But at the plate, everybody felt tiny in comparison. On legend alone, he was enormous. And his swing, however diminished his eyes by age, was still prodigious. One small memory of mine from his otherwise incredible career. Great, great player. Not a Hall of Famer for me. And that’s ok. Much respect…
I will say: Manny Ramírez is the second-best hitter I’ve witness in my lifetime. Incredible natural bat. I remember fondly the night during his twilight when he played in Colorado Springs for the Iowa Cubs. As a left fielder, he was dwarfed by the grass there, which feels like three football fields…
One more thing: A Hall ballot is a binary choice, kinda. But players are not. The A/B is not “Hall of Famer” or “forgotten on the discard pile forever.” No. Some of my favorite players will never have their names in the Hall. And that’s great! My memories, like yours, are precious. And speaking of…
I will absolutely consider any and all holdovers again next year and enthusiastically. It would be ignorant of me to discount any player on the ballot out of hand. Although I suspect I won’t get a chance to reconsider Andruw Jones. He’s trending well it seems. Great player.
I am definitely not some Small Haller (but, whatever, knock yourself out if you are). Baseball’s Hall remains incredibly difficult to reach. The percentage of players enshrined is tiny. I’m all for more, despite this three-name ballot…
Again, though, I’m content being deliberate, even if slow. This is a forever honor. And I would think about it forever, if I could…
My general guideposts for inclusion remain the same from this thread. And my man @ken-rosenthal.bsky.social wrote something cool today that conforms closely to my thinking. bsky.app/profile/nick...
2026 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot from Nick Groke, including votes for Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán and Chase Utley.
Here is my 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. Pardon my tardiness. As always, the game is paramount here, not any one person, especially not me. But I was asked to help and I shall make an attempt. Some more thoughts and explanation below h/u @notmrtibbs.com…
Ha nice yeah to be a fly on the wall…
I can’t remember if there was another, more specific instance of this. We might be melding two separate things?
Hey! Thanks for remembering. It’s this, definitely one of the more fun stories I’ve worked on: nytimes.com/athletic/2697587/2021/07/10/he-would-do-anything-for-this-game-how-bud-black-quietly-reached-baseball-immortality
Yes this! There are some good lines in this. Also the Rockies should start a club hall of fame. Although they should call it something else. Be unique. Wing of Legends or the Gold Mine or something I dunno.
Tulo’s a good reminder of how hard it is to make it to the Hall. It really does require some luck (or really, the avoidance of bad luck). And it’s not necessary for Tulo to have a plaque for us to recognize how great a player he was. CarGo too…
That’s kinda what I meant by voting strategically. I’d rather strictly vote as if mine were the only vote, if that makes sense. (I’m glad it’s not!) But I hear you...
Oh def not a hard no. I’m glad he’s gonna stick around. Most everybody on the ballot next year I’ll consider again fully…
And finally, I can say with confidence that while Carlos González will probably go without a vote, the game and its story would be much better, richer and more fun if there were more CarGos and fewer A-Rods.
Also, I think it’s curious that Dustin Pedroia may survive to a second ballot when a Troy Tulowitzki, a similar middle infielder with similar longevity drawbacks, may go without a single vote. Tulo, moreso than Todd Helton even imo, was an obvious eye-test Hall of Famer at his peak. He was awesome…
Everybody included is obvious to me, but I will say, since his debate continues, that Bobby Abreu was essentially proto-Soto with a better glove. Some of the knock on him is that his plate patience came off as boring and he was too at ease singling in the ninth down four runs. But c’mon now…
Long story long, there are four or five or more players I nearly added, king among them (hey oh!) was Félix Hernández, whose influence among multiple generations of Venezuelan pitchers was considerable. His was a great story…
So I’m content voting deliberately, even if slowly. Since this is all part of the story, context is key. And it takes time to properly contextualize a player because that can change over time. It’s difficult to be completely consistent here, but I’m trying…
In general, I’m swayed more by peak years (how high and for how long). I also realized this year that I’d rather not vote “strategically” (although it’s a valid reason, if that’s your thing) because I’ll just end up tied in knots. I don’t ever want to drop a player I’ve already voted for…
The Hall, like the game itself, is a living, continuing story. My votes are meant to help edit that story, in a way. What did their involvement in the game say about the game in that era? What story did their career tell? This is more important to me than arbitrary milestones…
2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot with votes for Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Chase Utley and Billy Wagner.
Here’s my Hall of Fame ballot for this year, tardy as it is. This isn’t about me; it’s about the game. But transparency is important, so a few notes on process below… h/u @notmrtibbs.com
Not complete until you place center-cut in order: Team France - Albuquerque Dukes - Tacoma Rainiers - Texas Rangers
So excited for this day to finally arrive. Sports jobs are Times Guild jobs. #IAMTIMESGUILD
And puked all over the street. He stood up and climbed back inside and the door closed like nothing ever happened. I know everybody has a Shane MacGowan puke story. But this is mine. Codladh samh.
Several years ago on Spruce Street in Boulder, bout 9 or 10 in the morning, still quiet, I walked around a bus parked parallel. The door opened with that hydraulic sound, like the air was rushing out. A man in an all-black suit walked down, leaned his hands on his knees…
Hi Renee!
