Marc Narducci spent 37 years covering all sports for The Philadelphia Inquirer before retiring in July 2021. He covered everything from high school sports to the Phillies winning the World Series and the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. A lifelong southern New Jersey resident, he remains a freelance writer and broadcaster. Once again, Marc reached out to see if MLB Trade Rumors would be interested in publishing his Hall of Fame ballot. I am happy to do it and hope it can be an interesting topic of debate for our readers. Here’s Marc…
Each year when we turn in our ballot, we are asked if we wish to make our votes public 14 days after the results are announced. Naturally, if this story appears, you know the answer.
One thing that you won’t see here is criticizing another person’s ballot. There are so many different ways to tackle this assignment.
The other thing is that in most cases, I don’t like putting why I didn’t vote for somebody, unless they are players such as Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, who have failed tests for steroids.
The other person I am not voting for that needs to be mentioned is Carlos Beltran, who is worthy of induction with his performance, but was the mastermind of the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, which altered the perception of the World Series champions. His role was so huge that it cost him a managerial job.
Last year Beltran came the closest of those not elected by receiving 70.3% of the votes and he’ll likely get the 75% needed this year. He had a great career.
The argument against my stance on players such as Ramirez, Rodriguez and Beltran is that they were some of the best players and deserve a place in Cooperstown.
Again, I can respect that opinion, while not voting for those players.
One other thing – I won’t have a very big ballot but also won’t put why certain players other than the ones already mentioned aren’t on it. When doing that, it denigrates the great career that a player enjoyed. All these players on the ballot were great and there is no need to tear them down.
One other thing is that it’s the belief of this reporter that players should be judged by the position they play. The criteria for second basemen, is different than third basemen, etc.
That said, here is my ballot, which consists of just two players.
The holdovers
Nobody from the Phillies 2008 World Series champion team has made it to the Hall of Fame. Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins (now in his fifth year on the ballot) and Cole Hamels (now in his first season of eligibility) all had great careers.
Utley led that World Series team with a bWAR of 9.0.
He was a six-time all-star. The knock on him is that he didn’t produce enough, but at his peak, Utley was among the best players in baseball.
Utley, had a six-year stretch, where his bWAR average was 7.3. During those six years from 2005-2010, his slash line was .298/.388/.523 with an OPS+ of 133. He averaged 27.0 home runs, 95.3 RBI and 104.7 runs scored.
His career 64.6 career bWAR is 15th all-time among all second basemen. Among those 15 players, he had the fewest plate appearances (7,863) as injuries hampered him during the latter part of his career, although he still continued to produce, just not at the rate he did during the above-mentioned six-year period. He is 10th among all second basemen in wins above average (41.0).
His 259 career home runs rank seventh among all second baseman, six who have been elected to the Hall of Fame. There are just 11 Hall of Fame second baseman who produced a better OPS+ than Utley’s 117.
His career slash line was .275/.358/.465. That, along with his power numbers, are very good for second basemen. He was in the top 10 of MVP voting three times.
This is Utley’s third year on the ballot. He received 28.8% of the vote his first year and 39.8% last year. He still has a long way to go, but is moving in a positive direction.
Also in his third year on the ballot, Wright received just 8.1% of the vote a year ago. Injuries curtailed what had been an excellent career.
As a comparison, two years ago, Scott Rolen got my vote, and he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Wright was, in my opinion, certainly comparable to Rolen. Both earned seven All-Star appearances. Rolen was the better fielder, but Wright did win two Gold Gloves. Wright was a more consistent offensive player.
The reason Wright got this vote is that like Utley, he had a really strong peak. For Wright, that lasted nine years from 2005-2013. During that time his slash line was .302/.384/.505. He averaged 23.1 home runs and 92.9 RBI, 90.2 runs scored and 19.7 stolen bases. His OPS+ was 138.
After that 2013 season, which he played at the age of 30, Wright was never the same due to injury.
For his career, Wright hit .296/.376/491 with 242 home runs and 970 RBI with a 133 OPS+. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times.
During his time, Wright was among the best players in baseball and while he faces an uphill battle for election, he will continue to get this vote.
This year’s players
Nobody got my vote from this year’s first-year eligible players. This year’s first-year eligible players were Ryan Braun, Shin-Soo Choo, Edwin Encarnación, Gio González, Alex Gordon, Cole Hamels, Matt Kemp, Howie Kendrick, Nick Markakis, Daniel Murphy, Hunter Pence and Rick Porcello.
Again, all were great players just to get on the ballot, but not enough to receive this vote.
And finally
The first-time players on next year’s ballot are: Jake Arrieta, Jay Bruce, Asdrubal Cabrera, Starlin Castro, Wade Davis, Dexter Fowler, Todd Frazier, Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ, Scott Kazmir, Jon Lester, Andrew Miller, Mitch Moreland, Buster Posey, Ervin Santana, Kyle Seager, Joakim Soria, Ryan Zimmerman, Jordan Zimmermann.
HOF sucks
The Hall does suck, but the museum itself is really cool.
The museum is full of stuff from players not in the HOF…. Rose, Bonds, Schilling, etc… all have their junk in the museum
You think? I’ve been there and was disappointed in the lack of memorabilia they have, its mostly just plaques. If you didn’t know the Hall was there you would drive right by it…It was definitely cool but I wouldn’t go out of the way to see it again.
You obviously went to the wrong building. It’s 3 floors of memorabilia and one hall of plaques
So your vote next year is Utley, Wright, and Posey then?
I don’t get why people think Posey is a lock. The guy only had 1500 career hits. His closest career comp is Terry Steinbach. A good player, but I don’t anyone is trying to get him in the HOF. And the WS titles is a team thing, not an individual thing. Unless you are Yogi Berra and have 10 or something, it is all luck of where you got drafted.
Bill Freehan- 1591 hits, 200 homers, 758 RBIs, .262 BA
Posey – 1500 hits, 158 homers, 729 RBIs, .302
And Freehan gets no consideration.
Maybe he should. But here’s some other stats you can consider:
Freehan’s career Fangraphs WAR (superior to BR for hitters imo) is 44.8. A great career, maybe underrated thanks to how hard it is to quantify catcher defense. Let’s give him a bump and say 50.
Posey on the other hand has 57.9, almost exactly 13 extra wins, and VERY close to the 60 WAR threshold that launches most serious HOF discussions. Give him the same bump as Freehan and he’s at 63.1. This is also with fewer PAs than Freehan had.
And Freehan played at a time when offensive numbers were really low.
Joe Mauer is a better comp, and he’s in.
Posey is if mauer played longer and also had 3 rings, posey is a slam dunk first ballot
Though I do understand why some don’t vote for cheaters. I personally support cheaters in the HOF because I don’t believe the HOF voters should be police of the game.
If cheaters aren’t allowed, why is Bud Selig the biggest beneficiary to the steroid era but also in the hall of fame?
Mostly because two wrongs don’t make a right.
Though three rights make a left
The hall of fame has made mistakes like adding Bagwell and pudge to the HOF (and maybe piazza and Ortiz and even biggio) but that doesn’t mean we should let everyone in because they made a mistake on a few players that probably did peds
I could not agree with you more. Those players that “got caught” paid their dues per the rules of the MLB. These “high and mighty” writers who believe their opinions on moral and ethics is the only one is laughable. And if they think the players that got caught were the only ones doing it, well, they are bigger idiots than we already know them to be. Guys bet, pop bills, use more pine tar than allowed, etc. Catchers frame pitches (is that “cheating”)? Their all-knowing case against steroids is laughable to me. Did they test every player every day?
If one man has twice the testosterone level of another man naturally, is that an unfair advantage and considered cheating? If a guy has TJ surgery and can now throw 4 mph faster, is that “cheating” by physically altering his body? The list goes on and on.
If someone cheated, they shouldn’t be celebrated in the hall with people that didn’t. Don’t care what drug induced stats they accomplished. Play the game right and earn it. Or not and get the drug influenced payday.
@paosfan
The hall is full of players who admit to using drugs like amphetamines on the field. Adderall/Greenies are a performance enhancer even if someone has adhd .
Lets kick all the cocaine and amphetamine users feom the 70’s out then. Also keep the PED admiting and game fixing Pete Rose out too. Too bad most boomers want to overlook the heroes of their past doing the same thing that they want to keep others out from doing
The problem with this is there are already known cheaters in the HOF and likely many more we don’t know of. Horse steroids were around in the early 1900s, and how many pitchers altered the ball in the old days?
So we continue to let in cheaters or have some integrity
Pete rose is banned.
Cocaine is different then PEDS, and also the only player that was related to that was Tim Raines
All of those are great points popgun. How many of these holier than thou writers reported on the rampant steroid use during the era? Many of them failed the fans at the time and I feel are failing fans now by keeping their favorites from the recognition they earned on the field even if they were boosting hormones.
Plus there are already cheaters from EVERY era in already. Have a section dedicated to the steroid era if they want.
I think simply adding a mention at the end if they were implicated with evidence or suspended is fine.
Taking steroids not only directly improves some kinds of strength, it also facilitates recovery time which can greatly benefit ballplayers. Plus some folks experience more focus and confidence, at least for a while. Meanwhile some players who were cheating, such as Palmero (much like Lance Armstrong), self-righteously and belligerently denied their cheating. It’s reasonable that known cheaters should be excluded. I understand other people can and do feel differently than me. There’s no perfect answer, since some cheaters probably have been voted in, and some people don’t see much distinction between cheating with PEDs vs other kinds of more tolerated cheating, such as shenanigans with pitching and hitting. But it makes a lot of sense to discount elevated performances due to PEDs to me.
A lot of decent players but not hall of fame worthy.
Andrew Jones should be in. He’s about the best defensive center fielder I’ve ever seen. His fall off was just so quick. He went from awesome to suck in a hurry.
He debuted at 19. Youngest player to ever homer in the World Series. Was a great player til he was 30. Should’ve been in a long time ago
Debuted at 19? Not really a HOF credential.
Youngest player to homer in the World Series? Again, not a HOF credential, but good bar trivia.
Was a great player til he was 30? To me that is a better reason for NOT voting for him. The HOF is about longevity, not for being good in your 20s only.
Should’ve been in a long time ago? Not in my opinion. He was lucky to survive his first ballot. He only got 7% of the vote or else he would have been a one and done just like Jim Edmonds.
It proves he had an 11-year peak. He was the best defensive outfielder of all time, had 434 homers and had the 3rd most WAR during the years of his peak. Comparing him to Jim Edmonds is hilarious.
Oh yeah, how dare me compare Jones to Edmonds.
Jones – 5 time All Star
Edmonds – 4 time All Star
Jones – 10 Gold Gloves
Edmonds – 8 Gold Gloves
Jones – 1 Silver Slugger
Edmonds – 1 Silver Slugger
Jones – 62.7 career WAR
Edmonds – 60.4 career WAR
Jones – 1933 career hits
Edmonds – 1949 career hits
Jones – 434 career homers
Edmonds – 393 career homers
Jones – 7599 career at bats
Edmonds – 6858 career at bats
Yeah they are not similar at all. Except Edmonds did basically the same as Jones in 700 fewer at bats. It really is hilarious for some people I guess.
Now do their defensive analytics. Gold gloves, silver sluggers, and all stars are subjective popularity contests.
Defensive analytics are USELESS prior to 2002 or so, because all the games were not televised. And nobody kept track of the modern statcast metrics back then.
As far as popularity goes, the Atlanta Braves were the most popular team of the 90s. Or possibly second after the Yankees. But they were definitely top 2. If anything your argument says that Jones should have FEWER of those accolades.
Says who? The games weren’t televised before 2002? You’re being serious? They’re weren’t available worldwide, but local telecasts absolutely existed. You’re just making stuff up
And every single Braves game was available on TBS going back to the early 80’s
hiflew – All the games not televised? I watched a ton of games in the 1990’s, so at least some of the games were definitely televised. They even had a game of the week on Saturdays that began in 1953!!
I agree with you on the Yankees and Braves, they were both incredibly popular.
So were the Cardinals. You could get Jack Buck’s KMOX radio call all over the country. That’s why you’ll find Cards jerseys in every single stadiun
You need to learn the game. When asked who was the greatest center fielder he ever saw, willie mays said hands down andruw jones. Lucky to make it past the first ballot? Good lord
Generational talent. Made CF look so easy.
Andruw should be in, but the hall is interested in compilers like Biggio who was always an ok player who played forever than players like Utley or Wright who were dominant but didn’t play 20 years. I’d rather Guidry and Lincecum, players like that who were dominant then a Biggio or Harold Baines or Tim Raines. Also, Albert Belle was a monster and should’ve been a first ballot hall of famer, but writers didn’t like how he spoke to them so they take revenge on him. His numbers were insane and he wasn’t a steroid guy. Maybe a one off corked bat issue but that wouldn’t keep him out.
Biggio’s 8 year peak (1993-2001) saw him average out to 5.7 WAR, .299/.394/.465 with 19 HR, 76 RBI, 32 SB, and 126 OPS+ per 162 games with 4 gold gloves, 4 silver sluggers, and 5 All Star appearances. That is quite a bit better than “okay.”
Looks like a weak lineup of first year players. Good enough for team’s H.o.F, but not THE H.o.F.
I would have voted for Cole Hamels and Edwin Encarnacion as far as the first year guys go.
Bud Selig took steroids and he’s in the Hall of Fame. Just because he made steroids ILLEGAL after he was finished using them doesn’t mean he should keep other PED users like Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez out. It’s hypocritical and ludicrous
how is Selig keeping steroid users out of the Hall?
When did Bud Selig take steroids? He had blinders to them but there are no credible reports of him using.
Hey, if youre gonna put the effort in to troll, might as well take it to 11.
Ice, ice baby…
If you cheated your fellow peers, thats the penalty: you dont get celebrated in the HOF. Enjoy the extra money and padded stats
So now do all the players who benefitted from racial segregation, amphetamines, cocaine, etc. etc. etc. The next generation of altar boys in baseball would be its first.
Just like our own country, baseball is a beautiful game with an often messy history. That’s okay. The fact that there has been a never-ending push to keep improving goes to show that it is in fact worth celebrating, even the messy parts. We’ll never learn from them if we try to pretend they never happened.
Andruw jones hit 434 homers, was analytically maybe the best defensive outfielder to ever live, had the 3rd most WAR in all of baseball during the years of his peak, and you voted for David Wright and not him. My god. Take the privilege of voting away from writers at this point.
For real. This guy is a fool.
I can actually understand his arguments for the inclusion of Utley and his arguments for Wright (to an extent) BUT then he omits someone like Andruw Jones who it would seem would meet some of the same criteria that he mentioned for the other two.
The application of his reasoning seems to be very hypocritical at best.
I can understand his arguments for Utley and wright when you consider where he lived his whole life..
@braves66
And that is what aggravates me (and I didn’t say it before). It seems his bias is based solely on personal preference. To me he doesn’t need a vote, if that is true. But I don’t make the rules and I guess he is voting within guidelines, even if I think he used his fan boy bias to influence his vote.
I truly cannot comprehend why nobody would vote for Jones. Not only does he have a great statistical case, but you think these same people who get all holier than thou about PEDs would be screaming his case from the mountaintops since he did it clean in an era where almost all his peers were juicing.
Lou Whitaker
Whitaker – 2369 hits, 244 homers, 1084 RBIs, 1386 Runs, .276 BA
Sandberg – 2386 hits, 282 homers, 1061 RBIs, 1318 runs, .285 BA
Ozzie Smith SS – 2460 hits, 28 homers, 793 RBIs, 1257 runs, .262 BA
Two are in and the 3rd deserves to be in.
We don’t HAVE to put in somebody just to do it. I would be cool with no player going in during a paticular voting cycle.
@DolemiteisMyname
They do that in Japan. No one good enough? Why induct for the sake of it and reward mediocrity?
@OldYork-Truer words were never spoken
They pretty much have to. The HOF ceremony is all about money for the museum. If they don’t induct anyone, then their busiest day of the year is gone. And the museum might not be there at all if they do that too many times.
Yup, money and so MLB network can replay the ceremony ad nauseum
@hiflew I agree with what you said. In fact I was going to put that in my response. But 1 day shouldn’t bankrupt the hall.
Exactly. Electing someone just so someone gets elected waters it down. I hate this standard of guys being on the ballot for 10 years and whether they get in depends on how many guys any given year were better or worse than them. The criteria should be a simple you’re in, or you’re out. If you needed to be on the ballot for 7 years to then finally get in because all the other guys up in year 7 were less compelling than your case had been the previous 6 tries, all that tells me is you probably shouldn’t be in to begin with.
Agree it should be the iconic legendary careers of baseball not the hall of just good.
Bravo for sharing. But ultimately the HOF is a museum, if you’re going to assemble the story of baseball you’re going to have to talk about Bonds, Arod, Clemens and plenty of others.
*slow clap* You put it nicely.
Then put a plaque describing the steroid Era but don’t let them in. No reason to tarnish or raise those guys over those that didn’t use.
Even if I was to vote for 10 players this year, they probably wouldn’t include those two.
Just my personal opinion.
No offense to baseball fans but it time to let steroid user in as some in the hall were steroid user.. MLB and owners turn a blind eye to that, they practically allowed it because of the strike that destroyed baseball .
If you gonna not voted for them due to steroids then it time to get rid of the racist, steroid users already in the hall..
Who in the Hall currently were steroid users? Proven to be steroid users?
To not vote for Beltran because of the WS scandal is beyond asinine. A one-off deal that did NOT improve HIS stats in any way. Alex Cora and AJ Hinch allowed the scandal to happen yet have both been rehired by MLB teams to manage. With Cora also being involved in the Red Sox tech scandal of 2018 when he became their manager. PED cheats should be kept out, at least those who failed tests. But Beltran should get at least 85% of the vote. Minus the vote of this knuckle head of course.
He’s getting this year despite this putz
Agreed. And as long as Roberto Alomar, a man banned for life from MLB, continues to be a Hall of Famer, I don’t not want to hear ANYONE complain about a candidate’s character. Because character does not matter at all as long as he is enshrined.
Can’t forget Utley is a scumbag that ruined Tejada’s career.
So many convoluted reasons to not put or to put someone in the HOF. It’s all a popularity contest.
This guy is a gigantic bozo.
If you look at this joke hole’s previous ballots he said he didn’t think the Astros should have been punished for the cheating scandal. He also glazes Phillies’ players.
Yeah. The Phils bias was wafting off the screen
“Marc Narducci spent 37 years covering all sports for The Philadelphia Inquirer before retiring in July 2021.”
Yup, doesn’t surprise me. Popularity contest.
@getgone2. That was good. lol
The biggest knock on the credibility of the hall is that acceptance is determined by baseball writers, half of whom have an agenda or weren’t treated nicely by a player so they don’t get their vote. Move to a different voting system, I for one have no interest in a HOF where writers make the decision.
I wish they would take away the ability from allowing people like u to vote for the hall of fame…
Who are you to pass judgement on carlos beltran because of a small scandal he was punished for already….I’m sure you’ve done some messed up things in ur clown life…
Chase utley and david Wright belong in the hall of very good not the hall of fame…and u should no longer be allowed to vote
David Wright was a good player, but not a HOF CAREER. I emphasize career simply because he could have been, but he wasn’t. He is in the same category as Troy Tulowitzki, who also could have easily been a HOFer without injuries. Dustin Pedroia is in the same category in my opinion. Prince Fielder could also be mentioned here. And there are many others that fall in there as well. But the HOF is not about what might have been, it is about what was,
Dale Murphy also had a strong peak, yet here we are. Murph deserves to be in as much or more so than Wright.
Actually, I like Murphy more.
But you couldn’t be anymore incorrect. They are both close with wright being slightly better according to OPS plus AND war. Plus pitching is a little better in wrights era.
They are a Wash. Factor in position scarcity and what not, and the vote easily goes to wright.
But neither deserves it because neither are one of the best ever
I played 3 seasons (89-91) with ATL. Never made it beyond high-A, Durham then… never heard the word “steroid” used. There was plenty of greenies, yes, but no roids. Roids were not cheating at the time. In principle, perhaps morally, it’s cheating. But there was an expression back then, “if you’re not cheating you’re not trying”. Obviously looking back, there were red flags…. but it sucks when writers (and the people running baseball in the 80s and 90s act holier than thou. The HOF is already full of “cheaters”. The hall is incomplete and garbage without the morons that took roids, which was not against the rules. Enough with this already. Merry Christmas
Nice. You never had the privilege of playing AA Greenville……..right next to the sewer treatment plant. Hah
I agree that Manroid Ramirez and A-Roid shouldn’t get in, but I think Beltran should. Know who else never failed a steroids test? Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
The fact that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are not in the HOF is an absolute disgrace to the Hall and the game imo.
I can see Vizquel and Pence maybe getting some votes, but maybe being a long shot to get in. I’m not opposed to Rollins or Utley.
People keep forgetting, the HOF is NOT for great players or the best players of their era. It is for the best player of ALL TIME. David wright is not one of the best ever. It’s simple.
And the whole injury things gets lost too. Health is just as important as talent. People always say: “if so and so didn’t get injured…. Blah blah”…… And that’s the same as saying so and so would have been one of the best ever if he had just a little more talent.
Exactly. Is Beltran going in as a player or a manager? Player. He should be voted in on what he did on the field.
The HOF has become a complete joke. Take the voting away from the writers and give it to the fans. It’s supposed to be a museum for the fans honoring the greatest players. Let us decide who we want to celebrate.
No please don’t. You think the writers are bad.
Only MLBTR Front Office subscribers should get a vote
HAHAAH
@Reno No thank you. As far as giving it to the fans Then it becomes All Star Game type Vote. Fans vote for a player they like without looking at the stats.
Give the voting to a reputable committee Made of former players and Baseball Executives.
Utley is a homer vote by an obvious homer.
You should lose your ballot. Pathetic. The hall is loaded with players who’d get dinged if playing by today’s rules. High majority of that era were on something vote based on how they compared to those of their era.
I don’t care that writers don’t all pick the same players but it’s frustrating when they lay out reasoning but don’t apply it across the board. It seems like the peak matters most in this case, so how can one ignore Abreu who’s OPS+ was 139 for the 9 year period he was with the Phillies.
Abreus 162 game average is 97 runs, 19 HR, 91 RBIs and 27 SBs. This is remarkable when you think about Abreu’s durability and the games and plate appearances he had after his age 33 season (882 games and 3,714 PAs). Wright by comparison had 39 games and 167 PA after age 33. All this means Abreu’s career averages with years of decline (post-33) factored in are comparable to the 9 year peak he used to elect Wright.
Wright and not Jones is criminal.
The hall of fame is a complete joke, I would bet that almost all if not all the dudes from the steroid era did them.griffey,frank Thomas,I’m sure guys like jeter,randy Johnson or Greg Maddux did too.just because you take peds doesn’t mean you get hugely buff 100 percent,look at big papi. they do it to recover faster to play more games or to come back from injuries faster.we don’t need to vote,we all know bonds is hall of fame also clemens,manny,arod,schilling,rose,mcgwire,sosa.
More like Marc Nardookie
I’m thinking no one from the 2017-2020 Astros should be voted in as long as we’re eliminating cheaters.
Your arrogance in thinking any baseball fan cares about your rationale is classic as to why the HOF voting has become a joke. Your ballot having only Utley & Wight solidified that. You had 10 possible votes & you voted for 2, possibly relegating a bunch to lose their spot on future ballots. MLB TR posting this article was a mistake!
It’s writers like you that ruin the whole process. Single out a few guys from a whole generation. And then act like you’re the judge, jury and executioner. It’s pathetic! Get over yourself
And David wright? I’m a lifelong Mets fan and that’s laughable. We called him Double play David cause he ALWAYS choked in the clutch and did most of his damage in games already decided or out of reach. He was the king of having huge games in blowouts, whether Mets win or lose. His biggest production were the games that it made no difference and didn’t matter. But when game was on the line? He ALWAYS choked!
I’m not a huge fan of the “but for…” he would have been an HOF” You have to judge a player for what he did, not what he could have done. On the margins, a transcendent peak might push someone over, but he ought to be exceptional. I’d also say let the Baines fixation go. He should never have been picked, and compounding the mistake by defining a new, lower bar is the wrong approach. I don’t think you need to be “small hall” to agree with that. As to PEDS, I’m never going to change my mind, and maybe I’m wrong, but I think it’s a disqualifier–and I’d be happy to see Bud Selig evicted as enabler in chief.
“One other thing is that it’s the belief of this reporter that players should be judged by the position they play. The criteria for second basemen, is different than third basemen, etc.”
Why does it matter which position a player played?