Baseball Hall Of Fame - 2009 Edition

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12/31/2008 4:59 pm

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It's time for my sixth annual "If I had a Hall Of Fame Vote" post.

My previous ballots:
2004 ballot
2005 ballot
2006 ballot
2007 ballot
2008 ballot

A few reminders:
1. Voters can vote for up to ten players.
2. I'm a "Big Hall" guy so I voted for ten.
3. I reserve the right not to have reasonable explanations for any or all of my selections.
4. To be inducted, players need to be named on 75% of the ballots cast.
5. The real results will be announced on January 12th.

Eligible Players:

Holdovers from last year: Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Andre Dawson, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Jim Rice, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell

First-timers: Jay Bell, David Cone, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Rickey Henderson, Jesse Orosco, Dan Plesac, Greg Vaughn, Mo Vaughn, Matt Williams

Go to Baseball Reference.com for player stats.

My Ballot:

Bert Blyleven - Eligible since 1998: 6th time on my ballot ('04-'09)
Andre Dawson - Eligible since 2002: 6th time on my ballot ('04-'09)
Rickey Henderson - Eligible since 2009: 1st time on my ballot ('09)
Tommy John - Eligible since 1995: 3rd time on my ballot ('06,'08,'09)
Mark McGwire - Eligible since 2007: 3rd time on my ballot ('07-'09)
Jack Morris - Eligible since 2000: 6th time on my ballot ('04-'09)
Dale Murphy - Eligible since 1999: 2nd time on my ballot ('08,'09)
Tim Raines - Eligible since 2008: 2nd time on my ballot ('08,'09)
Jim Rice - Eligible since 1995: 6th time on my ballot ('04-'09)
Alan Trammell - Eligible since 2002: 6th time on my ballot ('04-'09)

Dropped from last years ballot:
Rich "Goose" Gossage (elected) ('04-'08)

Added from last year:
Rickey Henderson (newly eligible)

Eligible, and voted for in the past, but not this year:
Lee Smith ('06,'07)

	Alex - You've got to trust your instinct, and let go of regret 01/01/2009 @ 01:59:15 PM
Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven, Jack Morris, Tim Raines, Mark McGwire, Alan Trammell, Rickey Henderson, David Cone		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Jon - infinity + 1 posts 01/03/2009 @ 05:57:06 AM
I wouldn't put him in the Hall of Fame, but if I'm not mistaken, I think Mark Grace actually had more hits during the '90s than any other player. Kind of strange huh? It's one of those stats though, where it's because his prime happened to line up well with the years chosen. And those years aren't any more special than any other ten year period, except we like round numbers and things. But still, it's kind of a cool fact, and still an impressive achievement.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Alex - 3619 Posts 01/04/2009 @ 11:11:07 AM
I didn't go back and reevaluate anyone that I didn't have on my list last year, but of the other newly eligibles not on my list, Grace was the most borderline one for me.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Matt - Washington Bureau Chief 01/12/2009 @ 03:49:12 AM
Results will be released today at 12:30 pm central time. Watch for yourself, if you are so inclined, at MLB.com or on the MLB Network. It looks like Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice should both make it in, with Blyleven and Dawson getting close but probably falling short. If either or both of them get around 70% this time, it will be a good bet that they will get in either next year or the year after, as I believe the next two ballots are relatively weak.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Alex - But let history remember, that as free men, we chose to make it so! 01/24/2009 @ 07:42:38 PM
results Player Votes 2009 % of Vote 2008 % of Vote Rickey Henderson 511 94.8% 1st year Jim Rice 412 76.4% 72.2% Less than 75% of vote, but will be on next year's ballot. Andre Dawson 361 67.0% 65.9% Bert Blyleven 338 62.7% 61.9% Lee Smith 240 44.5% 43.3% Jack Morris 237 44.0% 42.9% Tommy John (final ballot) 171 31.7% 29.1% Tim Raines 122 22.6% 24.3% Mark McGwire 118 21.9% 23.6% Alan Trammell 94 17.4% 18.2% Dave Parker 81 15.0% 15.1% Don Mattingly 64 11.9% 15.8% Dale Murphy 62 11.5% 13.8% Harold Baines 32 5.9% 5.2% Less than 5%, will not be on next year's ballot Mark Grace 22 4.1% 1st year David Cone 21 3.9% 1st year Matt Williams 7 1.3% 1st year Mo Vaughn 6 1.1% 1st year Jay Bell 2 0.4% 1st year Jesse Orosco 1 0.2% 1st year Ron Gant 0 0% 1st year Greg Vaughn 0 0% 1st year Dan Plesac 0 0% 1st year		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Alex - 3619 Posts 01/24/2009 @ 07:47:04 PM
David Cone got robbed. This voting process is 8 billion times lamer than the BCS. http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/coneda01.shtml		Rate this comment Yours: Total: Rated 1 times.

	Scott - On your mark...get set...Terrible! 01/25/2009 @ 07:36:21 PM
Is there any voting system that people won't complain about?		Rate this comment Yours: Total: Rated 1 times.

	Alex - Refactor Mercilessly 01/25/2009 @ 10:22:27 PM
I'm actually pretty fine with the BCS. And really, baseball is the most numbers oriented sport, so having some sort of numerical analysis component would make total sense. Still leave it up to the voters to make the final call, but somehow force them to realize and understand players' accomplishments beyond what the writers happen to remember about certain guys.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.

	Carlos44ec - "Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else." 01/27/2009 @ 08:09:43 AM
Scott Wrote - 01/25/2009 @ 07:36:21 PM Is there any voting system that people won't complain about? As long as voting privileges are guaranteed, no- there will not be a vote that goes by without the public wimpering about it.		Rate this comment Yours: Rated 0 times.