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Alex Rodriguez was the first overall pick in the 1993 MLB Draft. He went on to have 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, three MVP awards and a World Series ring.
He also was found to have been a PED user and served a suspension of a full season in 2014, and didn’t handle that well at all. On his return, though, he seemed somewhat contrite and remorseful and since his retirement he’s gone on to become a commentator on Fox and ESPN baseball telecasts, where he’s been given some praise (more for his studio work than on game brodcasts, though).
With that complicated legacy, is A-Rod a Hall of Famer? From the statistical record you’d have to say “Yes,” but that’s not all the voters will consider. This will be the first of 10 possible years for A-Rod on the ballot.
Former Cubs star Sammy Sosa, on the other hand, will be in his 10th and final year on the HoF ballot. His statistics, you’d think, would merit induction, but he received just 17 percent of the vote in 2021, and that was his highest vote total in nine years on the ballot.
Also in their final years on the BBWAA Hall ballot are Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Their association with PEDs is well known and it’s not my purpose to rehash that here. Both came fairly close to induction last year — Bonds got 61.8 percent of the vote and Clemens 61.6.
No one was elected from the writers’ ballot last year and Curt Schilling received the highest percentage of anyone on that ballot, 71.6 percent. It takes 75 percent to be elected and no one has ever gotten to that high a percentage without eventually being inducted. Schilling, though, asked the Hall of Fame to take him off the ballot after last year, a request that was denied by the Hall’s board.
A reminder here that some things that Schilling has done outside of baseball have had a political nature and that political commentary is not permitted here. Any political comments related to Schilling will be removed without notice.
Here is the complete 30-player Hall of Fame ballot:
As just announced by @baseballhall, here's the 2022 @officialBBWAA Hall of Fame ballot: pic.twitter.com/tesaStndwI
— Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs) November 22, 2021
Among the newcomers to this year’s ballot, I don’t see anyone other than A-Rod and David Ortiz who rate induction into the Hall. And if a writer votes for Bonds or Clemens, I don’t see how that writer shouldn’t also vote for Sosa.
You can read short bios of all the candidates here. Results of the BBWAA vote, which must be in by December 31, will be announced Tuesday, January 25. Now it’s your turn.