Andruw, Sheff, Wagner fall shy in Hall balloting
ATLANTA — Andruw Jones and Billy Wagner didn’t have fun when this yr’s Hall of Fame balloting outcomes had been introduced Tuesday evening. But each former Braves turned extra optimistic about future election.
Jones obtained votes on 58.1% of the ballots solid by eligible members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and Wagner garnered 68.1% of the votes. Both stay shy of the 75% wanted for election. But they’ve accelerated towards that quantity over the previous few years.
Wagner really fell simply 27 votes shy of election.
Rolen’s vote whole jumped from 10.2% (2018) to 17.2% (2019) to 35.3% (2020) to 52.9% (2021) to 63.2% (2022) to 76.3% (2023).
This ascension enhances hope for each Jones, who’s eligible to be on the poll 4 extra instances, and Wagner, who has two extra years of poll eligibility. Here’s a take a look at the progressions of their vote percentages:
JONES
2018: 7.3
2019: 7.5
2020: 19.4
2021: 33.9
2022: 41.4
2023: 58.1
WAGNER
2016: 10.5
2017: 10.2
2018: 11.1
2019: 16.7
2020: 31.7
2021: 46.4
2022: 51.0
2023: 68.1
Another former Brave nonetheless bidding for election is Gary Sheffield, who obtained 55% of the votes this yr. Sheffield’s 10-year keep on the poll will expire after subsequent yr.
Jones batted .254, tallied 434 dwelling runs and had an .823 OPS over a 17-season profession that included 5 All-Star appearances and the NL Hank Aaron Award in 2005, when he completed second to Albert Pujols for the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. The solely different outfielders to win as many as 10 Gold Gloves are Ichiro Suzuki and 4 Hall of Famers — Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr.
Jones was the writer of an uneven profession that began with a bang and ended with the thud created by the steep decline he skilled late in his profession. He produced MLB’s third-best fWAR from 1998-2007. The two males who ranked forward of him in that span had been Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. The man ranked instantly behind him was Chipper Jones, his longtime Braves teammate who was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in ’18.
Jones led all Major Leaguers with a 26.7 defensive bWAR throughout his 11 full seasons (1997-2007) with the Braves. Ivan Rodriguez ranked second with 16.5 throughout that span.
From 1995 (debut seasons for Wagner and Mariano Rivera) by means of 2010 (Wagner’s closing season), Rivera led all relievers in fWAR with 34.9. Wagner ranked second with 24.1, and Trevor Hoffman ranked third with 24.0.
The baseball world has correctly minimized the importance of pitching wins. Maintaining this similar line of reasoning in relation to Wagner — who had 422 profession saves, versus 652 for Rivera and 601 for Hoffman — there’s motive to argue voters have positioned too nice of a significance on save totals when evaluating a reliever’s {qualifications}.
Hoffman was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, and Rivera was unanimously elected in ’19. While Hoffman totaled 179 extra saves, Wagner had a greater ERA (2.31 vs. 2.87), the next strikeout charge (33.2% vs. 25.8%) and a decrease OPS surrendered (.558 vs. .609).
Sheffield is one in every of 20 gamers to supply no less than 500 homers and a .900 profession OPS. David Ortiz is a kind of gamers. The solely members of this group not but elected to the Hall of Fame are Sheffield, Bonds, Rodriguez, Pujols, Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera.
Sheffield can be one in every of 46 gamers to supply a 140 OPS+ and a bWAR of 60 or increased. He stands with Bonds, Rodriguez, Ramirez, McGwire and Shoeless Joe Jackson as the one retired members of this group who haven’t been elected.
