The official 2021 Baseball Hall Of Fame ballot does not get released until November, but notorious ballot tracker Ryan Thibodaux has released an early projection of the list.
Firing up the Tracker machine. T-minus three months!
(This is not the official 2021 ballot, which won't be announced until November.) pic.twitter.com/xuhcRrzWia
New additions to the ballot include Jeremy Affeldt, Mark Buehrle, A.J. Burnett, Michael Cuddyer, Aaron Harang, Dan Haren, Corey Hart, LaTroy Hawkins, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Adam LaRoche, Aramis Ramirez, Alex Rios, Grady Sizemore, Rafael Soriano, Nick Swisher, Dan Uggla, Shane Victorino, C.J. Wilson, and Barry Zito.
These players join returners Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa, Omar Vizquel, and Billy Wagner.
What is unique about this ballot is pretty much all of the new additions are not Hall of Fame worthy. Maybe Mark Buehrle or Torii Hunter has a shot, but the rest is easy no’s. It is unlikely to see so many unworthy players at once on the ballot.
Since there aren’t any good options joining the ballot, those that were on the ballot last year benefit. This could be the year that Bonds and Clemens get voted into the Hall. Last year, Bonds and Clemens got 60.7% and 61% of the vote, a little bit below the 75% threshold to get in. For two of the some of the best players of all time, Bonds and Clemens are more than due.
Other returning players sure to benefit from the weak class are Scott Rolen (35.3%), Billy Wagner (31.7%), Todd Helton (29.2%), Jeff Kent (27.5%), and Andruw Jones (19.4%). These are all Hall of Famers in my eyes and have been underlooked the last few years because of more obvious options. Hopefully, these guys get a voting boost this year and help build momentum for their future induction.
Here is my personal HOF ballot: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Scott Rolen, Andruw Jones, Billy Wagner, Manny Ramirez, Todd Helton, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa, and Jeff Kent.
I made the obvious case for why Bonds and Clemens should be in the Hall of Fame last January:
