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My 2020 IBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

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The fella in the middle (Chipper Jones) is already a Baseball Hall of Famer. The two flanking him here received my vote this year.

As a lifetime member of the IBWAA (Internet Baseball Writers Association), I have enjoyed the honor of being involved in the organization’s annual Hall of Fame voting process for the last five years. My ballot for 2020 was submitted three weeks ago.

Back in 2009 the IBWAA (Internet Baseball Writers Association of America) was originally, and perhaps fittingly, founded on Independence Day “to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA)” per the organization home site.

While the IBWAA voting process does not earn a player a plaque at Cooperstown, it does reveal the collective opinion and formal endorsement from well informed baseball writers and bloggers who follow the game and who publish regularly on the internet.

In 2017, I began to break down my ballot into three segments. “Hall of Fame” players are those who are receiving my vote. They are newcomers to the ballot who were obvious to me or returnees from prior years whom I evaluated and decided were worthy of receiving my vote.

“Future Consideration” players are those who, after careful consideration, were considered as not so obvious to me. However, I still feel that they are strong enough candidates that I will continue to evaluate them moving forward.

Finally, “Not Hall of Famer” guys are those who just don’t make the cut for me and who will not be receiving my vote now or in the future.

While the BBWAA only allow their eligible Hall of Fame voters to cast ballots for up to 10 players, the IBWAA has a 15-player limit. I submitted a seven-player ballot in 2017 and an eight-player ballot in 2018.

A year ago, I decided after looking over the names and reading a few different articles by writers who I respected to cast a wide ballot. So, for the class of 2019 my ballot included a full 15-player list.

That will not be the case this year. I was almost immediately regretful for having submitted such a wide ballot last year. This time around only six players, the fewest that I have ever submitted, received my vote.

2020 IBWAA NOMINEES

This year’s IBWAA ballot includes most of the same names as considered by the official BBWAA Hall of Fame voters with two notable exceptions. Both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have already received enshrinement by the IBWAA, and so their names were obviously not included by the organization this time around.

The breakdown of players from the 2020 IBWAA Hall of Fame nominees who did not receive my vote this year went as follows.

Future Consideration: Bobby Abreu, Todd Helton, Jeff Kent, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa, Omar Vizquel

Not Hall of Famer: Josh Beckett, Heath Bell, Eric Chavez, Adam Dunn, Chone Figgins, Rafael Furcal, Jason Giambi, Raul Ibanez, Paul Konerko, Cliff Lee, Carlos Pena, Brad Penny, J.J. Putz, Brian Roberts, Alfonso Soriano, Jose Valverde

MY 2020 IBWAA BALLOT

These are the six players who received my vote for enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, listed in alphabetical order.

Derek Jeter: 20 seasons, 1996 AL Rookie of the Year, 14x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, 2x Hank Aaron Award, 5x World Series champion, 2000 World Series MVP, 2000 All-Star Game MVP, 2009 Roberto Clemente Award, 3000-Hit Club, New York Yankees #2 retired and Monument Park honoree.

Andruw Jones: 17 seasons, 5x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove, 2005 Silver Slugger, 2005 Hank Aaron Award, Runner-up 2005 NL MVP, 434 career home runs, 152 steals, 124 outfield assists, Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame.

Scott Rolen: 17 seasons, 1997 NL Rookie of the Year, 7x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove, 2002 Silver Slugger, 2006 World Series champion, 316 career home runs, 517 career doubles, 118 steals, Saint Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Curt Schilling: 20 seasons, 6x All-Star, 3x AL Cy Young Award runner-up, 3x World Series champion, 1993 NLCS MVP, 2001 World Series MVP, 2001 Robert Clemente Award, 216 wins, 3261 innings, 3116 strikeouts, 300+ strikeouts in 1997-98, 11-2 career postseason, Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame, Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

Billy Wagner: 16 seasons, 7x All-Star, 1999 Rolaids Relief Man Award, 2003 combined no-hitter, 422 saves, 9x 30+ saves, 853 games, 903 IP, 1196 strikeouts, 3.99 K/BB, 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, 2x top-six Cy Young, 11.9 K/9 is highest of any MLB pitcher with at least 800 IP.

Larry Walker: 17 seasons, 1997 NL MVP, 5x All-Star, 7x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger, 3x batting champion, 383 home runs, 471 doubles, 230 steals, .313/.400/.565 career slash, 155 outfield assists, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

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WBC 2017: Who Are The Netherlands?

When the 2017 World Baseball Classic began, the team representing The Netherlands was certainly not considered to be among the tournament favorites.
After all, we’re talking about The Netherlands. You know, the Dutch?
Isn’t that Holland? When you think of them, wouldn’t you tend to think of windmills, dikes, tulips, and chocolates more than hardball?
On the grander world stage, The Netherlands that most people think about refers to the main constituent nation in Western Europe.
They may be one of the smallest nations in Europe, but The Netherlands are tremendously influential. For instance, it is home to Europe’s largest seaport at Rotterdam.
At The Hague, the nation is a host city to the United Nations, and home of the World Court. The official capitol city of Amsterdam is one of the most populous regions in Europe, and gave us the likes of Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh.
But the nation of The Netherlands is also a “kingdom”, a constitutional monarchy which also encompasses countries of the Caribbean region, including Aruba, Curacao, and St. Maarten. They are part of an area often referred to as The Netherlands Antilles.

DUTCH CARIBBEAN BASEBALL INFLUENCE

Many of the top players with The Netherlands national team in the 2017 WBC hail from these islands. They include MLB all-stars in shortstop Xander Bogaerts from Aruba and closer Kenley Jansen of Curacao.
Second baseman Jonathan Schoop, shortstops Andrelton Simmons and Didi Gregorius, and IF/OF Jurickson Profar are all from Curacao as well.
A member of the coaching staff is very familiar to American baseball fans. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven is from Utrecht, the fourth largest city in The Netherlands that lies about 32 miles south of Amsterdam.
Former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones is from Curacao. He played with The Netherlands teams in both the 2006 and 2013 World Baseball Classic. Jones is another coach with the 2017 version of the squad.
The manager for The Netherlands is Hensley Meulens. He was the 1990 AAA International League Most Valuable Player while with the Columbus Clippers in the New York Yankees farm system. Meulens enjoyed a seven-year big league career. He has spent the last seven seasons as the San Francisco Giants hitting coach, helping the club win three World Series championships.

NETHERLANDS INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCES

Starting play in Pool A of this year’s WBC, the Dutch went 2-1 against South Korea, Israel, and Chinese Taipei. Advancing to the second round, the club again went 2-1 against Japan, Israel, and Cuba.
That overall 4-2 performance in Pool play allowed The Netherlands to advance into the semi-finals of the WBC for the second consecutive time. The Dutch were eliminated in the first round in 2006, and the second round in 2009.
In 2013, the team simply couldn’t overcome Japan. They were mercy-ruled by the Japanese by a 16-4 score in the second round. Reaching the semis, Team Japan again dumped The Netherlands, though this time by a more competitive 10-6 final.
Despite last night’s extra-innings defeat at the hands of Puerto Rico, The Netherlands can still medal in this competition. If Japan (6-0) defeats the US (4-2) in tonight’s other semi-final, both the Americans and the Dutch would finish 4-3. The two would finish tied for 3rd place. If the US wins, The Netherlands finish in fourth place.
In other international competitions over the years, The Netherlands have fought hard. The Dutch won the 2011 World Cup. They finished fifth at both the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. They have captured 22 Gold Medals at the European Championships, and are the defending champs.
So as you can see, while The Netherlands might not have been the first nation that you thought of when figuring on WBC favorites, they are certainly capable of putting a talented baseball team on the field.