BYB elects Lou Whitaker to the Hall of Fame because screw you, BBWAA

This was supposed to be an easy exercise.

Last year, the Bless You Boys staff came together to create a mock ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thirteen staff writers voted, and we elected six players to the Hall. Three of those players — Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and former Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez — made it to Cooperstown in real life.

This year, the voters were a bit more restless. Maybe it’s all the losing. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the fact that Alan Trammell was elected to the Hall of Fame without his longtime double play partner, Lou Whitaker. In any case, our staff was so adamant that Whitaker should be in the Hall of Fame — and yes, he should be in the Hall of Fame — that they wouldn’t submit their votes until I reiterated that last fact in public one more time.

So, our ballots below should be received in protest. Whitaker’s absence from the Baseball Hall of Fame is a complete joke, especially as lesser players remain on the ballot every year (looking at you, Trevor Hoffman). We hope that we can eventually pull a Jonah Keri and raise enough awareness that the Modern Era Committee rights their wrong, and inducts Whitaker into Cooperstown with their next vote.

Now, onto the actual ballots.

With 11 ballots submitted, it took a near-unanimous selection — nine votes, to be exact — to put players above the 75 percent threshold necessary for induction. Despite the stingy requirements, the BYB staff elected Chipper Jones, Edgar Martinez, and Jim Thome to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jones and Thome are both near-locks to be inducted in real life. According to Ryan Thibodeaux’s Baseball Hall of Fame vote tracker, both players have received votes on well over 90 percent of the vote on 192 ballots released publicly. Jones currently sits at 98.4 percent, and needs positive results on roughly 55 percent of the remaining ballots to be inducted. Thome has received 93.2 percent of the vote so far, and could probably get by on about 60 percent of the remaining vote.

Martinez’s chances at induction are a little slimmer. He currently sits at 80.7 percent on the public ballot, but has not fared well on private ballots in years past. He still needs positive votes on roughly 70 percent of the remaining ballots to be inducted this year, his ninth year of eligibility.

Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero just missed election on our ballot, but is probably a lock to be inducted into Cooperstown. He has appeared on 94.8 percent of public ballots this year, and needs roughly 58 percent of the remaining vote to clear the 75 percent threshold necessary for enshrinement. He appeared on just eight of our 11 ballots.

Also appearing on just eight BYB ballots were Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. The two have long been controversial topics due to their involvement with performance-enhancing drugs during the steroid era, but their vote totals have been rising in recent years. They currently sit at an equal 65.6 percent of the vote, more than 10 percentage points higher than what they received last year. However, private ballots have been their undoing in the past, making their chances of making up the remaining votes this year almost nonexistent.

Two other players close to receiving the necessary votes among the BYB commentariat were Mike Mussina and Larry Walker. Both have received plenty of support from the sabermetric community over the years, but the BBWAA has not reciprocated that love. Mussina has his best shot of enshrinement yet this year, earning 72.9 percent of the public ballot so far. However, private ballots have also killed him in the past. Walker has only received 40.1 percent of the BBWAA ballot so far this year. While he remains on the ballot for another year (and deservedly so), he will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

Others receiving votes: Curt Schilling (8), Trevor Hoffman (7), Manny Ramirez (4), Scott Rolen (3), Andruw Jones (1), Sammy Sosa (1), Billy Wagner (1)