Hall of Merit

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.

2012 Election Results, 2011 Election Results - The results from our last two elections.

Important links thread that includes all election results, ballot threads and discussion threads.

Important Links thread that used to be stickied on the Hall of Merit home page, but is not any longer. Keeping this link in case someone was using it, but I think everything should be at the link with the election results.

This page was edited by Joe D 11/20/2012.

The Baseball Hall of Merit: Important Links

IMPORTANT: If a link is inoperable, please use this link to locate the thread in question: Hall of Merit Archives
This eventually will be the only place to locate old and new threads once we set up the categorization process.

Finally, a consolidated home page, with all of our important links.

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

Our Constitution - The rules we’ve set up. Something Better - the article that introduced all of this.

Positional Threads (which will be updated . . . ) Pennants Added - combining peak and career value.

New Eligibles by Year - who’s eligible this ‘year’? Number of Electees by Year

Links to discussions of Negro League Stars

Links to discussions of Latino Stars

Discussion on Estimating the Quality of League Play

Election Results: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1948, 1947, 1946, 1945, 1944, 1943, 1942, 1941, 1940, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1935, 1934, 1933, 1932, 1931, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1927, 1926, 1925, 1924, 1923, 1922, 1921, 1920, 1919, 1918, 1917, 1916, 1915, 1914, 1913, 1912, 1911, 1910, 1909, 1908, 1907, 1906, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1902, 1901, 1900, 1899, 1898 Note the 2012 results are linked in comment 18 below. The link will not work from this portion of the post for some reason.

Ballot Threads: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1948, 1947, 1946, 1945, 1944, 1943, 1942, 1941, 1940, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1935, 1934, 1933, 1932, 1931, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1927, 1926, 1925, 1924, 1923, 1922, 1921, 1920, 1919, 1918, 1917, 1916, 1915, 1914, 1913, 1912, 1911, 1910, 1909, 1908, 1907, 1906, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1902, 1901, 1900, 1899, 1898

Ballot Discussion Threads: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1948, 1947, 1946, 1945, 1944, 1943, 1942, 1941, 1940, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1936, 1935, 1934, 1933, 1932, 1931, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1927, 1926, 1925, 1924, 1923, 1922, 1921, 1920, 1919, 1918, 1917, 1916, 1915, 1914, 1913, 1912, 1911, 1910, 1909, 1908, 1907, 1906, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1902, 1901, 1900, 1899, 1898

Most Meritorious Player (MMP) rules discussion

MMP Election Results: 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961

MMP Ballot Threads: 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961

MMP Discussion Threads: 1970, 1969, 1968, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961

Season by season recaps: 1876, 1875, 1874, 1873, 1872, 1871

2005 Hall of Fame Ballot
2005 HOF Results
2006 Hall of Fame Ballot
2006 Hall of Fame Ballot Discussion
2006 HOF Results

Amendment to cover new voters and challenges to ballots
Battle of the Uber-Stat Systems (Win Shares vs. WARP)!
Credits and Deductions for WW II Players
Discussion of changing the number of electees by year
Discussion of Negro League candidates
Discussion of Token Appearances
Do we need a Centennial Commission?
50th Anniversary Team
The Greatest Player Ever?
Hall of Fame’s 2006 Negro League Election
The HoM Half Time Show!
Let’s get to know each other
Major League Equivalencies
Negro League Win Shares Estimates
Pennants Added 2.0 (Updated For the 1949 Ballot)
Pennants Added Pitchers (Updated For the 1949 Ballot)
Reevaluating Negro League Pitchers
Register to vote
Relief Pitchers
2B vs. 3B before 1920
Selected 19th Century Players
Selected 20th Century Players
Term Limits or Perpetual Eligibility For Candidates?
Voters Personal Halls of Merit

Most Meritorious Player: 1981 Results

Congratulations to our unanimous MMP Mike Schmidt! I don’t have a template set up for putting results in a tabular format but figured we needed results posted.

Player  		pts	ballots	1sts	   
Mike Schmidt		165	11	11	   
Dwight Evans		146	11	0	   
Rickey Henderson	131	11	0	   
Andre Dawson		128	11	0	   
Bobby Grich		112	11	0	   
Fernando Valenzuela	84	9	0	   
Robin Yount		72	8	0	   
Buddy Bell 		56	6	0	   
George Foster		49	9	0	   
Steve McCatty		48	7	0	   
Nolan Ryan	        47	7	0	   
Steve Carlton		46	7	0	   
Dwayne Murphy		37	5	0	   
Cecil Cooper		32	5	0	   
Dave Concepcion		24	4	0	   
Rollie Fingers		19	4	0	   
Gary Carter        	17	2	0	   
Rick Burleson		16	3	0	   
Bert Blyleven		13	3	0	   
Eddie Murray		11	2	0	   
Keith Hernandez		8	2	0	   
Tom Seaver		7	1	0	   
Tom Paciorek		6	1	0	   
Tim Raines              5	1	0	   
Burt Hooton 		5	1	0	   
Tony Armas		3	1	0

Most Meritorious Player: 1982 Discussion

Harvey’s Wallbangers lose to Whitey’s Cardinals in a more typical season.

MMP voting will end on June 6 2013.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Yount, Robin		39.1		10.5
Schmidt, Mike		35.9		7.4
Murphy, Dale		32.1		6.1
Carter, Gary		32.5		8.6
Evans, Dwight		30.6		6.4
Henderson, Rickey	27.6		6.7
Morgan, Joe		27.9		5.1
Cooper, Cecil		29.5		5.6
Murray, Eddie		29.1		5.2
Guerrero, Pedro		29.6		6.8
Lezcano, Sixto		26.9		5.9
Molitor, Paul		30.0		6.2
Harrah, Toby		28.7		6.5
DeCinces, Doug		27.1		7.6
Brett, George		26.5		6.0
Bell, Buddy		24.7		5.6
Dawson, Andre		25.9		7.9
Thomas, Gorman		24.8		4.9
Ripken, Cal		23.3		4.7
Thon, Dickie		22.3		6.1
Smith, Ozzie		19.6		5.0
Whitaker, Lou		21.6		5.5
Smith, Lonnie		25.7		6.1
Wilson, Willie		24.3		6.3
Downing, Brian		24.2		5.6
Murphy, Dwayne		23.9		5.9
Durham, Leon		25.1		4.6
Clark, Jack		25.0		4.0
Brunansky, Tom		18.2		5.6
Thompson, Jason		26.9		4.7
Oliver, Al		25.9		5.2
Hernandez, Keith	24.5		4.5
McRae, Hal		26.2		4.2
Kennedy, Terry		26.9		4.6
Parrish, Lance		24.5		5.1


Pitcher 		SH WS		BBR WAR
Stieb, Dave		24.9		7.7
Niekro, Joe		24.4		6.1
Carlton, Steve		24.2		6.2
Rogers, Steve		23.4		7.7
Andujar, Joaquin	22.3		5.5
Sutcliffe, Rick		20.2		5.7
Valenzuela, Fernando	20.0		5.4
Soto, Mario		19.8		7.7
Palmer Jim		19.7		4.8
Clancy, Jim		19.6		5.0

Quisenberry, Dan	21.6		3.4
Spillner, Dan		20.7		4.4
Stanley, Bob		20.3		4.5
Minton, Greg		19.8		5.5
Gossage, Rich		17.3		4.5
Caudill, Bill		19.4		4.5

Most Meritorious Player: 1981 Ballot

For 1981, each voter should rank their top 13 players from both leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EST on 02 May 2013.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 01 May 2013.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1980 Results

Congratulations to George Brett, 1980’s Most Meritorious Player. He led the balloting throughout the election, in a vote marked by a high degree of consenuse for the top three places.

                    1  2   3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  Pts
Brett               8  2   1                                    161
Schmidt             3  7   1                                    156
Carlton, Steve         2   8           1                        141
Henderson, Rickey          1  6     1  3                        119
Carter, Gary                  1     2  2  1  1       4           85
Wilson, Willie                1  2  2  1             1   1   1   75
Randolph, Willie                 3     1  2      2       1       74
Norris, Mike                  1  2     1  2  1                   66
Yount, Robin                        3        1   1   2       1   56
Hernandez, Keith                    1     1  3   1   1       1   53
Cooper, Cecil                    3     1         1       1       52
Oglivie, Ben                  1     1        2   1       1   2   52
Bumbry, Al                    1  1     1  1      1               46
Jackson, Reggie                     1  1  1      1   1   1       42
Simmons                                1             1       1   17
Dawson, Andre                                1           1   2   17
Murphy, Dale                                     2       1       16
Burns, Britt                           1                 1       13
Gura, Larry                                              2   1   11
Corbett, Doug                                    1   1           11
Quisenberry, Dan                             1                    7
White, Frank                                 1                    7
Reuss, Jerry                                             1        4
Bell, Buddy                                                  1    3
Sutton, Don                                                  1    3

The NL’s MMP was Mike Schmidt. The NL’s Most Meritorious Pitcher was Steve Carlton. Mike Norris was voted the AL’s top pitcher.

Most Meritorious Player: 1981 Discussion

The strike, differences in games played by team and the goofy playoff system for 1981 will make evaluations more complicated than most seasons.

MMP voting will end on May 2 2013.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Schmidt, Mike		29.9		7.7
Evans, Dwight		25.8		6.7
Thomas, Gorman		20.1		3.1
Armas, Tony		17.9		4.2
Dawson, Andre		24.9		7.4
Murphy, Dwayne		20.3		4.3
Grich, Bobby		20.8		5.4
Henderson, Rickey	26.7		6.6
Yount, Robin		20.0		4.9
Burleson, Rick		17.2		4.5
Concepcion, David	20.3		3.7
Foster, George		24.4		3.6
Bell, Buddy		18.0		6.2
Trammell, Alan		14.2		3.8
Murray, Eddie		21.0		3.8
Hernandez, Keith	19.9		4.2
Cooper, Cecil		22.3		3.8
Carter, Gary		18.0		3.8
Sundberg, Jim		17.1		4.0
Kemp, Steve		17.3		3.8
Paciorek, Tom				4.3

Pitcher 		SH WS		BBR WAR
Valenzuela, Fernando	16.7		5.3
McCatty, Steve		18.0		4.6
Blyleven, Bert		14.6		5.6
Carlton, Steve		15.8		5.5
Ryan, Nolan		14.6		5.1
Stieb, Dave		14.5		4.5
Righetti, Dave		10.3		3.5
Knepper, Bob		12.9		3.7
Seaver, Tom		16.1		4.4
Reuss, Jerry		13.4		4.3
Hooton, Burt		12.8		3.7
Morris, Jack		15.4		3.4
Leonard, Dennis		13.6		3.4
Burns, Britt		11.4		4.0
Gura, Larry		13.1		3.7


Fingers, Rollie		17.2		4.3
Camp, Rick		13.9		2.6

Most Meritorious Player: 1980 Ballot

For 1980, each voter should rank their top 13 players from both leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EST on 04 April 2013.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1979 Results

In an election that saw five different candidates receive first-place ballots, Fred Lynn secured a victory on points, with a twenty-point advantage over the runner-up. Congratulations to Lynn, the 1979 Most Meritorious Player!

               1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    Pts
Lynn           7    2    2              1                                           169
Porter, D      2    4    1         3         1    1                                 149
Brett          1    4    2    2         1              1                            138
Schmidt        1         2    2    3    2    1         1                            134
Winfield, D         2    3    4              1               1                      130
Hernandez, K                  2    1    3    1    1                2                 92
Grich                         1    1                   3     2     2     1           70
Parker                                  2    1    1    1     2           2           64
Singleton                          1    2    1    1          1     1                 59
Eckersley                          1         1    2                1     1     1     48
Richard, J R   1              1                        1           1           2     45
Rice                                         2    1    1           1                 38
Carter, Gary             1         1              1                1                 37
Kern, Jim                1                        1          1           1     2     37
Niekro, P                                    1    1          2           1           33
Concepcion                              1         1                1                 23
John, Tommy                                       1    1                 1           19
Baylor, Don                                            1           1     1           16
Koosman, J                                             1                 1           11
Flanagan, M                        1                                                 11
Parrish, Larry                                         1                       1     10
Smalley                                                      1           1           10
Tenace, Gene                                                 1           1           10
Thomas, G                                    1                                        9
Templeton                                    1                                        9
Lexcano, Sixto                                                                 2      6
Lopes                                                                          2      6
Sutter, Bruce                                                1                        6
Guidry                                                             1                  5
Garner, Phil                                                             1            4
Cey                                                                            1      3
Bell, Buddy                                                                    1      3

Total Ballots: 12

The NL MMP was Mike Schmidt. Top pitcher was the AL’s Dennis Eckersley, with J R Richard as the NL’s Most Meritorious Pitcher.

Most Meritorious Player: 1980 Discussion

Mike Schmidt’s Phillies beat George Brett’s Royals in the World Series. Royals made it to the World Series by defeating the Yankees. Phillies route to the championship went through Houston.

MMP voting will end on April 03 2013.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Schmidt, Mike		37.7		8.6		
Brett, George		36.2		9.0
Henderson, Rickey	33.0		8.7
Wilson, Willie		31.5		8.3
Yount, Robin		25.4		7.0
Murphy, Dwayne		26.2		6.7
Cooper, Cecil		26.8		6.6
Dawson, Andre		29.3		6.6
Randolph, Willie	29.7		6.5
Hernandez, Keith	28.0		6.4
Oglivie, Ben		27.1		6.2
Bell, Buddy		21.8		6.3
Carter, Gary		30.9		6.2
Murphy, Dale		27.7		6.2
Puhl, Terry		23.0		6.0
Bumbry, Al		32.5		5.9
Armas, Tony		22.0		5.6
Smith, Ozzie		16.6		4.9
Simmons, Ted		22.6		4.9
Cedeno, Cesar		26.5		4.8
Trammell, Alan		20.8		4.6
Templeton, Garry	17.7		4.4
Singleton, Ken		27.1		3.8
Griffey, Ken		25.0		3.6
Cruz, Jose		25.2		4.5
Clark, Jack		23.0		4.5
Jackson, Reggie		30.8		4.5
Cey, Ron		23.4		4.7
Evans, Darrell		26.2		3.8
Cerone, Rick		24.3		3.6


Pitcher 		SH WS		BBR WAR

Carlton, Steve		28.8		9.8
Burns, Britt		21.5		6.7
Rogers, Steve		19.3		5.9
Gura, Larry		22.0		5.7
Norris, Mike		25.0		5.6
Reuschel, Rick		15.4		5.3
Clancy, Jim		18.7		5.3
Sutton, Don		20.3		5.3
Reuss, Jerry		20.8		4.8
May, Rudy		17.6		4.7
Steib, Dave		16.3		4.6

Corbett, Doug		23.9		5.6
McGraw, Tug		17.2		4.6