Fitz On Sports: Ichiro, Sabathia and the Rest of the Hypothetical Cooperstown Ballot
Category
Cooperstown, the small New York village of 1,837 residents (as of 2023) where baseball’s legends are immortalized.
The standard way into Cooperstown for the best of the best is through the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot. This excerpt from the Hall of Fame’s website under future eligibles details the current procedure for players to be put onto the ballot:
“Players who are eligible have played 10 seasons of Major League Baseball and have been retired for five full seasons. For example, those players eligible for consideration in 2026 will have played their final game in 2020. Those players eligible for consideration in 2027 will have last played in 2021, etc.”
Even if players meet the requirement above, not everyone is a lock to be put on the ballot at all, as 14 newcomers joined the 14 holdovers from a year ago. Ryan Thibodaux and his team track ballots that are either revealed publicly or received anonymously.
Unlike other sports, baseball could see 10 players on the BBWAA ballot (the maximum number of spots on a ballot) or nobody (it’s a boring winter in those years). You need 75% of the vote or more to be inducted. If you get below 5% in any year, you fall off the writer’s ballot.
There’s so much nuance, but I thought I’d provide some background. I will address the Pete Rose issue at another time (he should be in, in my humble opinion). I do want to have a vote someday, but it’lI be a long time before that is likely to happen.
Cutting to the chase, I’ll be listing my 10 players in this mock ballot exercise and a few who I would have listed if there was more space.
The First Year Locks
Ichiro Suzuki, OF
If Ichiro doesn’t end up as the second unanimous selection after Mariano Rivera, I might actually go nuts.
Even looking only at his MLB accomplishments, I can’t go further to describe the greatness of the Japanese phenom and Seattle Mariners’ legend. He is that guy!
CC Sabathia, LHP
Sabathia holds a special place in my heart from his Cleveland playing days. He also donned a Brewers uniform for a few months in 2008 and won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 2009.
Sabathia won’t be unanimous, but it’d be a shock if he doesn’t clear the 75% threshold. I don’t know if he’ll choose a team between Cleveland and New York on his plaque, but that’ll be a fun discussion for another day.
Finally in on the Last try
Billy Wagner
If Rivera is voted in, then Wagner should have been in Cooperstown long before his 10th and final year of eligibility. Typically, players that are close and trend the way Wagner has historically tend to get in. Some players take a little less time on the ballot after a slow start for various reasons.
One of the best closers ever. End of story!
Should be in or Close Based on Trends
Carlos Beltran, OF, Andruw Jones, OF
Beltran will get in sooner than later. I will never comprehend the anti-Andruw Jones sentiment out there. I'm guessing he'll be in no later than his 10th year on the ballot for the 2027 class.
10 Players, Five Spots Remain
Felix Hernandez, P; Chase Utley, 2B; David Wright, 3B; Alex Rodriguez, SS/3B; Dustin Pedroia, 2B; Bobby Abreu; Mark Buehrle, P; Ian Kinsler, 2B; Andy Pettitte, P; Manny Ramirez, OF
This is the part of the ballot that flummoxes many voters: The politics of players on the ballot that includes eligibility remaining, PED’s, etc.
I went back and forth several times on many of these players in this final 10 who would make the cut for the five remaining ballot slots. Whether it was Jimmy Rollins, Curtis Granderson, or someone else, it's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't proposition.
Thankfully, the next two players were easy picks for me. Chase Utley and Felix Hernandez are guys I'd vote for in a heartbeat.
Utley was one of the best at the Keystone when I was growing up, and he had a long career with October glory to boot. His poise and veteran savvy are hard to ignore.
Hernandez is the one case of a player who could never find his way to October. It wasn't his fault, but Seattle squandered – not necessarily a “generational talent” – but Hernandez was as close as it gets. “King Felix” was someone I always wanted to see live in-person. I knew he was good. More than anything, I wanted to witness the brilliance of an ace.
As I mentioned a moment ago, there were a few names on this list I would have loved to vote for, but given the trends and eligibility for other worthy candidates (plus those who should stay on the ballot), it’s a thankless job. That is why we’ll knock out Manny Ramirez (should have been in already) and Bobby Abreu for this year’s mock ballot.
Six Players Left, Three Spots Remain
David Wright, 3B; Alex Rodriguez, SS/3B; Dustin Pedroia, 2B; Mark Buehrle, P; Ian Kinsler, 2B; Andy Pettitte, P
One big factor for some BBWAA writers is a player's October legacy.
Andy Pettitte likely would have been a selection well before now, but the voters have held his previous steroid usage against him. Pettitte has been open and up front, which is why I believe his October heroics will be rewarded some day, but it won't be today.
Slot Eight
The next player that should have been a lock is Dustin Pedroia, and he's the eighth pick on my ballot. When I got hooked on sports, it was “The Game” in 2006 and a season of dreams in 2007 when the Cavaliers went to the NBA Finals, the Browns had the only winning season I can remember in my childhood…
Then, there were the 2007 Cleveland Indians, the team I fell in love with and still cherish to this day. Kenny Lofton – acquired from Texas – never got a fair shot. Grady Sizemore, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Sabathia, Fausto Carmona (aka Roberto Hernandez), Casey Blake, among others.
I saw a rookie in Pedroia (The American League Rookie of the Year) and Hall of Fame teammate David Ortiz in the 2007 American League Championship Series. Jake Westbrook versus Daisuke Matsuzaka. Ortiz called out when the live grounder got his leg on the basepaths.
Focusing on Pedroia, he won three rings, an MVP award, multiple gold gloves and All-Star appearances while being one of the most hard-nosed players on the diamond. If not for an injury sustained during a game later in his career, Pedroia's case should be a slam dunk.
So that leaves us with four players: Wright, A-Rod, Kinsler, and Buehrle.
Slot Nine
Wright was a joy to watch. His peak was incredible, and I am shocked he's not garnered more consideration.
While a comparison I did with him and Cooperstown inductee Scott Rolen may seem a bit unfair, the two had comparable resumes as third baseman. Keep in mind, there aren't a ton of players from the hot corner enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Wright ended up somewhat similar to Pedroia, and his talent is too hard to ignore. I could wax poetic all day, but Wright has my vote.
The Final Slot
Bobby Abreu and Curtis Grandersom were in consideration here, but it came down to A-Rod, Kinsler, and Buehrle.
This is where I let some politics and math come into play. I love the southpaw and former White Sox, but I couldn't pull the trigger in the end.
Kinsler is one of my favorite second baseman from his time as a player. It just felt like whenever he was out there on the diamond, I always enjoyed the guy's game. My hope is he's going to get enough votes to stay on the player ballot for his second year in 2026.
That leaves – you guessed it – A-Rod as the final pick.
I never thought I'd be advocating for Rodriguez, given what transpired during the Biogenesis scandal, but I've taken some issue with the voting in recent years.
Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and more who were suspected of or admitted to using steroids still brought baseball back from the brink in the 1990s. Bonds is the sports’ home run king, and he got sent to purgatory.
While the reduction of player time on the ballot went from 15 years to 10 years, it wasn't all about mercy.
It was getting the Steroid Era players out as quickly as possible. Other guys like Lofton and many more suffered for playing during this era of baseball.
Even more so, I would be hard pressed to believe that every inductee in Cooperstown is completely clean of steroids.
Up until a few years ago, Rodriguez's 696 home runs ranked fourth on baseball's home run list. Only four players in the 700-plus club – Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and future inductee Albert Pujols – have more.
Regardless of your view of A-Rod, he has more than 30 home runs of distance between himself and Willie Mays. The guy was dynamic, steroids or not.
There are 'purists’ who will do all they can to keep A-Rod out, but they're losing ground. In his fourth year on the ballot, Rodriguez was tracking at 43% of the vote with 128 ballots accounted for as of Jan. 12, at 11:26 a.m. EST. His first three years he tracked at 34.3%, 35.7% and 34.8%.
Rodriguez is going to get in barring a more staunch resistance in the next six years. The Hall of Fame is going to see players who aren't 'pure’ come through. It's time to accept that and let one of the game's best left-side infielders in on baseball immortality.
Knocked out/Better Luck Next Year
Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Gonzalez, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Hanley Ramirez, Fernando Rodney, Francisco Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel, Troy Tulowitzki, Adam Jones, Torii Hunter, Ben Zobrist, Curtis Granderson.
Honorable mentions
Ian Kinsler, Bobby Abreu, Curtis Granderson.
