2020 Hall of Merit Ballot Discussion

2020 (December 2019)—elect 4

Top 10 Returning Players
Luis Tiant (263), Todd Helton (251), Kenny Lofton (217), Andruw Jones (201), Ben Taylor (196), Jeff Kent (188), Johan Santana (176), Wally Schang (153), Sammy Sosa (148), Lance Berkman (135)

Newly eligible players

Player Name	HOFm	HOFs	WAR	WAR7	JAWS	Jpos
Derek Jeter	337	67	72.4	42.4	57.4	55
Bobby Abreu	95	54	60	41.6	50.8	56.8
Jason Giambi	108	44	50.5	42.2	46.4	54.7
Cliff Lee	72	30	43.5	39.8	41.7	61.7
Rafael ...

Roy Halladay, Mariano Rivera, and “Cannonball” Dick Redding elected - Hall of Merit Class of 2019

Congrats to the class of 2019, Roy Halladay, Mariano Rivera, and “Cannonball” Dick Redding!

Halladay and Rivera each garnered 9 of 27 first place votes, with Redding carrying 6 others. There was strong consensus this year - no other player received more than four top 3 votes. Halladay had 25, Rivera 19, and Redding 15. Todd Helton (5th), Jeff Kent (9th) and Jim McCormick (41st) also received first place votes.

Halladay was the only player named on all 27 ballots. Rivera was named on 26 and ...

2019 Hall of Merit Ballot

Welcome to the 2019 Hall of Merit Ballot thread. Balloting is open from now (December 10) through December 19January 7 9, 2019 at 8 p.m. EST.

I’ve posted this the last several of years, but as a reminder:

“This has been an issue in the past, so I’ll repeat it now for clarification . . . 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 ...

2019 Hall of Merit Ballot Discussion

2019 - (December 2018) - elect 3

Top 10 Returning Players

Luis Tiant (240), Sammy Sosa (238), Kenny Lofton (236), Andruw Jones (220), Jeff Kent (207), Ben Taylor (197), Johan Santana (186), Buddy Bell (139), Bobby Bonds (124), Jorge Posada (105)

Newly eligible players

Player Name	bWAR 	WS	WAR7	JAWS	HOFm	HOFs
Roy Halladay	64.7	225.5	50.6	57.6	127	45
Todd Helton	61.2	316.5	46.4	53.8	175	59
Andy Pettitte	60.8	228.7	34.1	47.5	128	44
Mariano Rivera	57.1	272.5	28.9	43	214	30
Lance ...

2018 Hall of Merit Election Results: Chipper, Thome, Rolen and Vlad Elected!

The Hall of Merit welcomes four new members. Chipper Jones was the unanimous #1 this year, receiving all 30 first place votes. Jim Thome (653) edged Scott Rolen (617) for second place. Rolen had more second place votes (13-12), but Thome had 14 third place votes to Rolen’s 9. Both were named on all 30 ballots. All three were selected in their first year of eligibility.

Vladimir Guerreo is the final electee, with 290 points in his second year of eligibility. He was named on 21 ballots. Guerrero ...

2018 Hall of Merit Ballot

Welcome to the 2018 Hall of Merit Ballot thread. Balloting is open from now (December 5) through December 18 27, 2016 at 8 p.m. EST.

I’ve posted this the last several of years, but as a reminder:

“This has been an issue in the past, so I’ll repeat it now for clarification . . . 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 ...

Most Meritorious Player: Trophy Case

MMP Award results and analysis including a listing of all winners.

Most Meritorious Player: 2019 Results

Congratulations to 2019 Most Meritorious Player Alex Bregman!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Alex Bregman	114	8	4
Mike Trout	108	8	1
Cody Bellinger	106	8	2
Marcus Semien	92	8	1
Christian Yelich	73	8	0
Anthony Rendon	66	8	0
Justin Verlander	62	8	0
Gerrit Cole	61	7	0
Ketel Marte	44	6	0
Mookie Betts	37	7	0
Jacob deGrom	36	5	0
Stephen Strasburg	19	4	0
DJ LeMahieu	19	3	0
Zack Greinke	16	3	0
George Springer	13	5	0
Max Scherzer	13	2	0
Lance Lynn	12	2	0
Matt Chapman	11	4	0
Mike Minor	11	2	0
Xander ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1922 Discussion

The US Supreme Court declared that baseball games are not interstate commerce and are exempt from anti-trust laws. Babe Ruth was suspended for illegal barnstorming until May 20.

The Giants beat the Yankees in 5 games where one was declared a tie (4-0-1). All World Series games are played at the Polo Grounds.

The Chicago American Giants and Indianapolis ABCs are the top teams in the Negro National League.

Vote for 10.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Rogers Hornsby		47.2		10.0
Ken ...

Most Meritorious Player: 2019 Ballot

Here are the specific rules for this election:

Candidate Eligibility: Any North American professional baseball player is eligible for the Most Meritorious Player (MMP) award including players on independent teams. Voters should consider the player’s on-field contribution to Major League Baseball (MLB) team(s) in that season only. If part of the season was spent outside MLB, that value may be considered as well. However, the player’s on-field contribution should be judged in relation to the ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1921 Results

Congratulations to Babe Ruth on his unanimous selection as the 1921 Most Meritorious Player!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Babe Ruth	105	7	7
Rogers Hornsby	96	7	0
Red Faber	83	7	0
Bullet Rogan	67	6	0
Oscar Charleston	63	6	0
Burleigh Grimes	47	6	0
Frankie Frisch	37	4	0
Ty Cobb	36	4	0
Carl Mays	33	4	0
Dave Bancroft	32	4	0
Alejandro Oms	32	3	0
Harry Heilmann	29	3	0
Dave Brown	14	1	0
Dobie Moore	11	1	0
Urban Shocker	10	1	0
Dick Whitworth	8	1	0
Joe Williams	7	1	0
Tris Speaker	7	1	0
George ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1921 Ballot

For 1921 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 6 November 2019.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 5 November 2019.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 2019 Discussion

Vote for 15.

Player			WS	bWAR
Cody Bellinger		33.9	9.0
Alex Bregman		34.7	8.4
Mike Trout		33.5	8.3
Marcus Semien		33.2	8.1
Christian Yelich	33.0	7.1
Ketel Marte		28.2	6.9
Mookie Betts		27.0	6.8
Matt Chapman		23.9	6.7
Trevor Story		22.4	6.4
Anthony Rendon		30.4	6.3
George Springer		24.1	6.2
Josh Donaldson		25.9	6.1
DJ LeMahieu		28.9	6.0
Nolan Arenado		24.4	5.7
Max Muncy		23.2	5.7
Jorge Polanco		25.0	5.7
Ronald Acuna		27.3	5.5
Aaron Judge		17.4	5.4
Rafael Devers		23.4	5.3
Xander ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1921 Discussion

Walter Johnson set the new career strikeouts record with 2835 and Ruth broke the career HR mark of 139.

The Giants beat the Yankees 5 games to 3

Vote for 10.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Babe Ruth		52.5		12.5
Rogers Hornsby		40.2		10.8
Frankie Frisch		31.6		6.9
Dave Bancroft		30.5		7.4
Ty Cobb			25.8		6.7
Joe Sewell		26.3		4.9
Tris Speaker		27.0		6.5
Harry Heilmann		28.1		6.8
George Sisler		27.3		5.7
Austin McHenry		24.7		5.0
Larry Gardner		23.2		4.6
Bobby Veach		22.6		5.4
Eddie ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1920 Results

Congratulations to Babe Ruth, our unanimous pick for 1920 Most Meritorious Player!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Babe Ruth	90	6	6
Rogers Hornsby	76	6	0
Pete Alexander	73	6	0
Tris Speaker	65	6	0
George Sisler	63	5	0
Eddie Collins	51	6	0
Stan Coveleski	39	5	0
Joe Jackson	34	4	0
Jim Bagby	31	4	0
Oscar Charleston	30	3	0
Cristobal Torriente	23	2	0
Ross Youngs	22	3	0
Burleigh Grimes	12	1	0
John Henry Lloyd	8	1	0
Sam Rice	7	1	0
Dave Bancroft	6	1	0

Most Meritorious Player: 1920 Ballot

For 1920 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.
Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 2 October 2019.
Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 1 October 2019.
For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1920 Discussion

Babe Ruth became a Yankee in January.

The Negro National League was founded in February with teams in Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis.

In July Walter Johnson threw his only no-hitter.

In August Ray Chapman was hit by a Carl Mays pitch and killed.

The Chicago American Giants won the first pennant in the Negro National League.

The Cleveland Indians defeated the Brooklyn Robins in the World Series 5 games to 2.

In November Kenesaw Mountain ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1919 Results

Congratulations to Babe Ruth, our 1919 Most Meritorious Player! This is his first MMP award.

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Babe Ruth	99	7	6
Walter Johnson	95	7	1
Eddie Cicotte	73	6	0
Bobby Veach	52	5	0
Pete Alexander	51	6	0
Dick Redding	49	5	0
Dick Whitworth	47	4	0
Hippo Vaughn	45	5	0
Oscar Charleston	39	3	0
Ty Cobb	33	4	0
Rogers Hornsby	21	3	0
Joe Jackson	15	2	0
Joe Williams	14	1	0
Edd Roush	13	2	0
Stan Coveleski	12	2	0
Heinie Groh	11	1	0
Babe Adams	11	1	0
George Sisler	11	1	0
Cristobal ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1919 Ballot

For 1919 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 4 September 2019.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 3 September 2019.
For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1918 Results

Congratulations to Walter Johnson, our 1918 Most Meritorious Player!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Walter Johnson	102	7	5
Babe Ruth	95	7	2
Hippo Vaughn	80	7	0
Tyrus Cobb	79	7	0
Stan Coveleski	68	7	0
Joe Williams	50	5	0
George Sisler	49	5	0
Tris Speaker	34	4	0
Scott Perry	28	3	0
Cristobal Torriente	28	3	0
George H Burns	23	3	0
Heinie Groh	18	2	0
Oscar Charleston	17	2	0
John Henry Lloyd	10	1	0
Dick Redding	9	1	0
Harry Hooper	9	1	0
Dick Whitworth	8	1	0
Lefty Tyler	8	1	0
Max Carey	7	1	0
Charlie ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1919 Discussion

Players returned from the war. Sunday baseball starts in New York. Ray Caldwell gets hit by lightning and finishes the game anyway. The Giants and Phillies played a 51 minute 9 inning game.

The White Sox threw the World Series to the Reds losing 5 games to 3 in a best of 9 contest.

The Atlantic City Bacharach Giants defeated Hilldale 5 games to 4 in the “Colored Championship of the East”. The Detroit Stars and Chicago American Giants were the best teams in the West.

Vote for 10.

Player			SH ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1918 Ballot

For 1918 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 7 August 2019.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 6 August 2019.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1917 Results

Congratulations to Ty Cobb - our unanimous pick for 1917 Most Meritorious Player!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Ty__ Cobb	105	7	7
Pete Alexander	89	7	0
Eddie Cicotte	83	7	0
Rogers Hornsby	74	6	0
Joe Williams	66	7	0
Tris Speaker	66	7	0
Ray Chapman	33	4	0
Babe Ruth	28	3	0
Heinie Groh	26	3	0
Jim Bagby	22	3	0
Louis Santop	20	2	0
Dick Redding	20	2	0
John H Lloyd	19	2	0
Art Fletcher	17	2	0
Stan Coveleski	16	2	0
Walter Johnson	12	1	0
Crist Torriente	10	1	0
Bobby Veach	8	1	0
John Donaldson	8	1	0
Joe ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1918 Discussion

By the end of the season over 250 players were participating in military service for World War I. The exodus of players accelerated in July and MLB shut down in September to support the war effort.

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs in the World Series four games to two in the only World Series to take place entirely in September. It is also one of the lowest scoring World Series ever played with the Red Sox winning despite scoring only 9 runs.

Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1917 Ballot

For 1917 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 3 July 2019. (Let me know if you need an extension due to the holiday)

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 2 July 2019.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1917 Discussion

The Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Giants in the World Series four games to two.

As the season went on many players enlisted in military service for World War I. John Thorn lists 76 players enlisted in 1917.

The “Colored Championship” exhibition featured the Chicago American Giants and the New York Lincoln Stars despite the fact that the New York Lincoln Giants were the best team in the East.

Vote for 10.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Ty Cobb			46.8		11.3
Rogers Hornsby		37.0		9.9
Tris ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1916 Results

Congratulations to Pete Alexander, our 1916 Most Meritorious Player.

This election went to the tiebreaker of most first place votes. Alexander had 5 first place votes and Tris Speaker had zero.

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Pete Alexander	96	7	5
Tris Speaker	96	7	0
Tyrus Cobb	85	7	0
Walter Johnson	84	7	1
Babe Ruth	77	7	0
Joe Williams	43	4	1
J H Lloyd	40	4	0
Joe Jackson	32	4	0
Harry Coveleski	25	3	0
Zack Wheat	23	3	0
Eddie Collins	22	3	0
Jeff Pfeffer	22	3	0
Art Fletcher	19	2	0
Reb ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1916 Ballot

For 1916 each voter should rank the top 10 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 5 June 2019.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 4 June 2019.

For detailed rules see one of our previous ballots.

Most Meritorious Player: 1916 Discussion

The Red Sox defeated the Brooklyn Robins in the World Series four games to one.

The Indianapolis ABC’s defeated the Chicago American Giants for the Colored Champion of the West. The Lincoln Stars were probably the best team in the East.

Vote for 10.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Tris Speaker		40.7		8.6
Ty Cobb			42.4		8.0
Zack Wheat		30.9		6.0
Eddie Collins		31.6		7.0
Joe Jackson		34.0		7.0
Art Fletcher		24.2		6.3
Heinie Groh		23.5		5.3
Max Carey		27.1		5.1
George Sisler 		24.4		5.1 (includes ...

Most Meritorious Player: 1915 Results

Congratulations to Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander for winning the 1915 Most Meritorious Player award!

Player Name	pts	ballots	1sts
Pete Alexander	116	8	5
Ty Cobb	111	8	2
Eddie Collins	99	8	0
Walter Johnson	98	8	0
Tris Speaker	78	8	0
Gavy Cravath	77	7	0
Jack Fournier	59	7	0
John Henry Lloyd	32	4	0
Larry Doyle	25	3	0
Joe Williams	16	2	0
Dick Redding	15	1	1
Fred Toney	14	2	0
Bobby Veach	12	2	0
Honus Wagner	9	1	0
Benny Kauff	9	1	0
Jim Scott	9	1	0
Heinie Groh	8	1	0
Jeff Pfeffer	8	1	0
Tom ...