Though Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio all got their ticket punched for Cooperstown and The Baseball Hall of Fame today, they were only four of the 34 total names on the ballot. Some candidates like Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell got heartbreakingly close, while others like Cliff Floyd and Eddie Guardado got bupkis.
Darin Erstad, on the other hand, got a lone vote that has even Darin Erstad scratching his head.
@FauxPelini I wonder what that one person was thinking?
— Darin Erstad (@Dstad17) January 6, 2015
It’s not that Erstad was a poor baseball player. He spent 14 years in the major leagues and during the 2000 season, the former Angels outfielder and first baseman transformed into a baseball God, hitting .355 with 240 hits 25 home runs and 28 stolen bases. Had Erstad been able to repeat that performance a few times, ample Hall of Fame support would have been a natural reward for a great career, but in that that didn’t happen, this feels like either charity or a waste. And while it’s easy to rage against the anonymous sportswriter who burned off a vote for Erstad or one for Tom Gordon or Aaron Boone, the real question is: why are these guys on the ballot in the first place? There’s no guarantee that a vote for them meant that someone else didn’t get into the Hall this year, but the possibility exists and that’s a real shame.
Source: HardBall Talk
