You might be surprised that Hamels’ pitching quality is clearly better than Pettitte and Buerhle, while his peak consisted of solid consecutive seasons which could produce even higher value than Felix’s peak in total after checking the stats. He’s borderline but he’s worthy of consideration.

No Abreu and Utley, not a ballot I would necessarily agree with.

The Hall has actually been letting in fewer players in recent decades, it would be fine if the Hall becomes more inclusive to me.

Joel Sherman is being insistent as a Small Hall Voter, I guess. Just hoping his No vote for Jones won’t stop his induction… sigh…

Thanks for the transparency of sharing your ballot with the public, Mr. Groke, absolutely appreciate that! May I politely ask the reason for not selecting Andruw Jones to the Hall? Just curious which part of his resume still doesn’t meet your criteria of being a HOFer, thanks!

Not gonna disagree with anything you said here. Perhaps my stance is in line with the writers as I believe that scandal was more like a team scandal instead of singling out individuals while Beltran may be the only one singled out due to his retirement and no player was suspended as a result.

Thanks for the great explanation and the effort you put into the voting process, Ken! Great video, appreciate your reasoning even though I don’t agree 100% with all your picks! Good job!

A-Rod was suspended for his PED usage after rules were set in place. Beltran had major involvement with the cheating scandal but that was more considered a team scandal and it happened during the very last year of his long career. So I guess writers believe the severity of punishment is different.

The ballot was really too stacked at the time when Delgado appeared for the first time. I can prove it to you that he was like the 15th best player on that ballot and with only 10 slots available, he would’ve been neglected. Edmonds, Lofton, and Santana also faced the same unfortunate fate.

That’s big for both guys trying to get in the Hall this year!

His 4 picks would be my first 4 as well, excellent selections, Mr. Bowman!

I get that they are both eligible for nomination and are well qualified candidates, but I really do feel that the writers on the Historical Overview Committee might want to focus on nominating other retired candidates first before getting to these 2, and that’s just my thought, haha.

@cooperstowndave.bsky.social Any other HOF catchers who performed well during the 19th century and early 20th century that can made into a full comparison with Bennett? For example, Deacon White, Buck Ewing, Roger Bresnahan, Wally Schang, and King Kelly?

I agree with everything you said here. Hamels was a clear better pitcher on a per game basis and has a better case. Pettitte and Buerhle need other stuff to help their cases due their regular season days being worse and less dominant. I just think Pettitte may reach the very borderline for me.

Agree with the value of Pettitte’s postseason resume and Buerhle’s 200 IP per year consistency and contributions. They are both very borderline guys as I won’t be banging the drums to get either one in ASAP. I value peak more, hence, Felix and Hamels are better cases for me.

And I absolutely agree with you right there. I personally focus more on a player’s peak stats, hence, I do think Hamels has the better case over Pettitte here with better pitching quality. WAR and career ERA+ numbers don’t show the player’s peak dominance and that’s something to think about.

Good point. I actually think Pettitte has a better case than Buerhle and he is a borderline selection for me. Those 1997 and 2005 seasons were legit awesome ace quality seasons to add up a good postseason resume and he was a more dominant pitcher. (Good FIP, more Ks) WAR is not everything for sure.

I think the Hall needs to honor each era’s players who stood out from their peers. In some way or not, the standards do change between the 1980s and 2010s. I still don’t think Buerhle is a HOFer and that only Stieb and Appier deserve closer looks whether they deserve induction or not, peak matters.

@keithlaw.bsky.social Having read your incisive book about The Inside Game, I always loved your baseball articles and analyses and the interesting perspective you offered readers. Just curious, why did you publicly abstained your Baseball HOF ballot? (Was originally excited to see your selections)

Utley has a clear better case and longevity. His defense and base running has an edge and he has more PA than Wright as well. Wright is a borderline case while Utley is clear and above the Hall’s standards.

I believe Bochy and Baker are complete locks to be inducted. Piniella may also have another slim chance. Don’t think they’ll nominate Sabean due to his work with Yankees or Dombrowski given he’s Phillies GM now. White gets another look and they might nominate some others with less compelling cases.

Good signs for both of them. Perhaps we can see both Abreu or Hamels break that barrier as well.

Still think he has a very borderline case as an elite 3B at his peak. The hitting was spectacular.

K-Rod has big save totals and the single season record for most saves, it’s understandable why some voters would show more support for him. I still firmly believe that he has no chance to be inducted and that he’s undeserving of HOF induction.

@catwoman05.bsky.social Gary Carter is a top 5 catcher for me, I’m struggling to understand how big your Hall is. Seems like a very Small Hall to me.

So, how can I contact you guys via DM? Can’t find the message option, haha.

You too, Mike. I’m from Taiwan, an island in East Asia where citizens here are passionate about baseball (Especially Ohtani) and celebrated the big P12 tournament win last year with a new documentary coming out. We have just celebrated the New Year with fireworks from Taipei 101. Happy New Year too!

I sincerely hope more writers would treat the privilege of voting for HOF seriously and put in efforts to select players who’s shown dominance. Your tireless replies to questions on your ballot are convincing and helpful. It’s a joy reading your stuff and I wish for more baseball talks with you.

@mikepetriello.bsky.social Thanks for the clear explanations on how you voted for the HOF. I would’ve preferred Wright’s peak over Buerhle’s longevity and wouldn’t want PED-suspended players in the Hall but I can understand your method and process behind the selection of candidates. You nailed it.

Hey guys, just finished listening to many of your podcast episodes and I loved how you dive into many Baseball HOF candidates and give your thoughts about their cases. I have a full list of players who are borderline and are not in the Hall yet. Wondering whether if I can message you guys the list?