Gary Sheffield, Jr
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The nerds responsible for writing about Major League Baseball somehow left the 2020 class HOF-less. Now the 2021 class approaches, and it’s a monstrous group. Unfortunately for us, these players don’t make this process any easier.
2021 HOF
- Alex Rodriguez
- David Ortiz
- Jimmy Rollins
- Mark Teixeira
- Jake Peavy
- Carl Crawford
- Coco Crisp
- Justin Morneau
- Joe Nathan
Can we start talking about the Class of 2022 Hall of Fame ballot yet?
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) January 26, 2021
Will the debuts of Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz impact the chances of fellow PED-connected stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens? It will be Year 10 — the last shot — for BB/RC.
https://t.co/AaljE5jxkV pic.twitter.com/BAPT5czBqb
Before you hit the comment section, yes, I know A-Rod, J-Roll, and Big Papi shouldn’t be on the same list with the rest, but that shows how great the upcoming class really is.
For context of how troublesome this is–LaTroy Hawkins (who plenty baseball fans would agree is not a HOFer) received two votes this year. Part of the criteria for HOF voters is that they only get 10 “yes” votes per ballot, and this upcoming class is doing nothing but spreading the votes around.
The likely result? Hall of Fame worthy talent left at the alter in Cooperstown. If we’re being honest, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, David Ortiz, Gary Sheffield, Jimmy Rollins, Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling, Andrew Jones, Sammy Sosa, and Billy Wagner are all HOFers, but it won’t happen.
It’s a shame to the game of baseball that we can’t celebrate a strong upcoming class. If we really want to fix the Baseball Hall of Fame and make it worth visiting for our grandchildren, they probably should lift that 10-vote limit so we can enjoy the best this game had to offer.
(Yep, even Pete Rose).
I’d place these guys in, only leaving out Andrew Jones, Jimmy Rollins and Billy Wagner from your list:
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, David Ortiz, Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa.
I personally do not consider the Character Clause, just baseball production. Rollins won an MVP and a WS, so he’s a grey area for me.
David Ortiz is a lock.
Before I say any of them are a lock…what are their politics? Since that seems to be the standard now if you were good at the game of baseball or not.
Now that I’m done with that I’d agree Big Papi is a lock.
If bud selig is in for being a commissioner over the steroid era and benefitting from steroid players, all the players who may have juiced should be in.