2023 Hall of Fame Ballot Results

The BBWAA's annual Hall of Fame voting results are in. 

Scott Rolen - .763 of the vote 

Todd Helton - .722 

Billy Wagner - .681 

Andruw Jones - .581 

Gary Sheffield - .550 

Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent - .465 

Alex Rodriguez - .357 

Manny Ramirez - .332 

Omar Vizquel - .195 

Andy Pettitte - .170 

Bobby Abreu - .154 

Jimmy Rollins - .129 

Mark Buehrle and Francisco (Frankie) Rodriguez - .108 

Torii Hunter - .069 

Dropoffs From Future Ballots 

Bronson Arroyo, R.A. Dickey, John Lackey, Mike Napoli, Huston Street - .003 

Matt Cain, Jacoby Ellsbury, Andre Ethier, J.J. Hardy, Jhonny Peralta, Jered Weaver, Jayson Werth - nothing 

Obviously, my biggest takeaway is Scott Rolen, who made it to Cooperstown on his sixth ballot. I'm glad he made it, I knew he deserved it, and I'm impressed by his 13.1% jump in the voting since last year. 

I am also pleased by Gary Sheffield's 14.6% jump from last year. At 55% on his ninth ballot, one hopes that he'll have a chance to make it next year. 

The fact that Carlos Beltran garnered 46.5% of votes on his debut ballot is simply astounding. He should definitely make it to Cooperstown, maybe as early as next year. Personally I can't condone him being in the Hall of Fame, considering his role in the Astros' sign stealing scandal, which cost him a managing job in 2019. 

I am disappointed, however, at Omar Vizquel receiving only 19.5% of the vote. On his sixth ballot, it's a 4.4% drop from last year, so things aren't boding well for him. I hope he makes it, but the 11-time Gold Glover will probably end up on this blog at some point. 

The Hall of Fame made a mistake in omitting Jeff Kent. The 2000 NL MVP, Kent is the all time leader in home runs by a second baseman (377). His other counting stats, too, are quite impressive: 1,320 runs scored, 2,461 hits, 560 doubles, 1,518 RBI's. His slash line was .290/.356/.500, making him one of only two second basemen (min. 7,000 PA) with a slugging percentage of at least .500. The other? Rogers Hornsby, the Rajah. I could go on and on. But the Veterans Committee should pick him. 

I am also surprised that Todd Helton and Andruw Jones did so well with the BBWAA. Helton's home-road splits are pretty significant, to say the least. I'm not sure if he belongs, but he'll probably make it next year. I definitely have my doubts about Jones. He was a very good player, a ten time Gold Glover with 434 home runs (including a 51 homer season in 2005), but he was pretty much done at 30. He hung around ineffectively until he was 35, batting .214 across his final six seasons. His overall batting average was .254, and he fell short of 2,000 hits (he has 1,933). I'd be extremely skeptical about his election.