This year’s Hall of Fame Ballot sure was an interesting one, ultimately leading to many rants from former players on social media. It continues to spark the debate of “one or none”. This is the thought that you should either allow no PED users into the Hall of Fame, or all of them. This year, Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell, and Tim Raines were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those three players did deserve it. Here are three players dropped from the Hall of Fame ballot who should have had a little more consideration.
Three Players Dropped from the Hall of Fame Ballot
1. Jorge Posada
Jorge was nothing short of amazing. The first Hall of Fame eligible member of the dynamic New York Yankees “Core Four” (Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte). Posada was a catcher with solid defense followed by even better offense. Jorge was a five time All-Star and five time winner of the Silver Slugger award. Posada helped the Yankees win four World Series rings. Jorge ended his career with a lifetime batting average of .273, 275 home runs, 1,065 RBI, and 1,664 hits. Posada’s number 20 was retired by the New York Yankees in 2015. He will most likely be the only one of the Core Four to fall short of the Hall of Fame.
2. Magglio Ordóñez
Magglio Ordóñez played 15 years in the Major Leagues with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. The right fielder was selected to six All-Star games and won the Silver Slugger three times. This canon-armed outfielder was excellent at the plate. One of his most memorable feats was a walk-off three-run homer in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. This would seal the pennant for the Tigers in 2006. Magglio ended his career with a slash of .309/.369/.502 with 294 homers. He also won a batting title in 2007.
3. Jason Varitek
Jason Varitek was a force not to be reckoned with. He was named Captain of the Red Sox, becoming only the fourth player since 1924 to do so. He was a switch hitting machine and won a Silver Slugger along with a Gold Glove. The two-time World Series champion caught a Major League record four no-hitters in his career from Jon Lester, Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, and Clay Buchholz. He was a three time All-Star and was a “Yankee Killer” in the post-season. He infamously fought Alex Rodriguez in one of baseball’s best fights of all time. “Tek” as Red Sox fans called him, slashed .256/.341/.435 and hit 193 home runs. In 2006 Varitek became the first catcher to catch 1,000 games in Red Sox history. He is beloved by the fans and still works with the Red Sox as a Special Assistant to Dave Dombrowski.
What Does this Mean?
This Hall of Fame class was loaded and it may have not been fair for these three players who received a combined 22 votes. There are definitely many fans who would have things differently and it is tragic to see these players dropped after just there first year. It would be nice to see a rule change within the voting that does not allow players to be dropped after just one year.
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