Hallbound...2026!!!

The votes are in...

2000 Topps Carlos Beltrán #178 and 1998 Topps Andruw Jones #334

• Carlos Beltrán 358 (84.2%);
• Andruw Jones 333 (78.4%);
• Chase Utley 251 (59.1%);
• Andy Pettitte 206 (48.5%);
• Félix Hernández 196 (46.1%);
• Álex Rodríguez 170 (40.0%);
• Manny Ramírez 165 (38.8%);
• Bobby Abreu 131 (30.8%);
• Jimmy Rollins 108 (25.4%);
• Cole Hamels 101 (23.8%);
• Dustin Pedroia 88 (20.7%);
• Mark Buehrle 85 (20.0%);
• Omar Vizquel 78 (18.4%);
• David Wright 63 (14.8%);
• Francisco Rodríguez 50 (11.8%);
• Torii Hunter 37 (8.7%);
• Ryan Braun 15 (3.5%);
• Edwin Encarnación 6 (1.4%);
• Shin-Soo Choo 3 (0.7%);
• Matt Kemp 2 (0.5%);
• Hunter Pence 2 (0.5%);
• Rick Porcello 2 (0.5%);
• Alex Gordon 1 (0.2%);
• Nick Markakis 1 (0.2%);
• Gio González 0;
• Howie Kendrick 0;
• Daniel Murphy 0;

Congratulations to Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones for being elected into the Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 319 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction. 

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (22 votes). Omar Vizquel will be on his tenth and final ballot going into 2027. Manny Ramirez' first go-through with the Veteran's Committee will be in 2028, when the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee re-convenes (this is the committee that elected Jeff Kent for induction back in December).

1993 Topps Jeff Kent #703

History dictates that the player with the most votes but not elected into the HOF will eventually be voted in, whether it be on the BBWAA ballot or one of the Veteran's Committees. If this trend continues, Chase Utley will eventually be going to Cooperstown.

On an unrelated note (because I'll be updating Wikipedia after submitting this post...unless someone beat me to the punch), all three players who will be inducted into the HOF on July 26 were members of Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Kent (in 1992), Jones (1997) and Beltrán (1999). There are now 37 HOF players and 2 HOF managers who were once a part of the ASRT.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, of the 428 ballots that were cast, eleven of them was blank.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2019!!!

The votes are in...

• Mariano Rivera 425 (100%);
• Roy Halladay 363 (85.4%);
• Edgar Martinez 363 (85.4%);
• Mike Mussina 326 (76.7%);
• Curt Schilling 259 (60.9%);
• Roger Clemens 253 (59.5%);
• Barry Bonds 251 (59.1%);
• Larry Walker 232 (54.6%);
• Omar Vizquel 182 (42.8%);
• Fred McGriff 169 (39.8%);
• Manny Ramírez 97 (22.8%);
• Jeff Kent 77 (18.1%);
• Billy Wagner 71 (16.7%);
• Todd Helton 70 (16.5%);
• Scott Rolen 73 (17.2%);
• Gary Sheffield 58 (13.6%);
• Andy Pettitte 42 (9.9%);
• Sammy Sosa 36 (8.5%);
• Andruw Jones 32 (7.5%);
• Michael Young 9 (2.1%);
• Lance Berkman 5 (1.2%);
• Miguel Tejada 5 (1.2%);
• Roy Oswalt 4 (0.9%);
• Plácido Polanco 2 (0.5%);
• Rick Ankiel 0;
• Jason Bay 0;
• Freddy García 0;
• Jon Garland 0;
• Travis Hafner 0;
• Ted Lilly 0;
• Derek Lowe 0;
• Darren Oliver 0;
• Juan Pierre 0;
• Vernon Wells 0;
• Kevin Youkilis 0;

Congratulations to Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, and Mike Mussina for being elected into the Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 319 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction. Rivera becomes the first player ever inducted with a 100% of the voters selecting him...a perfect 425.

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (22 votes). Larry Walker will be on his tenth and final ballot going into 2020. Fred McGriff's first go-through with the Veteran's Committee will be in 2023, when the Today's Era Committee re-convenes (this is the committee that elected both Lee Smith and Harold Baines for induction back in December).

History dictates that the player with the most votes but not elected into the HOF will eventually be voted in, whether it be on the BBWAA ballot or one of the Veteran's Committees. If this trend continues, Curt Schilling will eventually be going to Cooperstown.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

One (or More) of These Players Could Be Voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame

When the announcement is made at 05:00 PM CST on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at home, again, getting ready to transition from one job to the next. But I'll still have the MLB Network on to watch the results live.

With any luck, more than one person on this list of 35 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2017 election) being considered:

• Rick Ankiel
• Jason Bay
• Lance Berkman
• Barry Bonds, 7th, 56.4%
• Roger Clemens, 7th, 57.3%
• Freddy Garcia
• Jon Garland
• Travis Hafner
• Roy Halladay
• Todd Helton
• Andruw Jones, 2nd, 7.3%
• Jeff Kent, 6th, 14.5%
• Ted Lilly
• Derek Lowe
• Edgar Martinez, 10th, 70.4%
• Fred McGriff, 10th, 23.2%
• Mike Mussina, 6th, 63.5%
• Darren Oliver
• Roy Oswalt
• Andy Pettitte
• Juan Pierre
• Placido Polanco
• Manny Ramirez, 3rd, 22.0%
• Mariano Rivera
• Scott Rolen, 2nd, 10.2%
• Curt Schilling, 7th, 51.2%
• Gary Sheffield, 5th, 11.1%
• Sammy Sosa, 7th, 7.8%
• Miguel Tejada
• Omar Vizquel, 2nd, 37.0%
• Billy Wagner, 3nd, 10.2%
• Larry Walker, 9th, 34.1%
• Vernon Wells
• Kevin Youkilis
• Michael Young

Until the announcement is made (and I WILL be home when this happens), only the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the accounting firm that tabulated the votes knows who will join Lee Smith and Harold Baines in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 21, 2019.

Good luck to everyone.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2018!!!

The votes are in...

• Chipper Jones 410 (97.2%);
• Vladimir Guerrero 392 (92.9%);
• Jim Thome 379 (89.8%);
• Trevor Hoffman 337 (79.9%);
• Edgar Martinez 297 (70.4%);
• Mike Mussina 268 (63.5%);
• Roger Clemens 242 (57.3%);
• Barry Bonds 238 (56.4%);
• Curt Schilling 216 (51.2%);
• Omar Vizquel 156 (37.0%);
• Larry Walker 144 (34.1%);
• Fred McGriff 98 (23.2%);
• Manny Ramirez 93 (22.0%);
• Jeff Kent 61 (14.5%);
• Gary Sheffield 47 (11.1%);
• Billy Wagner 47 (11.1%);
• Scott Rolen 43 (10.2%);
• Sammy Sosa 33 (7.8%);
• Andruw Jones 31 (7.3%);
• Jamie Moyer 10 (2.4%);
• Johan Santana 10 (2.4%);
• Johnny Damon 8 (1.9%);
• Hideki Matsui 4 (0.9%);
• Chris Carpenter 2 (0.5%);
• Kerry Wood 2 (0.5%);
• Livan Hernandez 1 (0.2%);
• Carlos Lee 1 (0.2%);
• Orlando Hudson 0;
• Aubrey Huff 0;
• Jason Isringhausen 0;
• Brad Lidge 0;
• Kevin Millwood 0;
• Carlos Zambrano 0;

Congratulations to Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, and Jim Thome for being elected into the Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 317 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction.

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (22 votes). Edgar Martinez and Fred McGriff will be on their tenth and final ballot going into 2019.

Chipper Jones is also the 24th member of Topps' All-Star Rookie Team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player (2 are in as managers).

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, of the 422 ballots that were cast, one of them was blank.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

One (or More) of These Players Could Be Voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame

When the announcement is made at 05:00 PM CST on Wednesday, January 24, 2018, to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at home, getting ready to transition from one job to the next. But I'll still have the MLB Network on to watch the results live.

With any luck, more than one person on this list of 33 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2017 election) being considered:

• Barry Bonds, 6th, 53.8%
• Chris Carpenter
• Roger Clemens, 6th, 54.1%
• Johnny Damon
• Vladimir Guerrero, 2nd, 71.7%
• Trevor Hoffman, 3rd, 74.0%
• Livan Hernandez
• Orlando Hudson
• Aubrey Huff
• Jason Isringhausen
• Andruw Jones
• Chipper Jones
• Jeff Kent, 5th, 16.7%
• Carlos Lee
• Brad Lidge
• Edgar Martinez, 9th, 58.6%
• Hideki Matsui
• Fred McGriff, 9th, 21.7%
• Kevin Millwood
• Jamie Moyer
• Mike Mussina, 5th, 51.8%
• Manny Ramirez, 2nd, 23.8%
• Scott Rolen
• Johan Santana
• Curt Schilling, 6th, 45.0%
• Gary Sheffield, 4rd, 13.3%
• Sammy Sosa, 6th, 8.6%
• Jim Thome
• Omar Vizquel
• Billy Wagner, 3nd, 10.2%
• Larry Walker, 8th, 21.9%
• Kerry Wood
• Carlos Zambrano

When this post comes out, it will be 24 hours before the big announcement. At this time, only the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the accounting firm that tabulated the votes knows who will join Jack Morris and Alan Trammell in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 29, 2018.

Good luck to everyone.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound 2018. And the Motor City Rejoices!!!

1985 Topps #610 Jack Morris and #690 Alan Trammell

On Sunday, July 29, 2018, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will be welcoming what should be a large and unique class of new inductees. Players who should be making their speeches after the big announcement on Wednesday, January 24, 2018, will be up there on stage, talking about their playing days, and thanking all of those who helped them become better ball players, and certainly, better human beings.

But before we get to talking about the 33 players who are on the BBWAA ballot, let's talk about two players who stayed on the ballots for 15 years and were not able to get the necessary 75% of the votes to be inducted during the regular voting cycles. Thanks to the revamped Veteran's Committees, these two men, teammates for many years, will be enshrined as Hall of Famers, and join whoever makes it in from the writer's vote, as part of the HOF Class of 2018.

On Sunday, December 10, 2018, it was announced that pitcher Jack Morris and shortstop Alan Trammell, part of a 10-person Modern Baseball Era ballot (contributions from 1970-1987), earned over 75% of the votes from a panel of 15 Hall of Fame players, managers, executives, writers, and historians that was taken on the last day of Baseball's Winter Meetings. Teammates from 1977 through 1990, both men were part of the dominant 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers.

Jack Morris played in the Majors from 1977 through 1994 with the Tigers, Twins (1991), Blue Jays (1992-93) and Indians (1994). He pitched in 549 regular season games, 527 of them as a starting pitcher, posting a record of 254-186 with a 3.90 ERA, striking out 2478 batters in 3824 innings of work. He led the AL in wins in both 1981 (14) and 1992 (21), and was part of 4 World Series winning teams (1984 Tigers, 1991 Twins, and 1992-3 Blue Jays) being named the WS MVP in 1991. He was a 5-time All-Star, 7-time Cy Young candidate, and 5-time MVP candidate. He set the record for most consecutive opening day starts by a pitcher with 14 starting nods.

Alan Trammell was a lifelong Tiger, playing 20 seasons in the Motor City from 1977 through 1996. In 2293 regular season games, Trammell hit for a .285 average, with 185 home runs, 1003 runs driven in, stole 236 bases, and had a slash line of .352/.415/.767.  He was a six-time All-Star, four0-time Gold Glove winner, a 3-time Silver Slugger, and a 7-time MVP candidate. He was also named the MVP of the 1984 World Series, hitting .450 with 2 home runs and 6 runs driven in. For 19 seasons, Trammell shared the middle infield duties with second baseman Lou Whitaker, a man who many feel was slighted from the HOF voting and dropped from the writer's ballot after only a couple of years. Alan and Lou were so synonymous with Tigers baseball that not only did the pair set the record for most games played as an infield combo, but they made an appearance on Magnum PI. It is hoped that with Morris and Trammell both getting the call that "Sweet Lou" gets another look. Who knows, maybe one day he will join his teammates and manager (Sparky Anderson was inducted in 2000) in Cooperstown.

So who'll be joining the long-time teammates in July? The Hall of Fame announcement will take place on Wednesday, January 24, at 5:00 pm CST.

Post about the 33 candidates forthcoming.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2017!!!

The votes are in...

• Jeff Bagwell 381 (86.2%);
• Tim Raines 380 (86%);
• Ivan Rodriguez 307 (76.0%);
• Trevor Hoffman 327 (74.0%);
• Vladimir Guerrero 317 (71.7%);
• Edgar Martinez 259 (58.6%);
• Roger Clemens 239 (54.1%);
• Barry Bonds 238 (53.8%);
• Mike Mussina 229 (51.8%);
• Curt Schilling 199 (45.3%);
• Lee Smith 151 (34.1%);
• Manny Ramirez 105 (23.8%);
• Larry Walker 97 (21.9%);
• Fred McGriff 96 (21.7%);
• Jeff Kent 74 (16.7%);
• Gary Sheffield 59 (13.3%);
• Billy Wagner 45 (10.2%);
• Sammy Sosa 38 (8.6%);
• Jorge Posada 17 (3.8%);
• Magglio Ordonez 3 (0.7%);
• Edgar Renteria 2 (0.5%);
• Jason Varitek 2 (0.5%);
• Tim Wakefield 1 (0.2%);
• Casey Blake 0;
• Pat Burrell 0;
• Orlando Cabrera 0;
• Mike Cameron 0;
• J.D. Drew 0;
• Carlos Guillen 0;
• Derrek Lee 0;
• Melvin Mora 0;
• Arthur Rhodes 0;
• Freddy Sanchez 0;
• Matt Stairs 0;

Congratulations to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez for being elected into the Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 332 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction.

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (23 votes). Lee Smith was on his fifteenth and final ballot. He will now wait for the Veteran's Committee to decide his fate in the future.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 442 ballots were cast.

No one has mentioned this yet, but all three of this year's inductees are members of Topps All-Star Rookie Team. The "Rock" was on the 1981 ASRT, while both Bagwell and "Pudge" were part of the 1991 team. I think I'm going to visit the Wikipedia page and make a few edits...

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Update: Wednesday, January 17, 2017, 07:10 PM CST

After a bit of digging, it looks like of the 442 ballots that were cast, two of them were blank.

One (or More) of These Players Could Be Voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame

I will explain my month-long absence in another post on another day. But as today is HOF day, I thought I'd at least try to make an appearance.

When the announcement is made at 05:00 PM CST on Wednesday, January 18, 2016, to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at work. But I'll still have the MLB Network on to watch the results live.

With any luck, more than one person on this list of 34 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2016 election) being considered:

• Jeff Bagwell, 7th, 71.6%
• Casey Blake
• Barry Bonds, 5th, 44.3%
• Pat Burrell
• Orlando Cabrera
• Mike Cameron
• Roger Clemens, 5th, 45.2%
• J.D. Drew
• Vladimir Guerrero
• Carlos Guillen
• Trevor Hoffman, 2nd, 67.3%
• Jeff Kent, 4th, 16.6%
• Derrek Lee
• Edgar Martinez, 8th, 43.4%
• Fred McGriff, 8th, 20.9%
• Melvin Mora
• Mike Mussina, 4th, 43.0%
• Magglio Ordonez
• Jorge Posada
• Tim Raines, 10th, 69.8%
• Manny Ramirez
• Edgar Renteria
• Arthur Rhodes
• Ivan Rodriguez
• Freddy Sanchez
• Curt Schilling, 5th, 52.3%
• Gary Sheffield, 3rd, 11.6%
• Lee Smith, 15th, 34.1%
• Sammy Sosa, 5th, 7.0%
• Matt Stairs
• Jason Varitek
• Billy Wagner, 2nd, 10.5%
• Tim Wakefield
• Larry Walker, 7th, 15.5%

This is the last time on the ballot for both Tim Raines and Lee Smith. As you probably know, the rules were changed so that a player could only be on the ballot for no more than 10 years before they are to be removed from the ballot and then considered by a Veteran's Committee. Smith is on a grandfathered clause from when 15 years was the rule.

Now as much as my daughter would love to see her hero (that would be Derrek Lee) get inducted, it's most likely that he's not going to survive the 5% threshold. I'm looking forward to the results, and will make sure to post them as soon as I can find the final results. Until then, I'll probably be "twitter-screaming" the results (follow me at @bdj610 if you want).

As of the time of this post, it's 15 minutes to go before the announcement. I'm sure by now someone has already told the future inductees that they're in. So begins the whirlwind tour for them.

Good luck to everyone.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2016!!!

The votes are in...

• Ken Griffey, Jr. 437 (99.3%);
• Mike Piazza 365 (83.0%);
• Jeff Bagwell 315 (71.6%);
• Tim Raines 307 (69.8%);
• Trevor Hoffman 296 (67.3%);
• Curt Schilling 230 (52.3%);
• Roger Clemens 199 (45.2%);
• Barry Bonds 195 (44.3%);
• Edgar Martinez 191 (43.4%);
• Mike Mussina 189 (43.0%);
• Alan Trammell 180 (40.9%);
• Lee Smith 150 (34.1%);
• Fred McGriff 92 (20.9%);
• Jeff Kent 73 (16.6%);
• Larry Walker 68 (15.5%);
• Mark McGwire 54 (12.3%);
• Gary Sheffield 51 (11.6%);
• Billy Wagner 46 (10.5%);
• Sammy Sosa 31 (7.0%);
• Jim Edmonds 11 (2.5%);
• Nomar Garciaparra 8 (1.8%);
• Mike Sweeney 3 (0.7%);
• David Eckstein 2 (0.5%);
• Jason Kendall 2 (0.5%);
• Garret Anderson 1 (0.2%);
• Brad Ausmus 0;
• Luis Castillo 0;
• Troy Glaus 0;
• Mark Grudzielanek 0;
• Mike Hampton 0;
• Mike Lowell 0;
• Randy Winn 0;

On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 330 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction. The new voting rules (writers can be inactive no more than 10 years) eliminated 100 plus voters, and also the years to be eligible to stay on the ballot were changed from 15 to 10 (Trammell, Smith, and Raines were grandfathered).

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (22 votes). Alan Trammell was on his fifteenth and final ballot. Mark McGwire was on his tenth and now final ballot. Both will now wait for the Veteran's Committee to decide their fates in the future.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 440 ballots were cast.

UPDATE: Wednesday, January 6, 2016, 06:15 pm CST

A few years ago, I wrote about an insert set called Topps Hallbound. That's where the two cards above came from. There are 15 subjects in this set. Of the 15, 11, including Griffey and Piazza, are now in the Hall of Fame.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

One (or More) of These Players Could Be Voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame

When the announcement is made at 05:00 PM CST on Wednesday, January 6, 2016, to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at work. But I'll still have the MLB Network on to watch the results live.

With any luck, more than one person on this list of 32 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2015 election) being considered:

Garret Anderson
Brad Ausmus
Jeff Bagwell, 6th, 55.7%
Barry Bonds, 4th, 36.8%
Luis Castillo
Roger Clemens, 4th, 37.5%
David Eckstein
Jim Edmonds
Nomar Garciaparra, 2nd, 5.5%
Troy Glaus
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Mark Grudzielanek
Mike Hampton
Trevor Hoffman
Jason Kendall
Jeff Kent, 3rd, 14.0%
Mike Lowell
Edgar Martinez, 7th, 27.0%
Fred McGriff, 7th, 12.9%
Mark McGwire, 10th, 10.0%
Mike Mussina, 3rd, 24.6%
Mike Piazza, 4th, 69.9%
Tim Raines, 9th, 55.0%
Curt Schilling, 4th, 39.2%
Gary Sheffield, 2nd, 11.7%
Lee Smith, 14th, 30.2%
Sammy Sosa, 4th, 6.6%
Mike Sweeney
Alan Trammell, 15th, 25.1%
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker, 6th, 11.8%
Randy Winn

After the ballots are counted tonight, only two or three people will know the results of the election. Stay tuned. Tomorrow will be an interesting day to say the least.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2015!!!

The votes are in...

• Randy Johnson 534 (97.3%);
• Pedro Martinez 500 (91.1%);
• John Smoltz 455 (82.9%);
• Craig Biggio 454 (82.7%);
• Mike Piazza 384 (69.9%);
• Jeff Bagwell 306 (55.7%);
• Tim Raines 302 (55.0%);
• Curt Schilling 215 (39.2%);
• Roger Clemens 206 (37.5%);
• Barry Bonds 202 (36.8%);
• Lee Smith 166 (30.2%);
• Edgar Martinez 148 (27.0%);
• Alan Trammell 138 (25.1%);
• Mike Mussina 135 (24.6%);
• Jeff Kent 77 (14.0%);
• Fred McGriff 71 (12.9%);
• Larry Walker 65 (11.8%);
• Gary Sheffield 64 (11.7%);
• Mark McGwire 55 (10.0%);
• Don Mattingly 50 (9.1%);
• Sammy Sosa 36 (6.6%);
• Nomar Garciaparra 30 (5.5%);
• Carlos Delgado 21 (3.8%);
• Troy Percival 4 (0.7%);
• Aaron Boone 2 (0.4%);
• Tom Gordon 2 (0.4%);
• Darin Erstad 1 (0.2%);
• Rich Aurilia 0;
• Tony Clark 0;
• Jermaine Dye 0;
• Cliff Floyd 0;
• Brian Giles 0;
• Eddie Guardado 0;
• Jason Schmidt 0;

On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 412 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction. For the first time since 1955, four players have been elected by the BBWAA into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This will also be the first time that three pitchers have been voted into the Hall by the writers in the same year. Pedro Martinez is now the first player born in the 1970's to be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame (Pedro was born in 1971).

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (28 votes). Don Mattingly was on his fifteenth and final ballot, and will now wait for the Veteran's Committee to decide his fate in the future.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 549 ballots were cast.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

This is It! The Hall of Fame Announcement is Today.

When the announcement is made today at 01:00 PM CST on Tuesday, January 6, 2014, to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at work. But I'll still have the MLB Network on to watch the results live.

With any luck, more than one person on this list of 34 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2014 election) being considered:

Rich Aurilia
Jeff Bagwell, 5th, 54.3%
Craig Biggio, 3rd, 74.8%
Barry Bonds, 3rd, 34.7%
Aaron Boone
Tony Clark
Roger Clemens, 3rd, 35.4%
Carlos Delgado
Jermaine Dye
Darin Erstad
Cliff Floyd
Nomar Garciaparra
Brian Giles
Tom Gordon
Eddie Guardado
Randy Johnson
Jeff Kent, 2nd, 15.2%
Edgar Martinez, 6th, 25.2%
Pedro Martinez
Don Mattingly, 15th, 8.2%
Fred McGriff, 6th, 11.7%
Mark McGwire, 9th, 11.0%
Mike Mussina, 2nd, 20.3%
Troy Percival
Mike Piazza, 3rd, 62.2%
Tim Raines, 8th, 46.1%
Curt Schilling, 3rd, 29.2%
Jason Schmidt
Gary Sheffield
Lee Smith, 13th, 29.9%
John Smoltz
Sammy Sosa, 3rd, 7.2%
Alan Trammell, 14th, 20.8%
Larry Walker, 4th, 21.6%

After the ballots were counted last night, as of right now, only two or three people know the results of the election. Stay tuned. Today should be an interesting day to say the least.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2014!!!

The votes are in...

• Greg Maddux 555 (97.2%);
• Tom Glavine 525 (91.9%);
• Frank Thomas 478 (83.7%);
• Craig Biggio 427 (74.8%);
• Mike Piazza 355 (62.2%);
• Jack Morris 351 (67.7%);
• Jeff Bagwell 310 (54.3%);
• Tim Raines 263 (46.1%);
• Roger Clemens 202 (35.4%);
• Barry Bonds 198 (34.7%);
• Lee Smith 171 (29.9%);
• Curt Schilling 167 (29.2%);
• Edgar Martinez 144 (25.2%);
• Alan Trammell 119 (20.8%);
• Mike Mussina 116 (20.3%);
• Jeff Kent 87 (15.2%);
• Fred McGriff 67 (11.7%);
• Mark McGwire 63 (11.0%);
• Larry Walker 58 (10.2%);
• Don Mattingly 47 (8.2%);
• Sammy Sosa 41 (7.2%);
• Rafael Palmeiro 25 (4.4%);
• Moises Alou 6 (1.1%);
• Hideo Nomo 6 (1.1%);
• Luis Gonzalez 5 (0.9%);
• Eric Gagne 2 (0.4%);
• J. T. Snow 2 (0.4%);
• Armando Benitez 1 (0.2%);
• Jacque Jones 1 (0.2%);
• Kenny Rogers 1 (0.2%);
• Sean Casey 0;
• Ray Durham 0;
• Todd Jones 0;
• Paul Lo Duca 0;
• Richie Sexson 0;
• Mike Timlin 0;

For the first time since 1999, three players have been elected by the BBWAA into the Baseball Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 429 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction.

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (29 votes). Jack Morris was on his fifteenth and final ballot, and will now wait for the Veteran's Committee to decide his fate in the future.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 569 ballots were cast. One of the ballots returned were left BLANK!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

This is It! The Hall of Fame Announcement is Today.

When the announcement is made today at 11:00 CST to let the world know who has been inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame, I will be at the orthodontist because my daughter has an appointment.

But that doesn't mean I'll be out of the loop. I will have my laptop with me, and I'll be keeping tabs that way. Today, someone from this list of 36 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2013 election) being considered:

Moises Alou
Jeff Bagwell, 4th, 59.6%
Armando Benitez
Craig Biggio, 2nd, 68.2%
Barry Bonds, 2nd, 36.2%
Sean Casey
Roger Clemens, 2nd, 37.6%
Ray Durham
Eric Gagne
Tom Glavine
Luis Gonzalez
Jacque Jones
Todd Jones
Jeff Kent
Paul Lo Duca
Greg Maddux
Edgar Martinez, 5th, 35.9%
Don Mattingly, 14th, 13.2%
Fred McGriff, 5th, 20.7%
Mark McGwire, 8th, 16.9%
Jack Morris, 15th, 67.7%
Mike Mussina
Hideo Nomo
Rafael Palmeiro, 4th, 8.8%
Mike Piazza, 2nd, 57.8%
Tim Raines, 7th, 52.2%
Kenny Rogers
Curt Schilling, 2nd, 38.8%
Richie Sexson
Lee Smith, 12th, 47.8%
J.T. Snow
Sammy Sosa, 2nd, 12.5%
Frank Thomas
Mike Timlin
Alan Trammell, 13th, 33.6%
Larry Walker, 4th, 21.6%

After the ballots were counted last night, only two or three people know the results of the election.  Someone will be joining the managerial triumvirate of Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre as part of the HOF Class of 2014. Stay tuned. This should be an interesting day to say the least.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound 2014!!! Managers Called to the Hall!!!

Introducing the HOF Inductees in 2014. More will be coming...right??? 

I guess the first order of business at the Winter Meetings being held this week was to announce who the 16-panel Veteran's Committee inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in the Expansion Era ballot (1961-Present). Nominees included 6 players, some of whom were on the HOF ballot for 15 years without induction (Tommy John, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons, Dan Quisenberry, Dave Concepcion, and Steve Garvey), two executives (Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and MLBPA Union Chief Marvin Miller), and 4 managers (Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, Billy Martin, and Joe Torre).

Of the 12 individuals on the ballot, the 16-man panel unanimously voted to induct managers Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, and Joe Torre into Baseball's Hall of Fame.

These three legendary skippers bring a combined 91 years of managerial experience to the HOF ranks. Between them, they have won eight World Series titles, seventeen League pennants, ten Manager of the Year Awards, and have a combined record of 7558-6363.

Bobby Cox managed the Atlanta Braves (1978-1981, 1990-2010; 2149-1709) and Toronto Blue Jays (1982-1985; 355-292) .

Tony LaRussa managed the Chicago White Sox (1979-1986; 522-510) Oakland Athletics (1986-1995; 798-673) and St. Louis Cardinals (1996-2011; 1408-1182).

Joe Torre managed the New York Mets (1977-1981; 286-420), Atlanta Braves (1982-1984; 257-229), St. Louis Cardinals (1990-1995; 352-354), New York Yankees (1996-2007; 1173-767). and Los Angeles Dodgers (2008-2010; 259-227).

All three men will be formally inducted into Cooperstown in July. Hopefully, some of the players who played for and/or against them, will join in the festivities as well.

Congratulations to all three skippers on their being voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2013??!

The votes are in...

• Craig Biggio 388 (68.2%);
• Jack Morris 385 (67.7%);
• Jeff Bagwell 339 (59.6%);
• Mike Piazza 329 (57.8%);
• Tim Raines 297 (52.2%);
• Lee Smith 272 (47.8%);
• Curt Schilling 221 (38.8%);
• Roger Clemens 214 (37.6%);
• Barry Bonds 206 (36.2%);
• Edgar Martinez 204 (35.9%);
• Alan Trammell 191 (33.6%);
• Larry Walker 123 (21.6%);
• Fred McGriff 118 (20.7%);
• Dale Murphy 106 (18.6%);
• Mark McGwire 96 (16.9%);
• Don Mattingly 75 (13.2%);
• Sammy Sosa 71 (12.5%);
• Rafael Palmeiro 50 (8.8%);
• Bernie Williams 19 (3.3%);
• Kenny Lofton 18 (3.2%);
• Sandy Alomar 16 (2.8%);
• Julio Franco 6 (1.1%);
• David Wells 5 (0.9%);
• Steve Finley 4 (0.7%);
• Shawn Green 2 (0.4%);
• Aaron Sele 1 (0.2%);
• Jeff Cirillo 0;
• Royce Clayton 0;
• Jeff Conine 0;
• Roberto Hernandez 0;
• Ryan Klesko 0;
• Jose Mesa 0;
• Reggie Sanders 0;
• Mike Stanton 0;
• Todd Walker 0;
• Rondell White 0;
• Woody Williams 0;

For the first time since 1996, no player was elected by the BBWAA into the Baseball Hall of Fame. On this year's ballot, a player needed to receive 427 votes to reach or exceed the 75% needed for induction. Craig Biggio was closest, just short by 39 votes.

The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (29 votes). Dale Murphy was on his fifteenth and final ballot, and will now wait for the Veteran's Committee to decide his fate in the future.

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 569 ballots were cast. Five of the ballots returned were left BLANK!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

This is It! The Hall of Fame Announcement is Today.

I am on location in my living room instead of in the basement where I normally write my blog.  But because the Hall of Fame announcement is today (will be announced on the MLB Network at 1:00 pm CST), I will be upstairs watching the results live for the first time ever.

Today, someone from this list of 37 players will be rewarded with the ultimate honor...enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  For the final time, here is the list of players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2012 election) being considered:

• Sandy Alomar Jr.
• Jeff Bagwell, 3rd, 56.0%
• Craig Biggio
• Barry Bonds
• Jeff Cirillo
• Royce Clayton
• Roger Clemens
• Jeff Conine
• Steve Finley
• Julio Franco
• Shawn Green
• Roberto Hernandez
• Ryan Klesko
• Kenny Lofton
• Edgar Martinez, 4th, 36.5%
• Don Mattingly, 13th, 17.8%
• Fred McGriff, 4th, 23.9%
• Mark McGwire, 7th, 19.5%
• Jose Mesa
• Jack Morris, 14th, 66.7%
• Dale Murphy, 15th, 14.5%
• Rafael Palmeiro, 3rd, 12.6%
• Mike Piazza
• Tim Raines, 6th, 48.7%
• Reggie Sanders
• Curt Schilling
• Aaron Sele
• Lee Smith, 11th, 50.6%
• Sammy Sosa
• Mike Stanton
• Alan Trammell, 12th, 36.8%
• Larry Walker, 3rd, 22.9%
• Todd Walker
• David Wells
• Rondell White
• Bernie Williams, 2nd, 9.6%
• Woody Williams

I tweeted last night that right now only two or three people know the results of the election.  Someone will be joining Hank O'Day, Jacob Ruppert, and Deacon White as part of the HOF Class of 2013.  Stay tuned.  This should be an interesting day to say the least.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

The 2013 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Has Been Announced. Who's In?

At 12:00 p.m. EST, The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced the players that were placed on the ballots sent to the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).  There are 24 players making their debut (highlighted in bold), so along with thirteen players who met the criteria in last year's HOF balloting, that means 37 players are on this year's ballot.  The players (with years on ballot and % of ballots in the 2012 election):

• Sandy Alomar Jr.
• Jeff Bagwell, 3rd, 56.0%
• Craig Biggio
• Barry Bonds
• Jeff Cirillo
• Royce Clayton
• Roger Clemens
• Jeff Conine
• Steve Finley
• Julio Franco
• Shawn Green
• Roberto Hernandez

• Ryan Klesko
• Kenny Lofton
• Edgar Martinez, 4th, 36.5%
• Don Mattingly, 13th, 17.8%
• Fred McGriff, 4th, 23.9%
• Mark McGwire, 7th, 19.5%
• Jose Mesa
• Jack Morris, 14th, 66.7%
• Dale Murphy, 15th, 14.5%
• Rafael Palmeiro, 3rd, 12.6%
• Mike Piazza
• Tim Raines, 6th, 48.7%

• Reggie Sanders
• Curt Schilling
• Aaron Sele
• Lee Smith, 11th, 50.6%
• Sammy Sosa
• Mike Stanton
• Alan Trammell, 12th, 36.8%
• Larry Walker, 3rd, 22.9%
• Todd Walker
• David Wells
• Rondell White
• Bernie Williams, 2nd, 9.6%
• Woody Williams

Who do you think will be inducted into Cooperstown in 2013? Good luck to all.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Hallbound...2012!!!

Your 2012 Baseball Hall of Famer: Barry Larkin!!!

The votes are in...

• Barry Larkin 495 (86.4%);
• Jack Morris 382 (66.7%);
• Jeff Bagwell 321 (56.0%);
• Lee Smith 290 (50.6%);
• Tim Raines 279 (48.7%);
• Edgar Martinez 209 (36.5%);
• Alan Trammell 211 (36.8%);
• Fred McGriff 137 (23.9%);
• Larry Walker 131 (22.9%);
• Mark McGwire 112 (19.5%);
• Don Mattingly 102 (17.8%);
• Dale Murphy 83 (14.5%);
• Rafael Palmeiro 72 (12.6%);
• Bernie Williams 55 (9.6%);
• Juan Gonzalez 23 (4.0%);
• Vinny Castilla 6 (1.0%);
• Tim Salmon 5 (0.9%);
• Bill Mueller 4 (0.7%);
• Brad Radke 2 (0.3%);
• Javy Lopez 1 (0.2%);
• Eric Young 1 (0.2%);
• Jeromy Burnitz 0;
• Brian Jordan 0;
• Terry Mulholland 0;
• Phil Nevin 0;
• Ruben Sierra 0;
• Tony Womack 0;

Congratulations to Barry Larkin for being elected into the Hall of Fame in what was third year on the ballot!!!

To get in this year, a player had to appear on 430 ballots. The players whose names are italicized will appear on next year's ballot, having surpassed the five percent rule to stay on (30 votes).

According to the Baseball Hall of Fame website, 573 ballots were cast. Nine of the ballots returned were left BLANK!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

One (or More) of These Players Could Be Voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame

On Monday, January 9, 2012, at 2:00 PM CST, we will find out which of the 27 players above will join Ron Santo as inductees to Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  If you look at the above photo, you will see that I was able to find a card for all of the players using Topps' designs from 1981 to 2007 and each of the players represents one year's design.  Mind you, it wasn't easy at first, but after doing a bit of juggling, it actually turned out rather well.

Now why couldn't we get an insert set like this in 2011 or 2012 Topps?

Good luck to all.  The results of the election will be posted here afterwards.  And maybe, just maybe, it will be the start of the Archives project...just don't know which year to use yet.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama