Just a little informal poll

[Fishercat]

Just to completely satisfy my curiosity, give me your criteria if you were a HoF voter. Would you go purely by cumulative stats? Would you give weight to media and player given awards (MVP, Cy Young, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, etc.)? How much would personality factor into play? Does breaking the rules automatically banish a player (steroids, betting, spitballs), does it diminish the case, does it matter? Is there any significance in "clutch" situations? How much does position matter? And so on and so forth?

In addition, if you could, tell me if you would vote the following players into the HoF (for the players, if active, project their average season until they are 40 for a rough estimate if in their prime, if near the end, project one of their later seasons).

A. Derek Jeter
B. Rafael Palmeiro (Retired in 2005)
C. Rafael Palmeiro (retired in 2002, no steroid scandal)
D. Nomar Garciaparra
E. Pedro Martinez (retired in 2005)
F. Pedro Martinez (Plays until he is 38)
G. Frank Thomas
H. Albert Belle
I. Pete Rose
J: Jeff Bagwell

Just for kicks and giggles...

[General]

A. Derek Jeter-Yes, although I am a Jeter hater
B. Rafael Palmeiro (Retired in 2005)-No
C. Rafael Palmeiro (retired in 2002, no steroid scandal)-No
D. Nomar Garciaparra-No
E. Pedro Martinez (retired in 2005)-Yes
F. Pedro Martinez (Plays until he is 38)-Yes
G. Frank Thomas-Yes
H. Albert Belle-Yes
I. Pete Rose-Yes
J: Jeff Bagwell-Yes

[Kingdom]

I would take into consideration every facet of the game, except for personalities. I think Barry Bonds is the greatest jackass on the earth, or one of the top jackasses, but I'd like for him to be in the Hall. I don't think it should be much of a factor, cause if so, nice guys like Sean Casey would be locks, right? So basing on character is really not the best way to go about judging people for the Hall, in my book. As for "illegal" things, unless it is proven that gambling inspired a game to be fixed, I don't really care much about a person's addiction. I do think if one is caught with a corked bat, testing positive for banned enhancing substances, etc. etc., it will linger in the minds of anyone. I would have nodded yes for Raffy being a 1st ballot HoF'er before he tested positive. Now, I'm not so behind him. I say he'll still be in, cause it's hard to ignore 3,000 hits and being a consistent hitter.


A. Assuming he ends his career with 3000 hits and a .300 batting average or better. Or close to it. He's a Hall bound fellow.

B. He'll be one of the most argued Hall subjects. He'll squeak in eventually.

C. No, he wouldn't have hit 500 homers at that point, right? Nothing stands out about him, nothing to garner enough votes in that case.

D. No, injuries ruined him.

E. Not quite, but will raise eyebrows surely.

F. If that he does call it quits then, I think the numbers will be far more credible by then. He had a stretch of years where his numbers were God-like.

G. He really needs 500... injuries and some not so special years deflated what was once one of the most feared hitters. He kinda took a Junior turn for the worse.

H. Belle, no.

I. Yes, even though he has a bad addiction and a bad attitude.

J. He'd be a guy I'd cheer for to make it, he's done it all for a 1st baseman, including rack up a lot of stolen bases. He really needs 500 to make him safe... otherwise his in jeopardy. With no Alex Trebek to be found.

[redsrbetter]

Jeter- Yes, although he is overrated.

Palmeiro (2005)- No way. He is a cheater!

Palmeiro (2002)- Yes, he may not have ever lead the league in any category, but he may have been one of the most consistant.

Garciaparra- Still undecided. He has had a solid career, but he may have to have a few more healthy seasons.

Pedro Martinez (2005)- Yes, he has had some great numbers in his career.

Pedro Martinez (38 yrs old.)- I am not too sure because he may fall of a lot more by then. I think consistency is always a factor.

Thomas- Yes, he was one of the best hitters in the game for a few years. He may have been a DH, but he still was one of the best plate presences in the game for those years.

Belle- I don't think he did enough. Personality has a lot to do with this too. he was definitely a jerk to a lot of people. A masher, but not a HOF career.

Rose- I say yes. Although he bet on the game, I still think he did not cheat it like steroid users do.

Bagwell- Yes. This guy did not only put up great numbers, but he was basically an ironman candidate during some strong seasons a few years back. I think he is one of those franchise players that got it done on every level other than winning a championship.

[rockin500]

A. Derek Jeter Yes, very good shortstop during the regular season. Leader of the current Dynasty. He's a yankee so that will get some bonus points. Very good Postseason. Has a shot at ending up with 3000 hits.

B. Rafael Palmeiro (Retired in 2005) probable yes. based on numbers, yes. want more info on the steroids before a definitive decision.

C. Rafael Palmeiro (retired in 2002, no steroid scandal) No, as he wouldnt have had 500 homers, or 3000 hits. He really needed those numbers to make it in (especially the former). he woulda had only 2600 hits and 490 homers. not good enough for the hall for his postion/s

D. Nomar Garciaparra - Probably not. unless he comes back and stays injury free for the next 5 years and puts up numbers pre-2001.

E. Pedro Martinez (retired in 2005). Yes. Had one of the best peaks of all time. with probably 200 career wins after this season and with his peak, he'd be in.

F. Pedro Martinez (Plays until he is 38) doesnt matter. what he did pre-2005 will have been enough to put up with decline phase. besides, he probably doesnt pitch til he's 38

G. Frank Thomas- as i fear his career is over, i think he belongs. excellent peak, 2 MVP awards (shoulda been 3, but Roid boy stole it from him in 2000) from 1991-1997, there wasnt a more feared hitter in the game. had a couple of down years than returned in force for 2000 before getting injured a lot for the last few years. 9 HOF caliber years plus excellent debut in 1990 and still produced enough in his decline phase.

H. Albert Belle- i really think he needed two more seasons to get in of the same production to get in. I wouldnt vote him in since he only had 10 full seasons of playing time

I. Pete Rose - no. he broke the cardinal rule of the game. i wouldnt vote him in until he's dead.

J: Jeff Bagwell - yes. I have him ranked somewhere between the 4th and 6th best 1st baseman of all time. Had a very productive career, didnt produce much in postseason, but his regular season stats offset that enough.

[Killah Sith]

A. Derek Jeter Yes
B. Rafael Palmeiro (Retired in 2005) Yes
C. Rafael Palmeiro (retired in 2002, no steroid scandal) Tough question because I never thought of him as a HOFer until he started getting press for the milestones. I'd say if I was a voter and truly analyzed it there might be a chance, though probably not first ballot.
D. Nomar Garciaparra No, he has fallen off too much. There is still time for him but I don't see it happening.
E. Pedro Martinez (retired in 2005) Yes
F. Pedro Martinez (Plays until he is 38) Yes
G. Frank Thomas Yes, though if he continues to hang on and have injury plagued seasons he could lose his first ballot status.
H. Albert Belle No, had he not gotten injured
I. Pete Rose Yes, I don't like the fact that he bet on baseball as a manager but he deserves to be in as a player
J: Jeff Bagwell Yeah but I doubt he'll be a first ballot.

[HollywoodLeo]

A. Jeter, if he gets 3000 then yes
B. Raffy 2005 - yes, albeit a bit more begrudgingly
C. Raffy 2002 - no
D. Nomar - No.
E. Pedro (2005) - yes
F. Pedro (38) - Still yes, even if he pitched like crap till then. If someone's a HOFer with their stats as is, they shouldn't be DQed simply because they go a bit too far now. If Wade Boggs decided to come out of retirement and predictibly hit .121 with 2 RBIs should we then take him out of the HOF?
G. Frank Thomas - yes
H. Belle - NO
I. Pete Rose - yes, he should already be in. He was a hall of fame player long before he became a cheating manager.
J. Bagwell - yes

[browntown653]

A. Derek Jeter - If he gets anywwhere near 2,500/3,000 hits and keeps performing consistently, yes...already 4 WS rings.
B. Rafael Palmeiro (Retired in 2005) - Never
C. Rafael Palmeiro (retired in 2002, no steroid scandal) - Nope...in a year or two
D. Nomar Garciaparra - No, doesn't look like he'll ever be the player he was for a few years in Boston
E. Pedro Martinez (retired in 2005) - Yes, had that stretch of a few years where he dominated every team in the league
F. Pedro Martinez (Plays until he is 38) - Yes
G. Frank Thomas - No, aided mightily by DH and doesn't have the stats now IMO...maybe on the 2nd or 3rd ballot, but it's close
H. Albert Belle - Not even close
I. Pete Rose - Nope, I've stood by baseball's decision to ban him and I will stand by it until something drastic happens to change my opinion or a lot of time passes...I would put in Shoeless Joe now just because it's been forever. So wait until 2060 and then put in Rose.
J: Jeff Bagwell - Yeah, I would put him in...good #s, consistent stats, one of the best hitting 1Bs ever

[joek]

Helping your team succeed is the most important factor for being chosen for the HOF.

Of the list, only Jeter (the best player in the game for the past ten years, & who has led his team to the most success during that period), and 'lil petey' Martinez deserve HOF status.