The 2016 Hall of Fame Ballot Custom Leaderboards and Survey
In case you haven’t heard, the new Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was announced today. Fifteen newcomers — players who retired in 2010 — join 17 holdovers. As usual, the list is a mix of token candidates, interesting players and slam dunks. Here is a custom leaderboard for position players and pitchers for just the newcomers. And here’s a table for them, in case you don’t want to play around with the leaderboard.

Name | G | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | PA | wOBA | wRC+ | BsR | Off | Def | WPA | RE24 | WAR |
Ken Griffey Jr. | 2671 | 11304 | 0.384 | 131 | -7.3 | 444.1 | -39.6 | 45.2 | 529.0 | 77.7 | ||||
Jim Edmonds | 2011 | 7980 | 0.385 | 132 | -8 | 317.7 | 73.3 | 31.5 | 352.0 | 64.5 | ||||
Jason Kendall | 2085 | 8702 | 0.334 | 99 | 0.7 | -6.8 | 130.8 | 11.1 | 92.8 | 39.8 | ||||
Mike Hampton | 425 | 2268.1 | 4.06 | 4.27 | 4.57 | 845 | 0.289 | 67 | -1.2 | -36.9 | 91.2 | 0.4 | -5.3 | 35.9 |
Troy Glaus | 1537 | 6355 | 0.365 | 120 | -2.4 | 157.7 | -20.4 | 12.1 | 159.1 | 34.4 | ||||
Luis Castillo | 1720 | 7471 | 0.327 | 97 | 33.4 | 7.1 | 37.9 | 1.4 | 18.3 | 28.4 | ||||
Randy Winn | 1717 | 6878 | 0.333 | 100 | 28.2 | 28.8 | 23.5 | 9.7 | 70.1 | 28.1 | ||||
Mike Lowell | 1601 | 6500 | 0.346 | 108 | -39.7 | 25.8 | 22.7 | 1.8 | 77.9 | 26.0 | ||||
Trevor Hoffman | 1034 | 1089.1 | 2.87 | 3.08 | 3.78 | 32.2 | 174.8 | 26.0 | ||||||
Billy Wagner | 853 | 903 | 2.31 | 2.73 | 2.76 | 28.5 | 196.6 | 24.1 | ||||||
Garret Anderson | 2228 | 9177 | 0.334 | 100 | -7.2 | -12.6 | -59.6 | 5.5 | 101.6 | 24.0 | ||||
Mark Grudzielanek | 1802 | 7603 | 0.32 | 91 | 4.1 | -80 | 69.4 | -8.2 | -60.1 | 23.2 | ||||
Mike Sweeney | 1454 | 5848 | 0.366 | 117 | -2.7 | 121.2 | -106.5 | 15.0 | 206.1 | 21.1 | ||||
Brad Ausmus | 1971 | 7102 | 0.299 | 76 | -23.2 | -244.9 | 183.7 | -22.5 | -219.2 | 17.2 | ||||
David Eckstein | 1311 | 5705 | 0.316 | 92 | 10.6 | -49.7 | 28.6 | -2.7 | -40.7 | 16.8 |
Note that for the pitchers, I included their position player WAR, as well as their RE24 and WPA. For Mike Hampton, that’s a bump of 7.9 WAR. For the two relievers, it’s a demerit of 0.1 WAR.
The most interesting questions are what you think of Jim Edmonds and Trevor Hoffman. Edmonds makes for a fascinating debate. I’m not sure Hoffman does. Honestly, looking at these dashboard numbers, it’s hard to make the case that Hoffman deserves inclusion. Or, if he does, then Wagner definitely deserves inclusion as well.
Here’s the same leaderboards (position players, pitchers) and table for the entire ballot.

Name | G | PA | wOBA | wRC+ | BsR | Off | Def | RE24 | WPA | WAR |
Barry Bonds | 2986 | 12606 | 0.435 | 173 | 30.4 | 1173.8 | 67.6 | 1348.3 | 127.0 | 164.4 |
Roger Clemens | 360 | 213 | 0.207 | 15 | 0 | -23.8 | 23.2 | 736.4 | 74.3 | 134.4 |
Mike Mussina | 376 | 54 | 0.172 | 5 | 0 | -7.1 | 5.9 | 400.4 | 39.2 | 82.3 |
Jeff Bagwell | 2150 | 9431 | 0.405 | 149 | 6.5 | 594.6 | -82.1 | 698.7 | 59.6 | 80.2 |
Curt Schilling | 495 | 901 | 0.161 | -16 | -0.3 | -132.8 | 94.6 | 277.5 | 25.0 | 78.8 |
Ken Griffey Jr. | 2671 | 11304 | 0.384 | 131 | -7.3 | 444.1 | -39.6 | 529.0 | 45.2 | 77.7 |
Larry Walker | 1988 | 8030 | 0.412 | 140 | 21.5 | 427.9 | 3.5 | 534.1 | 48.9 | 68.7 |
Tim Raines | 2502 | 10359 | 0.361 | 125 | 100.4 | 408.2 | -109.6 | 503.5 | 50.4 | 66.4 |
Mark McGwire | 1874 | 7660 | 0.415 | 157 | -2.5 | 555 | -138.5 | 581.3 | 53.5 | 66.3 |
Edgar Martinez | 2055 | 8678 | 0.405 | 147 | -21 | 500.5 | -133.5 | 514.9 | 45.2 | 65.5 |
Jim Edmonds | 2011 | 7980 | 0.385 | 132 | -8 | 317.7 | 73.3 | 352.0 | 31.5 | 64.5 |
Alan Trammell | 2293 | 9376 | 0.343 | 111 | 2.3 | 124.1 | 184.4 | 124.9 | 13.0 | 63.7 |
Mike Piazza | 1912 | 7745 | 0.39 | 140 | -31.6 | 370.1 | 20.7 | 497.4 | 43.5 | 62.5 |
Gary Sheffield | 2576 | 10947 | 0.391 | 141 | 9.7 | 575.7 | -300.9 | 625.2 | 60.2 | 62.1 |
Sammy Sosa | 2354 | 9896 | 0.37 | 124 | -7.9 | 300.4 | -8.1 | 383.0 | 24.9 | 60.1 |
Fred McGriff | 2460 | 10174 | 0.383 | 134 | -8.6 | 409.1 | -186.3 | 527.6 | 47.5 | 56.9 |
Jeff Kent | 2298 | 9537 | 0.367 | 123 | -19.8 | 259.7 | 1.2 | 346.5 | 24.3 | 56.1 |
Nomar Garciaparra | 1434 | 6116 | 0.376 | 124 | 4.8 | 199.9 | 18.8 | 239.2 | 17.1 | 41.4 |
Jason Kendall | 2085 | 8702 | 0.334 | 99 | 0.7 | -6.8 | 130.8 | 92.8 | 11.1 | 39.8 |
Mike Hampton | 425 | 845 | 0.289 | 67 | -1.2 | -36.9 | 91.2 | -5.3 | 0.4 | 35.9 |
Troy Glaus | 1537 | 6355 | 0.365 | 120 | -2.4 | 157.7 | -20.4 | 159.1 | 12.1 | 34.4 |
Luis Castillo | 1720 | 7471 | 0.327 | 97 | 33.4 | 7.1 | 37.9 | 18.3 | 1.4 | 28.4 |
Randy Winn | 1717 | 6878 | 0.333 | 100 | 28.2 | 28.8 | 23.5 | 70.1 | 9.7 | 28.1 |
Lee Smith | 549 | 71 | 0.09 | -55 | 0 | -13 | 6.1 | 156.4 | 22.9 | 26.1 |
Mike Lowell | 1601 | 6500 | 0.346 | 108 | -39.7 | 25.8 | 22.7 | 77.9 | 1.8 | 26.0 |
Trevor Hoffman | 551 | 36 | 0.127 | -28 | 0 | -6.3 | 3.8 | 174.8 | 32.2 | 26.0 |
Billy Wagner | 452 | 21 | 0.119 | -30 | 0 | -3.8 | 2.2 | 196.6 | 28.5 | 24.1 |
Garret Anderson | 2228 | 9177 | 0.334 | 100 | -7.2 | -12.6 | -59.6 | 101.6 | 5.5 | 24.0 |
Mark Grudzielanek | 1802 | 7603 | 0.32 | 91 | 4.1 | -80 | 69.4 | -60.1 | -8.2 | 23.2 |
Mike Sweeney | 1454 | 5848 | 0.366 | 117 | -2.7 | 121.2 | -106.5 | 206.1 | 15.0 | 21.1 |
Brad Ausmus | 1971 | 7102 | 0.299 | 76 | -23.2 | -244.9 | 183.7 | -219.2 | -22.5 | 17.2 |
David Eckstein | 1311 | 5705 | 0.316 | 92 | 10.6 | -49.7 | 28.6 | -40.7 | -2.7 | 16.8 |
Again, the RE24, WPA and WAR numbers are combined for the pitchers.
So, who would you vote for? I made a survey so you can vote. You’re on the honor system here — don’t pick more than 10 players, please. If you’re looking for my two cents, here’s how I’d vote:
- No Doubters: Bonds, Clemens, Griffey, Mussina, Piazza, Raines
- Don’t Want To See Fall Off Ballot: Sheffield, Walker
- Last Chance: McGwire, Trammell
Because I would want to give McGwire and Trammell their best shot in their final year on the ballot, I’d leave off Bagwell and Schilling, and cross my fingers that Edmonds gets enough votes to stay. Either way, it’s a tough puzzle. Rock your vote below!
Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.
Im as conflicted about Bonds as ever.
Was he one of the greatest baseball players ever? yes
Was he one of the most famous baseball players ever? yes
Did he have a historic impact on the game? yes
Was he a good guy? not relevant
…conveniently ignoring the single biggest reason to not vote for him…steroids. Whether you want to vote for him or not, you can’t just ignore it.
So are you conveniently ignoring the fact that the whole game was juiced, including the pitchers he faced? To me, it all comes out to a wash.
And you’re conveniently ignoring the rampant use of plenty of other drugs/medical treatments/methods of cheating used by nearly every single other HoFer.
The use by other players is a red herring, so yes, I would ignore that for the most part.
I’m not ignoring it. It’s included in my reasons #2 (fame) and #3 (historical impact) for voting for him.
You’re ignoring the issue by trying to tell the story of baseball’s history while not acknowledging Bonds.
For me, it comes down to the point that no matter what you think of if he took steroids (he did) and what effect they had on his performance (maybe not nothing), he was one of the best hitters to ever play the game. Even without all that steroid drama, he would have made it to the Hall easily. Maybe he doesn’t beat Aaron’s record or maybe he does, but he’s still in the Hall regardless. It’s the same argument for Clemens.
First of all, a huge amount of his biggest accomplishments were achieved while cheating, so their status is wholly dubious. And second, being a “good guy” (even by the low standards of not being a legendary asshole and now cheating) is, in fact, absolutely relevant, per the integrity clause of the voting rules.
So, yeah.
Bonds was arguably the best player in the game before he started using. If you believe that vast numbers of players, including stars, from that era were using, then he really didn’t gain much advantage, and still was the best player in the game.
The Hall has plenty of cheaters in it. And many more tried to cheat, or thought they were; they just had the misfortune of being born in an era of bad science.