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Debating the resumes of Hall candidates has become contentious in recent years. The steroid era clouded the results of this hallowed ground. Two players, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, might have been the all-time best hitter and pitcher. Neither has gotten the call from Cooperstown. This year’s class is shaping up to be one of the biggest in history. Two players, Lee Smith and Harold Baines, have already been elected by the 16-member electorate of the Today’s Game Era ballot. If I was lucky enough to have a ballot, this is how I would vote.Class of 2019 Roy Halladay: Tragically, Halladay won’t be in Cooperstown to give an acceptance speech. He crashed his plane into the Gulf of Mexico in November 2017. Halladay might be the last pitcher of a former era. He compiled 67 complete games in his career and he needed fewer than 100 pitches in 14 of those complete games. Halladay won two Cy Young awards (2003, 2010) and he finished in the top-five another five times. There may not be another pitcher like Halladay. Edgar Martinez: With the recent election of Baines, it makes no sense to keep Martinez out of the hall. He is one of the best designated hitters of all-time and he is in his final year on the ballot. Paul Molitor spend 44% of his career playing DH and Frank Thomas spend 57% of his career at DH. Both have been elected to the Hall. He received over 70% of the vote in 2018 so he should easily break the 75% threshold in the current election cycle. Mariano Rivera: Rivera utilized one of the best pitches, a cut fastball, in baseball history to become one of the best pitchers in baseball history. He set the all-time record for saves (652) but he might be most remembered for his dominance during postseason play. He was part of five World Series winners and he collected the final outs in four of those championship seasons. Rivera was also a great influence off the field and he could end up with one of the highest voting percentages in Hall of Fame history. Future Inductions Mike Mussina: Mussina’s long career stacks up well, especially when compared to the era that he pitched in. Other pitchers from the era have garnered more recognition but Mussina was strong throughout his career. In one 10-year stretch, he received Cy Young votes in eight different seasons. After finishing at 63.5% in 2018, he’s going to be borderline this year to get in. I think he has to wait one more year and he will be part of the Class of 2020. Omar Vizquel: Vizquel follows the mold of Ozzie Smith in the fact that nearly all of his value came on the defensive side of the ball. Think of him as the anti-Edgar Martinez, whose value came completely on the offensive side. His 11 Gold Gloves at shortstop are second most all-time behind Smith. Smith was a first ballot Hall of Famer. Every shortstop ahead of him on the all-time hits lists is enshrined in Cooperstown or on their way. He should get in, but he will need to gain more support in the years to come. May Never Get In (But Still On My Ballot) Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Larry Walker, Andrew Jones, Todd Helton Bonds and Clemens are two of the greatest players of all time but their connection to the steroid era has kept them out of Cooperstown. Walker continues to gain ground, but recent crowded ballots have kept him from getting elected. He is in his ninth year of eligibility, which means 2020 will be his last opportunity on the writer’s ballot. Jones is a long way from being elected in his second year on the ballot. He is one of the best defensive players of all-time and I think he will can some traction in the years ahead. Helton gets little support due to playing his entire career in Colorado. Still his offensive accolades put him on the borderline for enshrinement. To be transparent, some things have changed on my ballot from last year to this year. I correctly predicted the four players who would be elected last year (Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, and Jim Thome). I have replaced those four players on this year’s ballot with two first time candidates (Halladay, Rivera), while adding three new candidates (Walker, Jones, and Helton). Johan Santana fell off the ballot in his first year of eligibility, but I tried to make his case in a series of posts last year. If you missed any of the series on Johan Santana’s Cooperstown Case, there were three parts to the series. The first post looked at the Kirby Puckett Clause and how it can be applied to Santana. The second article touched on the similarities in careers between Santana and the great Sandy Koufax. The third and final piece touched on his missing third Cy Young. Here is the official list of players available to be voted for by the BBWAA. Who makes your list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

This time of year, especially with the free agent market moving as slow as it is, puts the Hall of Fame in the spotlight. Although the Hall tends to do more bad than good in the press (yes Joe Morgan, you're at fault here), the ballot does get us to some intriguing talking points. I've written plenty about my stance on voting and who should get in, and I'll share my IBWAA ballot in the coming weeks. In 2017 though, the HOF highlights the need for the universal DH. A quick look at the timeline of Sporting News' Ryan Spaeder will hint that he's on a crusade he shouldn't need to be embarking upon. As with Tim Raines a year ago, Edgar Martinez has been the cross taken up with Spaeder and some other writers around the baseball community. On the ballot in his 9th year (of 10 eligible), Martinez is drawing eerily close to missing his opportunity to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In 2017, Martinez received 259 votes (58.6%). He needs to jump just over 15% in his final two ballots to reach enshrinement, and that it looks like an uphill battle remains a sad development. While the BBWAA has voted previously to expand the possible votes from 10 to 12, the Hall of Fame shot the motion down, and a stacked ballot continues to haunt players that are simply left out. While the IBWAA did the right thing and inducted Martinez in 2016 alongside former teammate Ken Griffey Jr., the BBWAA has yet to follow suit. Over the course of his 18 year career, Martinez was a seven-time All Star, five-time Silver Slugger, and racked up two batting titles. He owns a career .312/.318/.515 slash line, and he's one of very few players that can claim more walks (1,283) than strikeouts (1,202) to their credit. The one detractor everyone seems to point at when considering Martinez comes down to two different numbers. First, the amount of games he played in the big leagues (2,055). There's nothing wrong with that number, but it's the 560 games started in the field that apparently holds him back. The simplest way to address that argument is to flat out call it wrong. Even if Edgar Martinez was the worst defensive first or third basemen in the majors for those 18 seasons, he would've been among the greatest hitters to ever play the game. At 65.5 career fWAR, there's just five third basemen with a higher mark in their career. One of them is retired, and based upon his merits in the game should be in the Hall when eligible (Alex Rodriguez). Two of them are still currently playing, and should be Hall of Fame locks (Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera). Another is on the ballot and isn't given enough credit, despite much of his value coming on defense (Scott Rolen). The final name is Graig Nettles. Looking at the landscape we just explored, Martinez has compiled an fWAR number on par with every Hall of Fame third basemen already enshrined, and did so solely by the production of his bat. Again we reach the crossroads of the designated hitter becoming disrespected. It's at this point, and upon the induction of Martinez, that the game needs to change. In the National League, on a nightly basis, pitchers embarrass themselves at the plate. Failing to get down a bunt, flailing away, or having to stand in for the first time since high school is not something that should take place in a big league game. While Madison Bumgarner is hitting his one or two longballs a year, he's still a terrible hitter that has no business ever batting over a big league offensive player (yes, that was silly Bruce Bochy). The game of baseball has changed in 2017, and even earlier than that to be fair. Managers use closers in high leverage situations as opposed to just the 9th inning, platoons give offenses a tactical advantage, and shifts seek to steal away would be base hits. Specialty play is something that game has embraced for the better, except when it comes for the players to be recognized after they are done. It's not the fault of Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner, or Lee Smith that they pitched one inning a night. The were the by-product of the save, and in turn, were exceptional at the task they were called upon to complete. Martinez may have been able to hack it in the field longer than he did, but wielding just a bat, he was among the best in the game. It's time those things are remembered when the votes are cast. Looking ahead to the class reveal on January 24th, I fear Martinez will be staring his final year of eligibility in the eye. It's a situation I can't imagine the beloved David Ortiz will find himself in (steroid accusations or otherwise), and it's disgusting that the Mariners star has to shy away from what he was as well. Edgar Martinez was, on a nightly basis, designated to hit and that's exactly what he did. We're long past due on enshrining him for that greatness, and in turn, allowing baseball to embrace the specialty across both leagues. For more from Off The Baggy, click here. Follow @tlschwerz

My first Twins game was May 30, 1994 when the Twins took on the Seattle Mariners. As a kid, I was excited to be at my first big league game but it's fun to look back on the caliber of players in both line-ups. Future Hall of Famers Kirby Puckett, Randy Johnson, and Dave Winfield all played in the game.Two other members of that Mariners team are prominently featured on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. Griffey is in his first year of eligibility and he will be enshrined this year with close to 100% of the vote. Martinez has been on multiple ballots but he doesn't get as much support since he played the majority of his career at designated hitter. Besides Griffey's almost assured enshrinement, there will likely be others to join him in Cooperstown this summer. Here's a look at the 2016 Hall of Fame Ballot in three different categories: the Class of 2016, Future Inductions, and May Never Get In (But Still On My Ballot). Class of 2016 Jeff Bagwell: It's going to be close but I think Bagwell gets just over 75% of the vote needed to get into the Hall of Fame. There are some who have questioned his candidacy because he was a big power hitter in the midst of the steroids era. Bagwell is tied with Ty Cobb for third most seasons with a .420+OBP, .540+ SLG, and 15+ stolen bases. Only Ed Delahanty and Barry Bonds are higher on the list. Ken Griffey Jr: The only question surrounding Griffey is whether or not he will be listed on 100% of the ballots. There has never been a Hall of Famer listed on 100% of the ballots and that trend will likely continue this year. Griffey battled through numerous injuries in his career, otherwise he might be considered the greatest player in the history of the game. His tremendous defense in center field and his sweet swing at the plate make him a hands down pick for the class of 2016. Mike Piazza: He may go down as the best hitting catcher of all time and this should be enough to get him in on his fourth time on the ballot. Much like Bagwell, there have been some who haven't voted for him because of him being a power hitter in the steroid era. I think he makes it in this year and does it pretty easily. If Bagwell falls short, this year's class might only include Griffey and Piazza. Future Inductions Tim Raines: Raines continues to gain steam in recent years and I think he falls just short on this year's ballot which will set him up for election in 2017, his last year on the ballot. He is one of the best leadoff hitters ever. He is fifth in stolen bases, 13th in stolen base percentage, and 41st in win probability added. He will need a 20 percent increase from last year's ballot and that might be too much to do in one year. Curt Schilling: Schilling is one of the most dominant postseason pitchers of all time and the longevity of his career should help his case. He has received under 40% of the vote in each of his three years on the ballot but he should see a big jump this season. It will likely take a few more years but he should get in at some point. Trevor Hoffman: For a few seasons, he held the all-time record for career saves before being passed by Mariano Rivera. Even as a relief pitcher, he finished second in the Cy Young voting twice and had two other top six finishes. He was the first pitcher to reach 500 saves and one of two players to have reached the 600 save mark. Relief pitchers have a tough time getting in but he was a trailblazer at the position. May Never Get In (But Still On My Ballot) Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina Even though they are two of the best players of all time, Bonds and Clemens have the cloud of steroids surrounding their candidacies. Martinez was a designated hitter and it seems like the voters are holding that against him even though he has strong numbers as a power hitter. Mussina was a good pitcher for a long time but he won't get enough support and he was the last name on my ballot. Others on the ballot: Garret Anderson, Brad Ausmus, Luis Castillo, David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds, Nomar Garciaparra, Troy Glaus, Mark Grudzielanek, Mike Hampton, Jason Kendall, Jeff Kent, Mike Lowell, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Gary Sheffield, Lee Smith, Sammy Sosa, Mike Sweeney, Alan Trammel, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker, Randy Winn So who do you think gets in? Who else should have been on my ballot? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article