The star of the next Hall of Fame ballot? Ken Griffey Jr.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has spent the last two years mostly celebrating unforgettable pitchers, but in 2016 it will be time to focus on one of the sweetest swings we’ve ever seen.
Ken Griffey Jr. becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2016, and while we’re still having fun with the 2015 class, we can’t help but look ahead to the next ballot. That ballot will carry over many questions from Tuesday’s announcement.
For instance: Will Mike Piazza reach 75 percent? Can Tim Raines make a charge as his window starts to close? Will the absence of first-time, big-name pitchers help Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling? Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan has a big-picture look at the future of Hall of Fame voting, and how the logjam of candidates might shake out in the next few years. It’s a good read.
We’ll keep our talk to 2016. The big question there will be: How much of the vote will Griffey get? For fans of a certain generation, Griffey is a no-doubt, sure-thing, put-a-check-by-his-name-right-now Hall of Famer. Not only did he hit 660 homers, he was also marketed the game to a new generation. Can he be unanimous? Probably not, but that part of it will be fun to watch.
As Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes, it’s a bit stunning to think that “The Kid” is now a year away from the Hall of Fame, but what’s the worst thing stingy voters can hold against him? He got hurt too often? He wore his hat backward?
No doubt, somebody out there will take a moral stance against Junior, saying he played in an era when plenty of players cheated, so how can we be sure he didn’t. Griffey’s viewed largely as a “clean” player, but no argument from a Hall of Fame voter should be a surprise anymore. Even the backward hat one.
The other players on the 2016 ballot include Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner, Jim Edmonds, Garrett Anderson, Jason Kendall and Troy Glaus. Hoffman’s name carries the most weight, since he saved 601 games and was the all-time leader in the category from 2006-2011, until he was passed by Mariano Rivera.
Hall of Fame voters haven’t been particularly kind to closers, though (hello, Lee Smith), so it’s not a sure thing that Hoffman gets in, and certainly not on his first ballot.
None of the other first-timers have much of a case, as Griffey is the only player of the bunch whose JAWS score is better than the Hall of Fame average for his position.
So if you love Griffey (and really, who doesn’t?) get ready for 2016.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
