This is the ballot, results will be announced in a few days:
JEFF BAGWELL
JEROMY BURNITZ
VINNY CASTILLA
JUAN GONZALEZ
BRIAN JORDAN
BARRY LARKIN
JAVY LOPEZ
EDGAR MARTINEZ
DON MATTINGLY
FRED MCGRIFF
MARK MCGWIRE
JACK MORRIS
BILL MUELLER
TERRY MULHOLLAND
DALE MURPHY
PHIL NEVIN
RAFAEL PALMEIRO
BRAD RADKE
TIM RAINES
TIM SALMON
RUBEN SIERRA
LEE SMITH
ALAN TRAMMELL
LARRY WALKER
BERNIE WILLIAMS
TONY WOMACK
ERIC YOUNG
Overall, I am not terribly impressed with a lot of those names. There are a couple of candidates on there that I think deserve serious consideration, but I will discuss them later.
On to the former Red Sox:
JEFF BAGWELLBagwell came up through the Red Sox minor league system and never actually played a game with Boston, but I thought he merited at least a little bit of discussion because he was a part of one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory. Boston traded Bagwell, a future ROY and MVP to the Astros in 1990 for reliever Larry Andersen, who admittedly pitched well, but in only 16 games before bolting as a free agent. This is Bagwell's second year on the ballot and he was unfairly looked over due to some kind of steroid conspiracy despite never being caught or otherwise implicated. Bagwell is one of the players who I think will make it in this year.
JAVY LOPEZ
Lopez is on his first year on the ballot. I can see him getting 5% to stay on the ballot, but not ever getting elected. Lopez was a power-hitting catcher for the Braves for several years, regularly hitting more than 20 home runs. One year, he mashed 43. His Red Sox career consisted of 18 forgettable games and his career was over at only 35, so he will definitely not get much consideration, but for a few years, he was one of the top power-hitting catchers in the game.
BILL MUELLERMueller is also on his first year on the ballot. He was a decent hitter, and a good defender at third base, but he really has no shot at sticking on the ballot past this year. Mueller came to the Red Sox in 2003 and won the batting title that year and hit two grand slams from either side of the plate in one game. He was a gritty player that was fun to watch. Unfortunately, he just did not rise to the level of a star player. Good, but only really great in 2003 when he hit .326 with 19 home runs and 85 RBIs while winning the Silver Slugger for Boston.
LEE SMITHSmith has the most realistic chance of the three players that actually played real games for the Red Sox (Bagwell will likely get in, but as explained, does not really count). Smith is on his 10th year on the ballot and was the one-time saves record holder. Unfortunately, with Mariano Rivera way ahead of Smith now on the all-time list, it looks less and less likely that Smith will ever get in. His vote percentage dropped a little last year and he has never gotten more than 48% of the vote in any of his ten years. In fact it has stayed relatively close in the mid 40% area. I just do not see him getting in at this point, which is sad.
Two players appeared in Spring Training with the Red Sox from this list as well. Juan Gonzalez attempted to resurrect his career with the Red Sox in 2006, but never caught on. He hit 434 home runs in his career, but was basically washed up at 32 and had a poor work ethic. Tony Womack actually had a card as a Red Sox in 2004, but other than three years where he lead the league in stolen bases early in his career, he never did anything remotely interesting. My only real memory of him was the Yankees using him as an outfielder sometimes in 2005 with hilarious results.PREDICTIONS:
Jeff Bagwell and Barry Larkin will be inducted this year. Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Edgar Martinez, and Larry Walker will all make strides and possibly be eventually inducted.
Bernie Williams will be the only new name that will make it past the 5% mark.
Tony Womack, Phil Nevin, Eric Young, Terry Mulholland, and Brad Radke will not receive a single vote for the Hall of Fame.
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