Players have either been placed on the ballot by the Hall of Fame (chosen from a group of players with a minimum of 10 years in the majors) or are holdovers from years' past.
The holdovers had to have received at least five percent in the previous years vote.
A player can only remain on the ballot for 10 years.
If he's not voted in for those 10 years, he'll fall off the ballot.
Those who don't get at least five percent of the vote also fall off.
Those who get at least 75 percent of the vote get into the Hall of Fame.
Voters can only select a maximum of 10 players on their ballot and there is no minimum (yes, ballots can be and have been sent back blank).
2022 Hall of Fame ballot holdovers
Player % ballots in 2021 Year on ballot
Curt Schilling 71.1 10th - last year
Barry Bonds 61.8 10th - last year
Roger Clemens 61.6 10th - last year
Scott Rolen 52.9 5th
Omar Vizquel 49.1 5th
Billy Wagner 46.4 7th
Todd Helton 44.9 4th
Gary Sheffield 40.6 8th
Andruw Jones 33.9 5th
Jeff Kent 32.4 9th
Manny Ramirez 28.2 6th
Sammy Sosa 17.0 10th - last year
Andy Pettitte 13.7 4th
Mark Buehrle 11.0 2nd
Torii Hunter 9.5 2nd
Bobby Abreu 8.7 3rd
Tim Hudson 5.2 2nd
2022 Hall of Fame ballot first-timers on the ballot
Carl Crawford
Prince Fielder
Ryan Howard - ROY - MVP
Tim Lincecum - Cy Young- 2x ( Played 8 full seasons )
Justin Morneau - MVP
Joe Nathan
David Ortiz - ( Steroid Question 2003 failed test ?)
Jonathan Papelbon
Jake Peavy - CY Young -1x
A.J. Pierzynski
Jimmy Rollins - MVP
Alex Rodriguez - MVP 3X ( Steroid admittal for 3 years )
Mark Teixeira
The BBWAA class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York on July 24, 2022. This class will be joined by any inductees from the Early Era and/or Golden Era committees.
Pete Rose
There is also 2 "Veterans Era " Hall of Fame Ballots in this years Hall of Fame Election.
These committees vote on people such as managers, coaches, executives, pioneers, commissioners and players that either fell off or never were on the BBWAA ballot.
On this ballot, committees meet behind closed doors to discuss the candidates and then hold a vote during the annual Winter Meetings.
It's way smaller than a BBWAA vote. These committees consist of 16 people.
Any player getting 12 of the 16 votes will join the BBWAA Hall of Fame 2022 class at the induction ceremony next summer, though many would be posthumous inductions.
Further, last season's Winter Meetings were held virtually so there was no committee vote, meaning there are two committees this time.
Each Committee , Golden Era or Early Era only meet every 5 years.
The " Early Era" ballot
This draws from potential candidates whose greatest contribution to the game was before 1950.
Bill Dahlen - He played parts of 21 seasons in the majors, beginning in 1891. He hit .272 with a .358 on-base percentage and compiled 2,461 hits and 1,590 runs with 548 stolen bases. He had 84 home runs, which looks small now, but when he retired he was the career leader.
John Donaldson - For more than 30 years, Donaldson pitched in different Negro Leagues with a reputation for being one of the best in the game. He also played outfield and was a manager. He's credited with helping to establish the "barnstorming" business that helped Black teams make a profit.
Bud Fowler - Per the press release, Fowler is widely acknowledged as the first Black professional baseball player and later helped form a barnstorming team.
Vic Harris - He spent 18 seasons in Negro Leagues, mostly serving as the left fielder for the well-known Homestead Grays. The available stats show him as a .305/.372/.427 hitter. He also managed the Grays for 11 years, winning seven pennants and a World Series.
Grant "Home Run" Johnson - From the press release, he "was a shortstop and second baseman in the pre-Negro Leagues era who helped form the Page Fence Giants barnstorming team. A powerful hitter and occasional pitcher, Johnson played for early powerhouse teams like the Brooklyn Royal Giants and New York Lincoln Giants
Lefty O'Doul - In parts of 11 MLB seasons, O'Doul hit.349/.413/.532 (143 OPS+), winning two batting titles and finishing in the top two of MVP voting twice. Perhaps his greatest plus, however, is helping to spread the game to Japan. He trained many young Japanese players and is credited as one of the founders of Nippon Professional Baseball (their version of MLB). He was the first American inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
Buck O'Neil - He had an admirable career in 10 Negro League seasons, a three-time All-Star, but O'Neil's place on this ballot isn't really for that. He's one of the most influential people in Negro League history, helping to found the Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame in Kansas City and serving as an ambassador of sorts in integration. He became a scout for the Cubs and later became the first Black coach in MLB. Living until 94, O'Neil became a beloved legend in baseball circles.
Dick "Cannonball" Redding - A power pitcher in the Negro Leagues in the '20s, he was regarded as the hardest thrower in any league. He's reportedly credited with several no-hitters and also managed for several years.
Allie Reynolds - He had a 13-year career, most well-known for his eight seasons with the Yankees. Reynolds was 182-107 with a 3.30 ERA (109 ERA+) and was a six-time All-Star. He won an ERA title, led the league in strikeouts twice and was part of the rotation for six World Series champion Yankees teams. In those series, he was 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA. He threw two World Series shutouts.
George "Tubby" Scales - Available data shows him in parts of 20 seasons in Negro Leagues play. He hit .319/.421/.509 (147 OPS+) with 162-game averages of 166 hits, 37 doubles, seven triples, 15 homers, 118 RBI, 105 runs and 12 steals. He also managed for six seasons in the Negro Leagues and 12 in Puerto Rican Winter League play, taking the 1951 Caribbean World Series title.
It would appear the strongest cases are O'Neil, O'Doul and Scales but there's an awful lot to consider above.
The "Golden Days Era" ballot
These candidates had their greatest contribution to the game between 1950-69.
Dick Allen - There's a good argument Allen should already be in Cooperstown.
Allen's case is a peak one, as he didn't have the longevity needed to rack up the impressive counting stats many require for enshrinement.
When Allen was on the field, his peak was as good as anyone in baseball.
That's not an overstatement. Allen's prime was 1964-74, a span during which he hit .299/.386/.554, good for a 165 OPS+. In those 11 years, only Hank Aaron had a higher OPS and it was by one point .
Those trailing Allen include Willie McCovey, Frank Robinson, Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Harmon Killebrew, Carl Yastrzemski and we'll just stop there. You get the idea.
Allen's 162-game averages in those 11 seasons were 31 doubles, nine triples, 35 homers, 107 RBI, 106 runs and 12 steals.
Oh, and by the way, OPS+ adjusts for ballpark and era and Allen sits 19th all-time, tied with Frank Thomas and Willie Mays.
He's ahead of Joe DiMaggio, Mel Ott, Aaron, Robinson and a litany of some of the very best hitters ever (the top five is Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Lou Gehrig and Mike Trout, for those curious).
Ken Boyer - In a 15-year playing career, Boyer hit .287/.349/.462 (116 OPS+) with 2,143 hits, 282 home runs, 1,141 RBI and 1,104 runs. He was an 11-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner and took the 1964 MVP. His Cardinals won the World Series that year, too. Boyer sits 14th in JAWS at third base, sitting behind 11 Hall of Famers, Adrian Beltre (he's headed there when eligible), Scott Rolen (might make it this year) and Graig Nettles.
Gil Hodges - After serving in World War II, Hodges returned to play 17 more seasons, hitting .273/.359/.487 (120 OPS+) with 1,921 hits, 295 doubles, 370 homers, 1,274 RBI and 1,105 runs. He was an eight-time All-Star and played on seven pennant-winning and two World Series championship Dodgers teams. He also managed nine years and was the skipper for the 1969 "Miracle Mets" World Series championship.
Jim Kaat - The long-time lefty lasted a whopping 25 seasons in the majors. He went 283-237 with a 3.45 ERA (108 ERA+). He was a three-time All-Star and won 16 Gold Gloves. He was a part of the 1982 World Series champion Cardinals. He 4,530 1/3 innings are 25th all time.
Roger Maris - Many know all about Maris' chase for the single-season home run record in 1961 and he pulled it off with 61 homers. That record stood until 1998, in the heart of the so-called Steroid Era. What some don't know is that 1961 season actually marked back-to-back MVPs for Maris. He also led the league in RBI twice. In his career, he hit .260/.345/.476 (127 OPS+) with 275 homers and 850 RBI.
Minnie Miñoso - One of the first Latino players and All-Stars, Miñoso is considered the first Black Cuban player in the majors. The Cuban Comet led the league in triples four times and steals three times. In parts of 20 seasons, he hit .299/.387/.461 (130 OPS+) with 2,110 hits, 365 doubles, 95 triples, 195 homers, 1,093 RBI, 1,225 runs and 216 steals. He was a 13-time All-Star.
Danny Murtaugh - Murtaugh managed the Pirates for 15 years, winning four division titles, two pennants and two World Series, including the 1960 series where they took down the heavily-favored Yankees on Bill Mazeroski's famous walk-off homer.
Tony Oliva - Oliva led the league in hits five times, doubles four times, average three times, slugging once, runs once and total bases once. He won Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove and was a seven-time All-Star. Though he didn't win an MVP, he finished second twice and fourth once. He finished his 15-year career hitting .304/.353/.476 (131 OPS+).
Billy Pierce - A seven-time All-Star who won the 1955 ERA title, Pierce went 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA in his career. He led the league complete games three straight years in the middle of his career and amassed 193 with 38 shutouts in his career.
Maury Wills - In parts of 14 seasons, Wills racked up 586 stolen bases, leading the league six times. He won the 1962 MVP along with two Gold Gloves and seven All-Star Games. He won three World Series rings with the Dodgers, going 11 for 30 with three doubles and three steals in the 1962 Fall Classic. In his career, he hit .281/.330/.331 (88 OPS+).
Miñoso and Allen are long overdue. There are several other strong candidates here, too, notably Boyer and then probably Hodges with the 1969 Mets managing giving his playing days a boost.
Should Dick Allen Be in the Hall of Fame ?
Re-posted November 17, 2021
(original post 4/26/21)
Dick Allen was one of the best players to ever wear a Philadelphia Phillies uniform. He also starred for three other teams during his 15-year career. Some fans believe that Allen wasn't just an outstanding Phillie; they feel he was one of the greatest players in major league baseball history.
Does Dick Allen belong in the Hall of Fame?
***
To begin, let's examine Allen's entire career. Baseball is a game where numbers have been faithfully and carefully accumulated for over 100 years, and therefore you can compare players from wildly different eras. Allen's stats are impressive, no matter how you count them or whose you compare them to.
During his first full season (1964), he hit .318 with 29 homeruns and 91 RBI to earn National League Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
Two seasons later, he tore apart opposition pitching with a .317 average that included 40 homeruns and 110 RBI. (His 1966 figures would have been even more impressive had he not missed 20 games due to an injury.)
A young and happy Dick Allen, a year-and-a-half before things in Philly went sour.
But Allen was not just a run-of-the-mill power hitter. He was a force of nature.
Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver listed the man from Wampum, Pennsylvania, as the player who scared him the most.
Allen didn't just hit homeruns; his round-trippers were often titanic blasts. During his first stint with the Phillies (1963-1969), the club played their home games at Connie Mack Stadium, which featured a two-deck grandstand in left field. Allen crushed balls that landed on and over the roof of these stands on several occasions.
In 1967, Allen hit a pitch thrown by Nelson Briles of the Cardinals at the old ballpark that traveled an estimated 529 feet. The ball was last seen sailing past the flagpole in dead center field. A year later, Number 15 hit one that cleared the gigantic 75-foot-high scoreboard in right field.
***
Not everybody came to Connie Mack Stadium to boo and verbally abuse Number 15.
Allen's offensive production continued through the late 1960s, but his relationship with many Philly fans was terrible.
The problem began in 1965 when he and veteran journeyman Frank J. Thomas (not The Big Hurt) were both on the Phillies and were involved a pre-game altercation with racial overtones.
This fight led to Thomas' release from the team, resulting in fans booing Allen unmercifully whenever he came to bat or made a mistake in the field. Of course, the boos would be replaced by thunderous cheers whenever the slugger would launch another moonshot into the North Philadelphia night sky.
Allen had been forced to tolerate verbal taunts from hometown Philly fans, including racial epithets. Some fans took to throwing small items at him from the stands, such as batteries, bolts, and coins. To protect himself from thrown objects, Allen wore a batting helmet while playing the field. Hate mail addressed to him regularly arrived at Connie Mack Stadium.
In the face of near-constant abuse, Allen publicly expressed his desire to be traded. Club management demurred, not wanting to part-company with their talented slugger. In frustration, Allen began to do things he felt would force the Phillies to deal him to another team. He showed-up late for games, occasionally arrived at the ballpark under the influence of alcohol and missed team buses and planes. It was during this phase of his career that Allen gained a reputation as a troublemaking problem child.
Allen himself has admitted that he didn't always handle the adversity in the best manner. "At the time, I thought I was the victim of racism," he explained years later. "I was also something of a jerk. There were others who had to deal with racism, and some of them handled it better than I did."
After the incident with Frank Thomas, some fans threw items from the stands at Allen.
To be fair, Allen was under a pressure that few have had to experience in any walk of life, not just baseball. Was it his responsibility to "just take it" from thousands of hometown fans who attended games at Connie Mack Stadium? Can he be faulted for trying to do something to improve his life and pursue his career? Would the morons who heaped abuse on this man stick around under similar circumstances or would they have looked for a way to escape?
The answers to these questions seem obvious.
***
The Phillies finally traded Allen after the 1969 season.
Allen finally got his wish after the 1969 campaign when he was dealt to the Cardinals. After posting good stats for St. Louis in 1970 and the Dodgers in 1971, Allen found himself a member of the Chicago White Sox in the spring of 1972.
There he enjoyed his best season since 1966. He hit .308 while walloping 37 homeruns and drove in 113 runs to go along with a .603 OBP. Allen was never considered a great fielder, but in 1972 he finished 2nd in the AL in first base fielding percentage. For his efforts, Dick Allen was named the American League MVP.
It was a golden year and the highwater mark of his career. Injuries limited Allen's playing time in 1973, but in 1974 he led the AL in homeruns (32) before announcing his retirement in September.
With the Phillies playing the next year in a new ballpark and expected to be in contention Allen was convinced to rejoin the team in 1975, but the layoff coupled with no spring training took its toll; Allen only hit .233 with 12 long balls in 1975. He rebounded somewhat in 1976 and was hitting well over .300 at the All-Star break when an injury slowed him down in the 2nd half and limited his playing time. In 85 games that year, Allen hit 15 homeruns and drove-in 49. Had he maintained that level of production over the entire season, his finally tally would have been close to 30 homers and over 90 RBI.
Allen was a NL All-Star third baseman in 1965 and 1966.
After the1976 season, the Phillies and Allen parted company again. The Oakland A's were looking for some pop in their lineup and signed the aging slugger for 1977. After appearing in 54 games, Allen decided to call it quits for good.
***
The question of whether Dick Allen deserves a spot in Cooperstown can be answered by comparing his career numbers with those who are already in the Hall. It would be easy to favorably compare Number 15's stats with those of, let's say, Rabbit Maranville or Bill Mazeroski. Offensively, neither of these outstanding players came close to doing what Allen did at the plate. But that would be too easy and a bit unfair. Rabbit and Bill were tremendous glove men who got their share of hits, and they were also vital members of some great teams. But neither of them put up the kind of numbers that Allen did. Conversely, Allen never approached their greatness as fielders.
An excellent comparison can be made, however, between Allen and Tony Perez. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000, Perez played 23 years in the major leagues. Like Allen, he spent most of his career at third and first. They both played during the same era, so statistical adjustments won't need to be made for factors like the dead ball, day-time baseball, seasonal league hitting and pitching norms, etc.
Let's compare their overall career stats:
Perez .279 AVG, .341 OBP, .463 SLG, 379 HR, 1652 RBI, 1272 runs
Allen .292 AVG, .378 OBP, .534 SLG, 351 HR, 1119 RBI, 1099 runs
So, you can see that Dick Allen's 15-year career compares favorably with Perez's. It's true that Perez had more life-time homers, ribbies, and runs than Allen, but he played eight more seasons. What kind of numbers would the "Wampum Walloper" have compiled had his career lasted 23 years? Allen had a higher lifetime average and on-base percentage than Perez, and in eight less seasons hit just 28 less homeruns. According to the Baseball Reference website, here what "typical" seasons for both players looked like:
Perez 22 HR, 96 RBI, .463 SLG, 74 runs
Allen 33 HR, 104 RBI, .534 SLG, 102 runs
As an every-day player, Dick Allen was clearly a better hitter than Perez. The genial Cuban, Perez, who spent most of his career with the Reds, added to his lifetime stats by playing several seasons at the tail end as a part-timer, including one year with the Phillies (1983). about:blankImageUpload an image file, pick one from your media library, or add one with a URL.UploadSelect ImageInsert from URL
Perez does get points for being an important part of some outstanding ball clubs, but should Dick Allen be penalized because his fate was to play for a few mediocre teams? It's hard to imagine the 1964 Phillies almost winning the pennant without Allen in the lineup. And in 1972, Allen's performance helped lift the White Sox into playoff contention.
The purpose of this comparison is not to diminish the fine career of Tony Perez. He was a gamer and one of baseball's best clutch hitters. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. But if he does, so does Dick Allen.
A typical Allen season also compares favorably to other Hall of Famers who played first/third and played about 15 years. The power numbers for Frank Chance and Jimmy Collins are low because they played during an era when the balls weren't as lively as they would be later in the twentieth century. It was harder to hit homeruns back then:
George Kell (15 years) .306 AVG, .367 OBP, .414 SLG, 7 HR, 79 RBI, 79 runs
Frank Chance (17 years) .296 AVG, .394 OBP, .394 SLG, 3 HR, 75 RBI, 100 runs
Jimmy Collins (14 years) .294 AVG, .343 OBP, .409 SLG, HR, 92 RBI, 99 runs
Dick Allen (15 years) .292 AVG, .378 OBP, .534 SLG, 33 HR,104 RBI, 102 runs
David Fleming points out at Bill James Online site that Dick Allen was the best hitter in baseball over a ten-year period, using the "adjusted on-base-plus-slugging" stat (ops+).
Here are the ops+ numbers for players between 1964 and 1973 (Allen's prime).
Seventeen Hall of Famers played 1000 or more games during those ten years.
Dick Allen had a better ops+ than all of them, and there are some pretty good names on the list:
Name OPS++
Dick Allen 165
Hank Aaron 161
Willie McCovey 161
Frank Robinson 161
Harmon Killebrew 152
Willie Stargell 152
Roberto Clemente 151
Willie Mays 148
Frank Howard 147
Carl Yastrzemski 145
Al Kaline 140
Boog Powell 140
Billy Williams 139
Tony Oliva 137
Ron Santo 136
Ted Williams pouted about the press, made profane gestures at the fans, and once got so mad that he let flyballs to the outfield drop in front of him. He's in the Hall-of-Fame.
Allen had a higher OPS than Pirate legend Willie Stargell
As Fleming concludes: "Dick Allen really was the best hitter in baseball, for a span of ten years."
***
So, Dick Allen was one of the premier sluggers of his era and racked-up numbers equal-to or better-than many who are already in the Hall of Fame. The main stumbling block to his candidacy seems to be the rap that he was a troublemaking bad boy who caused problems in the clubhouse.
Even if this was true (and there are many who played alongside Allen who said this was not the case), since when is a bad-boy image criteria for exclusion from baseball's immortals?
Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, and even Ted Williams were all self-absorbed jerks at times. Those troubled souls are in the Hall of Fame and nobody asks why. (And let's not even get into the steroid-era debate. Imagine what Allen would have done if he had been on the juice, which he never was.)
My argument is that—based on the statistics alone—Number 15 belongs in the Hall of Fame.