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One reason not to vote for each of this year's Hall of Fame nominees that has nothing to do with steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.

  • Jack Morris (14th year on ballot) – His 105 ERA+ in 3,824 career innings pitched is nearly identical to Jamie Moyer's 104 ERA+ in 4,074 career innings.
  • Jeff Bagwell (3rd) – He would skyrocket to the top of the list of worst facial hair on a Hall of Fame plaque.
  • Lee Smith (11th) – Saves are overrated.
  • Tim Raines (6th) – He wasn't Rickey Henderson.
  • Alan Trammell (12th) – He was a great shortstop right before Cal Ripken redefined what it meant to be a great shortstop.
  • Edgar Martinez (4th) – He was a DH in Seattle.
  • Fred McGriff (4th) – He never seemed to learn anything from Tom Emanski.
  • Larry Walker (3rd) – His journey from Canada to Coors is too foreign.
  • Mark McGwire (7th) – His home runs into Big Mac Land helped to make America fat.
  • Don Mattingly (13th) – He never shaved those sideburns.
  • Dale Murphy (15th) – His amazing 1980s seasons weren't enough to erase his sudden decline in the 1990s.
  • Rafael Palmeiro (3rd) – As the fourth person ever to reach 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, it's no longer special.
  • Bernie Williams (2nd) – Classical guitar is more of a Cleveland thing.
  • Barry Bonds (1st) – He was a meanie jerkface.
  • Roger Clemens (1st) – His cameo in "Kingpin" was nowhere near as good as Cam Neely's in "Dumb & Dumber".
  • Mike Piazza (1st) – 396 home runs as a catcher doesn't even pass Dale Murphy's career home run total.
  • Curt Schilling (1st) – The bloody sock has been seized by the state of Rhode Island.
  • Kenny Lofton (1st) – He also wasn't Rickey Henderson.
  • Craig Biggio (1st) – His close association with Jeff Bagwell and Ken Caminiti means one thing: secret terrible facial hair.
  • Sammy Sosa (1st) – He wasn't Reggie Jackson.
  • David Wells (1st) – Perfect games are overrated, I'm told.
  • Steve Finley (1st) – 19th all-time in home runs after age 30, but just 1,172nd in home runs through 30—tied with Brian Schneider.
  • Julio Franco (1st) – Franco is actually ineligible for the Hall, based on the little known rule stating that a player must be on the ballot for the first time within 30 years of his MLB debut.
  • Reggie Sanders (1st) – Made the postseason six different times for five different teams, but helped win the World Series only once.
  • Shawn Green (1st) – Mike Schmidt will forever be the last player to hit four home runs in a single game and go on to the Hall of Fame.
  • Jeff Cirillo (1st) – Managed a career .430 slugging percentage playing from 1994 to 2007.
  • Woody Williams (1st) – His 103 career ERA+ is nearly idential to Jamie Moyer's 104 career ERA+.
  • Rondell White (1st) – A rule enacted in Hall of Fame voting since 2004: if you automatically picture the player in an Expos uniform when you hear his name, he cannot be admitted to the Hall.
  • Ryan Klesko (1st) – 1,736 career games and only 987 career RBI? He doesn't deserve a single vote, no matter what some say.
  • Aaron Sele (1st) – Middle name is Helmer, never actually helmed.
  • Roberto Hernandez (1st) – Players who take on false identities should not be rewarded, especially when they're still playing(!).
  • Royce Clayton (1st) – A .679 career OPS is barely better than Bill Mazeroski's .667 (and is worse when comparing OPS+, 78 to 84).
  • Jeff Conine (1st) – The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is for more than just Marlins players.
  • Mike Stanton (1st) – I know he's a great home run hitter, especially for a 22 year old, but we really should let his career play out before we give Stanton any Hall of Fame consideration.
  • Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1st) – Even for a catcher, playing only 1,377 games in 20 seasons is a bit low.
  • Jose Mesa (1st) – Has already earned his career accolades by finishing second in the Cy Young voting in 1995, ahead of David Cone and Mike Mussina.
  • Todd Walker (1st) – Played on seven teams in 12 seasons.

See? It wasn't so hard!

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rkowna
12/04
If Stanton tosses a tilde above the n this year you should reconsider. As far as Palmeiro goes even less impressive was the fact he was the fourth or fifth on Sandberg's wife, not the first.
boards
12/04
Pardon my ignorance, but I have no idea what this means.
chabels
12/04
I just hope Julio Franco unretires and latches on with a team every 10 years or so to maintain ballot eligibility.

Only seven more players have GI more DPs than him!

Maybe we need to open a "hall of outliers" nearby. Mark Whitten demands consideration!
SpaceJohnson
12/11
Does Julio Franco dream of electric sheep? He does and this is why he isn't eligible for the hall.