This is the eighth year that I have a Hall of Fame vote as a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and am releasing my ballot publicly for the seventh time. Honestly, I can think of no reason why I didn’t release last year’s 2023 ballot. Brain cramp, I suppose.

A “small ballot” guy over recent years, the nominees this time around led me to expand my ballot out to double-digits for the first time since 2019. This year, 10 players received my vote for the IBWAA Hall of Fame.

There were 26 names on this year’s IBWAA ballot. The 10 men who received my votes were as follows, listed in alphabetical order. Included is a brief highlight featuring the numbers and accomplishments that support my vote:

Carlos Beltran – Over an MLB career that spanned 20 years, Beltrán delivered production in the form of 2,725 hits including 435 home runs and 312 stolen bases. The 1999 American League Rookie of the Year was an 8x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger. Beltrán JAWS ranking is ninth all-time among center fielders.

Adrián Beltré – Perhaps the one shoo-in for this year’s BBWAA voting in his first year on the ballot, Beltré was a 4x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove (2x Platinum Glove), 4x Silver Slugger. He blasted 477 home runs and 636 doubles among 3,166 hits across a 21-year career. His JAWS ranking is fourth all-time among third basemen to ever play the game. He produced 93.5 career WAR, well above the 68.4 average career mark of the 16 third basemen already enshrined.

Andruw Jones – During his 17-year career, Jones became one of the greatest defensive center fielders of all-time. He won 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1998-2007 at the position. Far from one-dimensional, the 5x All-Star blasted 434 home runs. His JAWS ranking is 11th among all center fielders to ever play the game, and his seven-year peak WAR of 46.4 sits above the 44.7 average mark of the 19 men enshrined at the position.

Joe Mauer – The first overall pick of the 2001 MLB Draft enjoyed a 15-year career spent all with the Minnesota Twins. The 2009 AL MVP was a 6x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, and 4x Silver Slugger who produced 2,123 hits during a career in which he was a catcher for the first eight years. Mauer was a career .306 hitter who won AL Batting titles in 2006, 2008, and 2009. He ranks seventh all-time among catchers in JAWS. Mauer’s career 55.2 WAR and seven-year peak WAR are each above the marks produced by the 16 catchers already enshrined.

Manny Ramirez – A hero of the Boston Red Sox 2004 and 2007 World Series champions, Ramírez crushed 555 home runs and 547 doubles among 2,574 hits over a 19-year career. The 12x All-Star and 9x Silver Slugger finished among the top six in MVP voting seven times and won the AL Batting title in 2002. He was the World Series MVP for the 2004 Bosox club that finally ended the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ that haunted the franchise for 87 years.

Alex Rodriguez – The first overall pick of the 1993 MLB Draft became a 14x All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, 10x Silver Slugger. ‘ARod’ was the 2003 AL MVP in Texas and in both 2005 and 2007 with the New York Yankees, finishing runner-up two other seasons. Across a 22-year career, Rodríguez blasted 696 home runs, ranking fifth on the all-time MLB list. The 1996 AL Batting champion with Seattle delivered 3,115 career hits which included 548 doubles, and he stole 329 bases during his career. His 117.5 career WAR ranks second all-time among players who appeared primarily at shortstop.

Jimmy Rollins – The all-time Hits leader for the Philadelphia Phillies, a franchise that has been around now for 140 years, ‘JRoll’ rapped out 2,455 hits over a 17-year career. He also holds the franchise record with a 38-game hitting streak. The 2007 National League Most Valuable Player was a 3x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, and won a Silver Slugger during that 2007 MVP campaign. Rollins also won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2014 and is one of just seven players in big-league history to deliver a 20-20-20 (homers, doubles, triples) season.

Gary Sheffield – His 22 seasons included Sheffield becoming a 9x All-Star and a 5x Silver Slugger Award winner. The 1992 National League Batting champion during a season in which he also won the Sporting News MLB Player of the Year Award, Sheffield was a career .292 hitter across more than 10,000 plate appearances. He blasted 509 career home runs, had 467 doubles, and stole 253 bases.

Chase Utley – The best all-around second baseman of his generation, Utley was a 6x National League All-Star and 4x Silver Slugger Award winner. He ranks 12th all-time among all second baseman in the JAWS rankings for the position. Utley’s seven-year peak WAR of 49.3 is well above the 44.4 average mark put up by the 20 second basemen already enshrined and his 56.9 JAWS is right at the 57 average of those enshrined.

Billy Wagner : The most dominant left-handed relief pitcher in big-league history, Wagner was a 7x All-Star and the 1999 Relief Pitcher of the Year. He produced five years in which his ERA was below the 2.00 mark among his 16 seasons. His 422 Saves rank sixth on the MLB all-time list. Wagner’s dominance is revealed by a 0.998 career WHIP over 853 games and 903 innings in which he struck out 1,196 opposing batters.

I have been closely watching Major League Baseball for more than a half-century. Having enjoyed the careers of these players and comparing them to their contemporaries, each of these nominees was clearly elite. Some have controversy attached to them in the form of PED involvement. That is not a determining factor for me.

Having watched them entertain baseball fans over careers that spanned more than a decade each, I am convinced that they are among the greatest of all-time at their respective positions. There was no problem for me in checking a box next to any of their names for Hall of Fame enshrinement.

Select prior Hall of Fame pieces

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