Welcome to the Baseball Hall of Merit!

What is the Baseball Hall of Merit? A pantheon conceived of by our founder and commissioner Joe Dimino as an alternative to the Baseball Hall of Fame located in Cooperstown. Our purpose is to identify the best players in baseball history and thereby identify the omissions and errors that can be found in the other venerable institution.

Established in 2003, the HoM welcomes any new voters who are serious about inducting the most worthy candidates from all eras and positions.

Annual elections will be held around December of each year. Prior to December of 2007, retroactive elections were held once or twice a month starting from 1898 up to the present.

Project coordinator John Murphy helps run the day-to-day activities for the HoM.

The Baseball Hall of Merit Plaque Room - Where we honor the greatest players of all-time.

2009 Election Results, 2008 Election Results - The results from our last two elections.

Important Links

Jeff Bagwell

Eligible in 2011

2010 BBTF HOF Results: Alomar, Larkin, Raines, Blyleven, Trammell and McGwire!

In their first year of eligibility, keystone-sack great Roberto Alomar and legendary Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin both had stellar vote percentages for this election. Alomar had 99%, while Larkin had 97%.

Third-year BBTF pick Tim Raines earned yet another impressive percentage, though his 97% was slightly down from his unanimous ballot percentage from 2009 (he had 99% in 2008).

His fifth time on a BBTF ballot, curveball specialist Bert Blyleven had another fine outcome with 95% of ballots posted (he had 96% in 2005, 2006 and 2008, 87% in 2007 and 97% last year).

Tiger shortstop Alan Trammell also did well again with his 90% (he had 79% in 2005, 81% in 2006, 84% in 2007, 83% in 2008 and 94% last year).

Last but not least, powerful slugger Mark McGwire comfortably made it past 75% again this year with 82% (he had 69% in 2007, 76% in 2008 and 84% last year).

Rounding out the top-ten were:  Edgar Martinez (fairly close in his first year of eligibility), Andre Dawson (9 point increase from last year), Fred McGriff (first year of eligibility) and Dale Murphy (down 6% from last year).

New candidates: Ellis Burks, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Shane…

Rafael Palmeiro

Eligible in 2011

2010 BBTF Hall of Fame Ballot

IMPORTANT: Please read:

This election should follow BBWAA rules, not Hall of Merit rules. However, we hope to see only players that each voter feels belong on their ballots - if you don’t feel he really is a HOFer, then please refrain from posting that player’s name (examples of whom I am referring to are Mookie Wilson, Scott Broscius, Buddy Biancalana - players who were well liked or were underdogs, but have no creditable HOF resume). Leaving 1st-year candidates off your ballot is also frowned upon. IOW, we would like to see an absence of some of the silliness that permeates Hall of Fame voting by the writers.

The election will end Jan 4 (8 PM EDT). Results will be posted at the same time.

Please don’t post any vote tallies on this thread.

Here are some of the rules by the BBWAA that pertain to our electorate:

3. Eligible Candidates — Candidates to be eligible must meet the following requirements:

A. A baseball player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning twenty (20) years before and ending five (5) years prior to election.
B. Player must have played in…

Larry Walker

Eligible in 2011

2010 BBTF Hall of Fame Ballot Discussion

As in past years, anybody can pretend he or she is a BBWAA voter at BBTF!

We’ll have two weeks of discussion and then the ballot thread will be posted December 21 (the election will end on January 4).

The eligible candidates are: Roberto Alomar*, Kevin Appier*, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks*, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga*, Pat Hentgen*, Mike Jackson*, Eric Karros*, Ray Lankford*, Barry Larkin*, Edgar Martinez*, Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff*, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds*, David Segui*, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura*, and Todd Zeile*.

Just to make sure everyone knows the rules, as we have done in the past, each ballot should follow BBWAA rules. That means you can have up to 10 players on your ballot in no particular order. Write-in’s are acceptable to add to your ballot, but as in reality, they wont count.

* 1st-year candidates

2010 BBTF Vets Committee Executives Results: Marvin Miller!

With a commanding 93% of the ballots, former MLPBA leader Marvin Miller was the only candidate to reach 75% among BBTF voters in our mock Hall of Fame election (he was awarded 79% in 2007 by us)

Ewing Kaufmann, Jacob Ruppert and Bob Howsan were the also-rans with considerable support.

As for our HoM subgroup, the results were very similar, except that Miller’s support was unanimous instead.

See you again at the end of the year for the next elections!

RK   LY  Player          PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  n/e  Marvin Miller    25   25  15  4  4  2                                 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2T  n/e  Ewing Kaufmann   17   17   2 10  4  1                                 
2T  n/e  Jacob Ruppert    17   17   2  4  7  4                                 
 4  n/e  Bob Howsam       14   14   7  2  3  2                                 
 5  n/e  Bill White        3    3      1     2                                 
 6  n/e  Gabe Paul         2    2      1  1                                    
7T  n/e  Gene Autry        1    1         1                                    
7T  n/e  Sam Breadon       1    1            1                                 
7T  n/e  John Fetzer       1    1      1                                       
7T  n/e  John McHale       1    1   1                                          
Ballots Cast: 27

RK   LY  Player          PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7…

2010 BBTF Vets Committee Managers/Umpires Results: Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey!

With equal support, legendary manager Whitey Herzog and esteemed umpire Doug Harvey both achieved 86% of all ballots posted in our mock Hall of Fame election (in 2007, Harvey was awarded “only” 79% by us).

Nobody else was really close.

Among HoM voters, there wasn’t much difference there - Herzog and Harvey both had 87% instead.

See you again at the end of the year for the next elections!

RK   LY  Player          PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1T  n/e  Doug Harvey      25   25  13  6  2  4                                 
1T  n/e  Whitey Herzog    25   25   7 15  3                                    
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  n/e  Charlie Grimm    11   11   5  4  2                                    
4T  n/e  Billy Martin      8    8   2     6                                    
4T  n/e  Hank O'Day        8    8   2  2  2  2                                 
 6  n/e  Danny Murtaugh    4    4         2  2                                 
 7  n/e  Davey Johnson     3    3            3                                 
 8  n/e  Gene Mauch        2    2         1  1                                 
 9  n/e  Tom Kelly         1    1            1                                 
Ballots Cast: 29

RK   LY  Player          PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1T  n/e  Doug Harvey      13   13   7  3     3                                 
1T…

2011 Ballot Discussion

2011 (November 8, 2010)—elect 3
WS W3 Rookie Name-Pos
395 137.4 1987 Rafael Palmeiro-1B
388 135.4 1991 Jeff Bagwell-1B
301 115.2 1990 John Olerud-1B
311 106.6 1990 Larry Walker-RF
241 106.0 1989 Kevin Brown-P
230 78.3 1987 BJ Surhoff-LF/C
250 67.1 1990 Marquis Grissom-CF
216 73.9 1991 Tino Martinez-1B
208 74.2 1993 Bret Boone-2B
182 79.9 1984 John Franco-RP
183 57.9 1994 Raul Mondesi-RF
150 67.7 1988 Al Leiter-P
160 56.0 1990 Carlos Baerga-2B
153 46.5 1991 Jose Offerman-SS/2B
105 52.5 1991 Wilson Alvarez-P
101 46.4 1996 Ugueth Urbina-RP
100 44.9 1990 Hideo Nomo-P
114 37.5 1986 Terry Mulholland-P*

Thanks, Dan!

2010 Veterans Committee Ballot - Executives

The election will end on December 7 at 8 PM Eastern.

Eligible candidates: Gene Autry, Sam Breadon, John Fetzer, Bob Howsam, Ewing Kauffman, John McHale, Marvin Miller, Gabe Paul, Jacob Ruppert and Bill White.

Rules:

9. Voting: The Committee shall consider all eligible candidates and voting shall be based upon the individual’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the game. Electors may vote for as few as zero (0) and as many as four (4) eligible candidates deemed worthy of election. Write-in votes are not permitted (Editor’s note: though if you want to post them, I’m not going to stop you from doing that).

10. Number to be Elected: All candidates receiving votes on at least 75% of ballots cast on will earn election.

2010 Veterans Committee Ballot - Managers and Umpires

The election will end on December 7 at 8 PM Eastern.

Eligible candidates: Charlie Grimm, Whitey Herzog, Davey Johnson, Tom Kelly, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Danny Murtaugh, Steve O’Neill, Doug Harvey and Hank O’Day.

Rules:

9. Voting: The Committee shall consider all eligible candidates and voting shall be based upon the individual’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the game. Electors may vote for as few as zero (0) and as many as four (4) eligible candidates deemed worthy of election. Write-in votes are not permitted (Editor’s note: though if you want to post them, I’m not going to stop you from doing that).

10. Number to be Elected: All candidates receiving votes on at least 75% of ballots cast on will earn election.

2010 Results: Stars of the ‘90s Larkin, Alomar and Martinez Shine the Brightest at the HoM Today!

Star Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was the standout performer in the latest Hall of Merit election with his 94% of all possible points in his first year of eligibility.

All-time great second baseman Roberto Alomar was also impressive with his 84% as a newbie himself.

Last but not least, Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez became the first full-time DH ever elected to the HoM. The first-time candidate earned 37% of all possible points.

Rounding out the top-ten are: David Cone, Phil Rizzuto, Gavvy Cravath, Hugh Duffy (back in the top-ten!), Bucky Walters, Luis Tiant and Rick Reuschel (first time in the top-ten!).

Thanks to OCF for his help with this election’s tally!

See all of you again here next year!

RK   LY  Player                   PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1   n/e Barry Larkin             938   40  26 13           1                           
 2   n/e Roberto Alomar           849   41  11 16  4  2  2  1     1        1  2     1   
 3   n/e Edgar Martinez           371   26   1  1  3  3     3  4  3     1     2  3  2   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4    5  David Cone               316   22      2  2  4  2  1     2  1  1  4  1     1…

Integrity of the Ballot

JohnQ/LeonardP694 has attempted to ‘stuff’ the ballot box. This cannot and will not be tolerated, for obvious reasons. Need to make that crystal clear.

I don’t want discussion of this cluttering up the ballot discussion thread or the ballot thread, but feel free to discuss this here. This hasn’t been an issue in the past, and hopefully it won’t be in the future. We need to nip this behavior in the bud right now.

Chone’s WARP and the Hall of Merit

Please use this thread to discuss Chone’s WARP and how it relates to the Hall of Merit and other ‘uber-systems’, like DanR’s WAR, BPro WARP (1, 2 and 3), Win Shares, my (Joe Dimino’s) pitcher ratings, VORP, etc.. If I forgot one let me know and I’ll add it to the list as well.

2010 Hall of Merit Ballot

OK, it’s time to start the voting. There is no rush . . . please read through the discussion thread to work through the candidates.

The election closes 11/23 11/30 at 8 p.m. EST. We welcome newcomers, but require that you are willing to consider players from all eras. Voters also must comment on each player they vote for, a simple list is not sufficient. If you haven’t voted before, please post your ballot on the discussion thread linked above first.

********
EDIT 11/25 3:18 PM CDT - the posting of the ballot to the discussion thread for new voters is not just a formality. With the posting of the ballot you are expected to post a summary of what you take into account - basically, how did you come up with this list? This does not mean that you need to have invented the Holy Grail of uber-stats. You don’t need a numerical rating down to the hundredth decimal point. You do need to treat all eras of baseball history fairly. You do need to stick to what happened on the field (or what would have happened if wars and strikes and such hadn’t gotten in the way). You may…

Hall of Merit Pitcher Rankings

The cross-era pitchers ballot is now complete, and to the surprise of no one, we’ve ranked Walter Johnson as the greatest pitcher in the Hall of Merit.

Johnson held the top spot on all 17 ballots. Lefty Grove edged Cy Young by one point for the #2 spot. 14 pitchers were named on at least 16 of the 17 ballots (voters ranked their top 20), showing a remarkable consensus.

Here are the complete results:

Combined Pitchers Ballot

We’ll start today, and close the balloting October 512.

Vote for your top 20, in order, with explanations, etc..

Points will go 25-24-23 . . . 8-7-6.

A reminder of the results of our ‘by era’ voting:

Pitchers Combined Ballot Discussion

We can use this ballot for a discussion of all the pitchers.

A reminder of the results of our ‘by era’ voting:

Hall of Merit, what’s next?

Finally back in the swing of things here. I guess we need to talk about what’s next.

We’ve had a few things discussed.

1) Ranking all pitchers as a group, now that we’ve sorted them by era.
2) Award votes for each season (going present -> 1871 or 1871 -> present have both been proposed).
3) Moving forward with the Hall of Merit website.

Anything I’m missing? Any new ideas?

Now that summer is waning, the wedding is over, etc., I’m back in the swing of things and ready to move forward with these ideas. Hopefully we can get the momentum back.

--Joe

Election Results: Seaver, Carlton, Gibson, Niekro and Perry Are the Kings of the Mound For Group 4!

By unanimous consent, legendary Met Tom Seaver was deemed to be the best of the best of the Hall of Merit’s Group 4 pitchers.

Practically tied, stoic moundsman Steve Carlton and fiery hurler Bob Gibson received 90% of all possible points.

Of the remaining pitchers that earned at least 75% support, famed knuckleballer Phil Niekro and noted spitball artist Gaylord Perry both nabbed 79%.

Thanks to OCF for his help with the tally again!

RK   LY  Player            PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  n/e  Tom Seaver        380   19  19                                                         
 2  n/e  Steve Carlton     344   19      8  8  2        1                                       
 3  n/e  Bob Gibson        342   19      9  7     1  1  1                                       
4T  n/e  Phil Niekro       302   19         1  8  5  2  1  1     1                              
4T  n/e  Gaylord Perry     302   19      2  2  4  4  3  2  1        1                           
 6  n/e  Bert Blyleven     262   19            1  4  4  3  1  1  4  1                           
 7  n/e  Jim Palmer        233   19            3  1     2  4  3  2           4                  
 8  n/e  Fergie Jenkins    227   19                  3  4  3     3  3  2        1               
 9  n/e  Juan Marichal     206…

Election Results: Seaver, Carlton, Gibson, Niekro and Perry Are the Kings of the Mound For Group 4!

By unanimous choice, legendary Met Tom Seaver was deemed to be the best of the best of the Hall of Merit’s Group 4 pitchers.

Virtually tied, stoic moundsman Steve Carlton and fiery hurler Bob Gibson received 90% of all possible points.

Of the remaining pitchers that earned at least 75% support, famed knuckleballer Phil Niekro and noted spitball artist Gaylord Perry both nabbed 79%.

Thanks to OCF for his help with the tally again!

RK   LY  Player            PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  n/e  Tom Seaver        380   19  19                                                         
 2  n/e  Steve Carlton     344   19      8  8  2        1                                       
 3  n/e  Bob Gibson        342   19      9  7     1  1  1                                       
4T  n/e  Phil Niekro       302   19         1  8  5  2  1  1     1                              
4T  n/e  Gaylord Perry     302   19      2  2  4  4  3  2  1        1                           
 6  n/e  Bert Blyleven     262   19            1  4  4  3  1  1  4  1                           
 7  n/e  Jim Palmer        233   19            3  1     2  4  3  2           4                  
 8  n/e  Fergie Jenkins    227   19                  3  4  3     3  3  2        1               
 9  n/e  Juan Marichal     206…

Ray Lankford

Eligible in 2010.

Ranking the Hall of Merit by Position: Pitchers Ballot (1959-1986+)

The inductees for this group are (in alphabetical order):

Bert Blyleven
Jim Bunning
Steve Carlton
Don Drysdale
Dennis Eckersley
Rollie Fingers
Bob Gibson
Rich Gossage
Fergie Jenkins
Sandy Koufax
Juan Marichal
Phil Niekro
Jim Palmer
Gaylord Perry
Nolan Ryan
Bret Saberhagen
Dave Stieb
Don Sutton
Tom Seaver
Hoyt Wilhelm

The election ends May 31.at 8 PM EDT. 

Election Results: Top 5 HoM Moundsmen For Group 3 - Grove, Spahn, Paige, Feller and Hubbell!

By unanimous vote, star flamethrower Lefty Grove was selected as the Hall of Merit’s top pitcher from Group 3.

Winningest lefthander Warren Spahn received an impressive 91% of all possible points, while NeL legend Satchel Paige was close behind with his 89%.

Cleveland great Bob Feller earned a fine 81%, while the Giants’ meal ticket Carl Hubbell was the last to make it at least 75%.

Thanks to OCF for all of the tallying help that he gives me!

RK   LY  Player         PTS  Bal   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  n/e  Lefty Grove    361   19  19                                                         
 2  n/e  Warren Spahn   332   19     10  8  1                                                
 3  n/e  Satchel Paige  322   19      8  7  1  2     1                                       
 4  n/e  Bob Feller     294   19      1  3  6  5  2  2                                       
 5  n/e  Carl Hubbell   269   19            6  4  4  2     2     1                           
 6  n/e  Robin Roberts  257   19         1  3  1  6  3  2  1  1  1                           
 7  n/e  Martin Dihigo  232   19            1  4  2  2  2  2  3  2  1                        
 8  n/e  Hal Newhouser  200   19               1     3  3  5  1  1  1  4                     
 9…

Ranking the Hall of Merit Pitchers (1959-1986+) - Discussion

The inductees for this group are (in alphabetical order):

Bert Blyleven
Jim Bunning
Steve Carlton
Don Drysdale
Dennis Eckersley
Rollie Fingers
Bob Gibson
Rich Gossage
Fergie Jenkins
Sandy Koufax
Juan Marichal
Phil Niekro
Jim Palmer
Gaylord Perry
Nolan Ryan
Bret Saberhagen
Dave Stieb
Don Sutton
Tom Seaver
Hoyt Wilhelm

The election starts May 17 and ends May 31.at 8 PM EDT.

Juan Gonzalez

Eligible in 2010.

Ranking the Hall of Merit by Position: Pitchers Ballot (1924-1958)

The inductees for this group are (in alphabetical order):

Bullet Rogan
Dazzy Vance
Lefty Grove
Ted Lyons
Carl Hubbell
Red Ruffing
Willie Foster
Martin Dihigo
Satchel Paige
Wes Ferrell
Ray Brown
Bob Feller
Early Wynn
Bob Lemon
Warren Spahn
Hal Newhouser
Robin Roberts
Billy Pierce
Whitey Ford.

The election ends May 3.at 8 PM EDT. 

Ellis Burks

Eligible in 2010

Ranking the Hall of Merit Pitchers (1924-1958) - Discussion

The inductees for this group are (in alphabetical order):

Bullet Rogan
Dazzy Vance
Lefty Grove
Ted Lyons
Carl Hubbell
Red Ruffing
Willie Foster
Martin Dihigo
Satchel Paige
Wes Ferrell
Ray Brown
Bob Feller
Early Wynn
Bob Lemon
Warren Spahn
Hal Newhouser
Robin Roberts
Billy Pierce
Whitey Ford.

The election starts April 19 and ends May 3.at 8 PM EDT.