2019 MLB Hall of Fame Voting

Newly enshrined:
Mariano Rivera (first unanimous selection), Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina
Rivera was the shit, very deserving of the first unanimous vote, and the amazing thing was he only had one pitch but no one could hit it, one of the best I ever saw.
I always loved Edgar Martinez, a good solid hitter is a good thing, maybe an edge of the Hall kinda guy but I would've voted for him.
Halladay's decline was immediate and stunning but before that, the dude was untouchable for a decade, no-hitter in the playoffs, played on a lot of good teams, arguably the best in the league during his time, an easy 1st ballot Hall of Famer.
Glad to see Mussina get in, thought he got low-balled in his first five years on the ballot, played his entire career in the hardest division in baseball, played on a lot of good teams, very deserving.


Not this year:
Curt Shilling, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Larry Walker, Omar Vizquel, Manny Ramirez, Jeff Kent, Scott Rolen, Billy Wagner, Todd Helton, Gary Sheffield, Andy Pettite, Sammy Sosa, Andruw Jones 
(Ought To Be In) Dude, Bonds was the best player I ever saw and Clemens was probably the best pitcher I ever saw, the fact that they're not in the Hall is an abrogation of duty by the voters--and a goddamn waste of time! Shilling, too, was one of the best I ever saw and the fact that the writers are dissing him because he's a right-wing goofball is an injustice. Sammy Sosa always annoyed me but his numbers are staggering and clearly Hall of Fame worthy. Manny Ramirez was one of the most gloriously underrated players I ever saw in his Indian days, then he went to Boston and though he found glory there, they turned him into the idiot everyone remembers; too bad, he was probably the best pure hitter I ever saw and never got the acclaim he deserved, totally a Hall of Famer. I don't understand why Sheffield hasn't gotten in yet, he was a pivotal player on a lot of good teams and was one of the best in the league for a long long time, deserving, ought to be in already.
Argh! Baseball writers and their phony baloney moralism is foolish and embarrassing--just do your jobs, you dumbass writers!

(Not in, I think) Walker was a hell of hitter, tenacious baller, an old timey baseball guy, next year will be his last on the ballot, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it.
Vizquel was one of the greatest defensive middle infielders I ever saw, played on a lot of good teams, well-liked guy but probably not a Hall of Famer (I can see the Vet Committee tapping him).
Jeff Kent? Why has Jeff Kent lasted this long on the ballot? I lived in the Bay Area during his best years and I'm here to let you know Benito Santiago was more important to those teams than Kent, not even close to a Hall of Famer.
Rolen was a good player for a long time but I just don't think of him with Mike Schmidt or Brooks Robinson or George Brett, he wasn't classic, he was just a good player for a long time. (I can see the Vet Committee putting him in down the line)
Wagner was a good closer but I wouldn't put him ahead of Eckersly, Rivera, Lee Smith, Hoffman, Sutter (or even Goose Gossage, for that matter). The Hall has finally gotten around to adding relievers but I think Wagner is just short of that elite crew.
Helton was a hell of a hitter for a long long time, but he's got that Coors Field inflation, that'll probably keep him out.
Pettite was a good pitcher for a long time, lot of good teams, key to the Yankee revitalization in the 1990s, fun with the Astros, too, seems like he should be getting more--oh yeah, he failed a drug test, didn't he? Tsk, tsk, the baseball writers have a high horse a-callin' them.
Jones had one of the most exciting rookie seasons I can recall and he had some big number years, but he kinda had just an ordinary career, good player but he doesn't feel like a Hall of Famer to me.


10th and final ballot:
Fred McGriff
I always liked the Crime Dog (still one of Berman's best monikers), saw him hit a homer at Fenway when he was a Blue Jay, had good years and bad years but a long career and played on a lot of good teams. He's probably an edge candidate but I would've voted for him if I had a vote (though I reckon the veterans committee will put him in pretty soon).


One and done:
Michael Young, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, Roy Oswalt, Placido Polanco, Freddy Garcia, Ted Lilly, Travis Hafner, Kevin Youkilis, Darren Oliver, Rick Ankiel, Vernon Wells, Jon Garland, Jason Bay, Derek Lowe, Juan Pierre
Yeah, none of these guys are Hall of Famers, but I'm a little surprised some of these guys didn't even last to the 2nd ballot: Berkman and Tejada had some monster years (better than Jeff Kent, why does that guy keep hanging around?) and Oswalt was elite for more than a few years. Ankiel is one of the all time great what-if's--dude, that guy was soooo good...until he just wasn't all of the sudden. And as an Indians fan I can assure you that the Hafner-Sizemore duo was a coupla bad injuries away from being really great (led to them letting go of Sabathia and Cliff Lee, too....*sigh*). Young was a good player and very well-liked (he's coaching now, right?) and he was one of the highest vote-getters of his class, but not a Hall of Famer. Youkilis and Lowe were on legendary Red Sox teams, figured that would give them a little more of a bump. (The problem is the sclerotic idiots that keep leaving Clemens, Bonds, Sosa and Ramirez on this list to suck up votes instead of just putting them in the Hall--that limited the opportunities for this class)


Veterans Committee Inductees:
Harold Baines, Lee Smith
I'm cool with both of these guys. I always dug Baines, a good reliable hitter for a long long time and by all accounts a real nice guy (hey, that definitely matters--ask Curt Shilling!), so even though the Writers didn't put him in, I'm not surprised the vets extended him the honor.
Smith was the best for a while--not a long while--but he was at the vanguard of the transition of the closer into the modern game and I think is worthy of being remembered.


My ten votes:
Bonds, Clemens, Rivera, Halladay, Shilling, Ramirez, Mussina, Sosa, Martinez, McGriff (sorry, Sheff,  you're my #11)