when he played in the 70s), and Thurman Munson (a catcher that had his career cut short by death). With this list consisting mostly of guys with skillsets that were severely undervalued before the rise of sabermetrics and only one player that would have been a clear HOFer performance-wise in any era (and was denied for non-performance reasons), I think it's clear that the "no players with less 2000 hits" thing is more a peculiar coincidence rather than an actual barrier to HOF induction (and it'll be moot within a decade anyway after Jones, Utley, and Posey are in the HOF).

[@fortynights1513]

Could it be argued that the standards we are accustomed to seeing were a product of the Hall of Fame voters historically going off of longevity, and in many cases players (especially pitchers) now are unlikely to get the opportunity to play as much for as long? And could it be said that with the more detailed stats fans and writers have now, we can more easily assess peaks than we could in the first several decades of Hall of Fame voting?

[@TheTEN24]

I don’t care how many times I need to say it and that I’m biased. David Wright needs to stay on this ballot and clear the 5% mark for as long as possible he was a sure fire HoFer before his career ending injury. I hope Wagner gets in this year he deserves it. Also what’s the difference between kinsler and utley

[@デンジュモク-c4i]

Ichiro recorded his first MLB hit at 27, which is by far the oldest first hit by a member of the 3,000 hit club, the next oldest is Wade Boggs's age 23. Despite a quite late debut by the type of player whose biggest weapons are speed and defense, he earned total 60 war. Also he recorded the second highest total war in the AL in the 2000s after A-Rod, and of course he has no suspicion of steroids. Is there any reason not to vote for him? Also this may not directly relate to his MLB career, but I should mention that he is a two-time WBC gold medalist.

[@notrllycomedy]

Not that anyone in the world asked, but as a dry cleaner for the baseball writers association, here are my picks: Beltran- Top 25 player for over a decade. 1st ballot level counting stats. Andruw Jones- literal copy/paste of what Bailey said about him Pettitte/Pedroia- depends on how good i think Pettitte would be without roids, I’ll lean Andy despite his dumb name Manny Ramirez- if you’re a no-brainer first ballot talent/career, you would’ve made it without roids A-rod- I hate him. Top 3 infielder ever. K-Rod- Single season saves record, sub 3 era, and top 10 in saves is no joke. CC sabathia- he’s so iconic i forgot cliff lee was also on those cleveland teams Chase Utley- maybe an odd pick, but it would be a crime if no player in those late-2000s phillies lineups made the hall. Ichiro- Yankees legend Billy Wagner- top 10 reliever ever should be a no-brainer.

[@radioplug14]

My issue with King Felix is that he pitched in what's considered the most pitcher friendly park. Almost every year he pitched, Seattle was in the bottom 5/6 for park factor. So I'd even argue that his dropoff was even more severe. And I have trouble basing a candidacy on peaks when you have Brandon Webb and Johan Santana who both fell off first ballot who both had better peaks than King Felix. (Btw I don't think Webb is a HoF, but his peak was undeniably great)

[@kstyle1343]

If someone asked me where I thought Russell martin ranked all time in catcher fwar I would’ve guessed 100. Genuinely shocked him and McCann are this high

[@johndotcue]

Ichiro might not get all the votes but I am sure he’ll be a first balloter. His influence in Japanese baseball also cannot be underestimated.

[@alexhussey1308]

As a lifelong Ichiro fan, I can recognize he doesn’t have a great sabermetric profile and he may be slightly overrated looking at the stats at face value. Obviously there’s the years in Japan but he played until he was into his 40s, and while the stat accumulation from the longevity likely helps his HOF case it definitely detracts from his efficiency metrics. Also Felix Hernandez absolutely needs to be a hall of famer. Not even a Mariners fan I just grew up with these guys

[@filipepetitemberte3229]

Ain't no way Foolish is almost 30, wanting fpr the PED explanation 😅

[@donweatherwax9318]

00:01:34-00:01:39 Gosh . . . that de-escalated quickly

[@jonathanemontgomery]

Tyler Pitzer not eligible yet, I guess…