Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltran and A-Rod: 6 takeaways from Baseball Hall of Fame 2024 vote
NEW YORK – Adrian Beltre was a joy to watch, both at the plate and at third base.
His election Tuesday to the Hall of Fame, on his first ballot, came as no surprise with a resounding 95.1% approval by voters of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
He’ll be joined by Todd Helton (79.7%) and Joe Mauer (76.1%) at the July 21 induction ceremonies at Cooperstown, along with manager Jim Leyland, elected via the Veterans Era Committee.
This was my 17th year with a Hall of Fame vote, and I cast ballots for Beltre, Helton and Mauer, along with five who missed: Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Omar Vizquel.
Some thoughts on the results:
Close calls on Todd Helton, Joe Mauer
Helton was in his sixth year on the ballot, and this was the second straight year I voted for him, swayed by his 14-year prime with the Colorado Rockies as a .322 hitting first baseman with a .973 OPS.
Why did he take so long?
Perceptions of Helton as being more of a Coors Field product (.345 average, 1.048 OPS at home) were balanced by his .287/.855 road average and OPS being greater than that of several no-doubt Hall of Famers, including Dave Winfield, Eddie Murray and Tony Gwynn.
At age 40, Mauer enters Cooperstown as the youngest current Hall of Famer.
Entering this process, Mauer seemed like a borderline candidate for election in his first year eligible, and he cleared the 75% bar by just four votes.
So, any concerns about a career that ended in his age-35 season, with an offensive dropoff after winning four Gold Glove Awards and three batting titles as the Minnesota Twins catcher were quickly ended – though it was close.
The case for and against Billy Wagner
On the other side of that razor-thin margin, Billy Wagner missed by five votes, receiving 284 of the 385 ballots cast.
The passionate Wagner voters point to his career 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, 422 saves and a nearly 4-to-1 strikeout to walk rate.
What’s kept him below the 75 percent mark is a relatively low career innings total (903), a playoff ERA of 10.03 (across seven postseasons) and the high bar all relievers must clear in these elections.
Next year is Wagner’s 10th and final time on the BBWAA ballot and there’s a good chance he clears the bar in 2025.
Disappointing result for Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield reached just 63.9% in his 10th and final time on the writers’ ballot.
For me, this was the most disappointing result of this election, and I certainly hope he finds his way to Cooperstown through a future Veterans Era Committee.
Sheffield was one of the most fearsome hitters of his era, slashing .304/.411/.551 in his 14-year prime, averaging 31 homers and just 61 strikeouts per season with a 153 OPS-plus and six top-10 MVP finishes.
Having covered him with the Yankees, I found Sheffield to be genuine in all aspects.
He explained his brief, offseason association with Barry Bonds in a recent USA TODAY column by Bob Nightengale, and I voted for Sheffield nine times believing his Cooperstown-worthy offensive credentials were authentic.
Carlos Beltran's slow climb to Cooperstown
In his second year on the ballot, Carlos Beltran went from 46.5% to 57.1.
Maybe this is good progress, but I thought Beltran would get a bigger bump from those who probably punished him last year for being singled out as ringleader of the Houston Astros electronic sign-stealing scheme.
His candidacy is not a slam dunk, but his Hall credentials should get him there eventually, though it might take another two or three ballots.
Alex Rodriguez's candidacy goes flat
In his third ballot, Alex Rodriguez fell slightly from 35.7% to 34.8, and Manny Ramirez went from 33.2 to 32.5 in his eighth ballot.
Those multiple Ramirez suspensions have cast doubt on whether he played clean at any time.
The same goes for A-Rod, and it’s all a big fat shame, because they were both remarkable hitters and Rodriguez is the best player on the ballot.
MLB officials and executives have a share in the Steroid Era stain, so I’ll continue to vote for the elite of this baseball period, hoping our electorate will join, too.
But it’s beginning to look bleak for the flatlining A-Rod, and Manny is cooked.
The fates of other candidates
New to next year's ballot, Ichiro Suzuki is the lone lock, while CC Sabathia has a compelling case to join him in Cooperstown on the first try.
Chase Utley’s 2024 ballot debut at 28.8% can be viewed as promising, when compared with fellow second baseman Jeff Kent.
Kent debuted at 15.2% and reached 46.8% before he fell off the BBWAA ballot last year.
On his sixth ballot, Andy Pettitte dropped to 13.5% from 17% last year. Mark Buehrle, who profiles near Pettitte (except for Pettitte’s lengthy postseason) slipped to 8.3% from 10.8.
On his third ballot, shortstop Jimmy Rollins (14.8) made a slight gain and David Wright (6.2) survived his first ballot, just clearing the five percent threshold to remain on the ballot.
A magical defensive shortstop, the candidacy of Omar Vizquel (17.7) is essentially over in year seven due to disturbing allegations that surfaced after his playing career.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Baseball Hall of Fame 2024 voting results: Our 6 takeaways
