Baseball Hall of Fame: Will 1st-year candidates affect our ballots?

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame is an honor, a perk of all my years as a Baseball Writers’ Association of America member. It’s a responsibility, because so many people care about the history and integrity of the Hall.

It’s also pretty cool.

The list of first-year candidates on the new ballot was released this week: Mark Buehrle, A.J. Burnett, Michael Cuddyer, Dan Haren, LaTroy Hawkins, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Aramis Ramírez, Nick Swisher, Shane Victorino and Barry Zito.

First impressions, for my Hall of Fame ballot:

1) I don't see a first-ballot guy making the Hall this time.

2) I don't know if any of the first-ballot guys will ever make it to Cooperstown. Buehrle and Hudson appear worthy of further study. Maybe Torii Hunter.

3) I should add this qualifier to No. 2: When it comes to the Eras (nee Veterans) Committees, you never know; that’s where very good but not Hall-level candidates such as Harold Baines are pushed through. I was referring to BBWAA voting.

4) This could turn out to be the most controversial Hall of Fame class in my time as a voter. That's because this could be the year one or more of the tainted trio -- Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds -- gets the necessary 75 percent of the vote. They have the highest vote totals of all the returning candidates from last year, but Schilling (70 percent) has offended some with insensitive views, and Clemens (61 percent) and Bonds (60.7 percent) remain the sullied faces of the PED Era.

5) Omar Vizquel appears to be the only other player with an outside shot to make the Hall. He received 52.6 percent of the vote last year, just behind Schilling, Clemons and Bonds. Next was Scott Rolen with 35.3 percent. Vizquel would be an interesting choice, considering he has not been a favorite of those preferring today's analytics.

I love that I have until the end of December to submit my ballot. It gives me time to assess and reassess the candidates. I read what others are saying. I examine old-school and new-school data. Every year also brings more context to a player’s contribution. For a closer look at all the candidates, you can go to the Hall of Fame’s website.

When I make my final selections, I will post them here, along with my rationale.

Which players would you select? Go to my contact page, and you can email me with your thoughts, too. I look forward to hearing from you.

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