My Personal Opinion on the Hall of Fame Results

     Let's start with the facts; Todd Helton finally made it in, and Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer made the Hall the first time around when the results were announced yesterday.

    Gosh, Helton, you need to cheer up. I know it took a while, but you're here now.

    Those who were kicked from the ballot were Gary Sheffield on his last year, Jose Bautista, Victor Martinez, Bartolo Colon, Matt Holliday, Adrian Gonzalez, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes and James Shields, all on their first year.

    And those who live to fight another year are Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Chase Utley, Omar Vizquel, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Andy Pettitte, Mark Buehrle, Francisco Rodriguez, Torii Hunter and David Wright.

    Now, for my unprofessional opinion. All three of the guys who made it yesterday definitely deserve to be in, and I am stoked to see both Beltre and Mauer get in on their first ballots. Also, Todd Helton had been waiting too long to get in. That's probably why he looks so upset in the picture. If you want to see a more in-depth analysis of the players, check out https://talkinprobaseball.blogspot.com/2023/12/what-my-hof-ballot-would-look-like-this.html.

    I am excited to see that David Wright survived to fight next year. Like I said before, he is my favorite player on the ballot. However, I thought that he was definitely going to get kicked on his first year. Though I doubt the third baseman will make it, I'm glad to see him keeping his head above water.

    I don't agree with Gary Sheffield being left out, being one of the most feared hitters of his time as well as hitting 509 career home runs. I know there's stuff going on about him, but he's a clean player who should have a clean plaque in Cooperstown.

    And though it's bad that Sheff isn't in, it's a crime that Billy Wagner isn't. He's the second-best closer who ever stepped on the mound, 56 points better than Trevor Hoffman. With 422 saves and a 2.31 ERA, Wagner's being gypped.

    Now, for the people who were eliminated (except for Sheffield). I don't mind any of them. I am surprised that Matt Holliday was kicked, and when I published my ballot a while ago, I actually voted for him. While I probably would change my mind now, I'm still surprised that he was eliminated this early. I agree with all the other exclusions. I mean, do Bartolo and James Shields, who both had ERAs over 4.00, deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? 

    So other than these opinions, I will just mention which of the remaining players I would want in the Hall. These would be Billy Wagner, Francisco Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel and David Wright. I would prefer Andruw Jones and Chase Utley to make it, but wouldn't be heartbroken if they didn't.

    Well, there you have it. These are my personal opinions on what happened and what should have happened. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.