As was the case in so many important moments during his legendary career with the Red Sox, all eyes are on David Ortiz as we eagerly await the announcement of Cooperstown’s Hall of Fame vote.
After no player was chosen on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot last year, Ortiz – who is making his debut in this process – has the best chance of being selected among all the participants when the results are revealed on Tuesday at 6 pm ET on MLB Network.
If Ortiz or any other of the 30 players on the ballot is elected, he will join the six men who were already selected by the Golden Days committee and the Early Baseball Era committee — Jim Kaat and Cuban Tony Oliva, and the late Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Cuban Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso and Buck O’Neil – during the Hall induction ceremony on July 24 in Cooperstown, NY
So, with all of that in mind, here are some questions ahead of Tuesday’s announcement:
How can I see the ad?
Coverage of the 2022 Hall of Fame election will begin at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday on MLB Network. Results will be unveiled by Hall President Josh Rawitch at 6 p.m.
The show, which will be hosted by Greg Amsinger, Brian Kenny and Lauren Shehadi, will also be simulcast on LasMayores.com and on the MLB app on connected devices.
Big Papi at his first opportunity?
Ortiz, who retired in 2016, certainly has Hall of Fame numbers: 541 home runs, 632 doubles, 1,768 RBIs, a .931 OPS, 10 All-Stars, seven Silver Sluggers, three Series titles. world etc.
But in addition to voters reserving “First-Year Hall of Fame” status for a select few, Ortiz also has to contend with bias against the designated hitter role (the BBWAA has never elected a DH as MVP). from his league, and Puerto Rican Edgar Martinez took the maximum of 10 years to be elected to the Hall) and concerns about the alleged use of prohibited substances to enhance performance. Ortiz reportedly tested positive in a 2003 survey test that was done to determine how the anti-doping policy would be implemented in the future and the results of which were not supposed to be made public. But Ortiz would go on to play 13 seasons under an anti-doping program and never tested positive during that span.
In Ryan Thibodaux’s tally of public ballots, Ortiz had 84% support at the time of this writing (with just under 45% of ballots disclosed). Player percentages typically go down in the final results, as voters who don’t reveal their ballots generally tend to vote for fewer ballplayers.
While first-choice players were once a rare breed, they have become much more common in recent years. Since 2014, 13 players have been inducted on their first try, with Derek Jeter in 2020 being the most recent case.
Will voters elect no one for the second year in a row?
Last year was just the ninth time the BBWAA voting process resulted in zero inducted players. It has never happened in years in a row.
Contributing to what happened last year was a record 14 blank ballots out of 401 submitted. Blank ballots – as opposed to voters who simply abstain from voting – affect the percentage of all players.
Will Schilling, Bonds or Clemens be elected in his last chance?
This was the 10th and last time on the ballot for Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. They all have complicated and controversial cases that have prevented them from reaching the required 75% so far. Last year, Schilling appeared on 71.1% of the ballots, falling just 16 votes short. Bonds (61.8%) and Clemens (61.6%) were even further behind.
Immediately after the results were released in January 2021, Schilling posted a letter on social media that he had written to the Hall of Fame criticizing the way he had been treated in the media and requesting that his name be removed from the 2022 ballot. Hall leadership unanimously denied Schilling’s request. But in the known votes, Schilling has lost a total of 21 votes at the time of this writing.
Bonds and Clemens, both associated with doping, have gained two votes from 2021 according to Thibodaux’s accountant, but they would need a very big help from anonymous voters to stand any chance of being inducted.
Dominican Sammy Sosa is also on this ticket for the last time, but last year he received just 17% support.
Will Rolen continue to rise?
Scott Rolen was not elected in last year’s process, but he was one of the winners on that ticket anyway, jumping from 35.3% support in 2020 to 52.9%. in 2021. Going from 52.9% (he needed 79 more votes) to 75% could be too much for Rolen, who is on the ballot for the fifth time. But it will be interesting to see how close he gets now that more and more voters are weighing his arguments as a productive hitter and stellar third baseman. On the public ballot counter, he has a net 12 votes won among voters who turned out in 2021 and did so again this year.
Other key names to watch closely?
Passing the 50% threshold, as Rolen did last year, is an important milestone on the way to 75%. Among those who could make it this year are:
Todd Helton: fourth ballot, 44.9% support last year
Billy Wagner: 7th ballot, 46.4% last year
Gary Sheffield: 8th ballot, 40.6% last year
Andruw Jones: fifth ballot, 33.9% last year
Apparently now among the ballots already known, Helton has won 12 votes, Wagner 10 and Jones eight, while Sheffield has lost two.
The case of Venezuelan Omar Vizquel was going very well with 52.6% support in 2020. But the accusations of domestic violence made by Vizquel’s wife during the 2021 voting process, published by The Athletic, caused it to drop to 49.1%. As a result of those allegations, plus a recent sexual harassment lawsuit against a minor league bat boy, Vizquel has so far lost the support of 45 voters, according to the CPA. Vizquel has denied his ex-wife’s accusations and has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
What will happen to A-Rod?
After retiring, Alex Rodriguez has used his years as a commentator to turn his public image around after a highly controversial career as a player. Rodríguez missed the entire 2014 season due to an MLB suspension for use and possession of performance-enhancing substances following the Biogenesis investigation. And while he has never tested positive since MLB’s anti-doping policy went into effect, A-Rod admitted to using steroids between 2001 and 2003, and apologized after the 2014 suspension.
Voters will have to weigh those facts against his impeccable statistical arguments: 696 home runs, 548 doubles, 2,086 RBIs, .930 OPS, three MVP awards, 10 Silver Sluggers, 14 trips to the All-Star Game and a World Series title with the Yankees in 2009.
Though A-Rod won’t be anywhere near inducted on his first try, he has by far the most support among all non-Ortiz rookies, with 40.6% support among public ballots.
Other newcomers on this ballot include Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, Torii Hunter, Tim Lincecum, Prince Fielder, Jimmy Rollins, Jonathan Papelbon, Justin Morneau, Carl Crawford, Jake Peavy, Joe Nathan and AJ Pierzynski. A player must receive at least 5% of the vote to appear on the ballot the following year.
