As a longstanding member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA), I take great pride in having been able to participate in their Hall of Fame vote the past three years.
This year, the 347 member strong BBA is recommending Barry Larkin and Jeff Bagwell be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Chicago Cubs legend Ron Santo and broadcaster Tim McCarver this July.
Here’s the official word:
In the annual polling of members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin and former Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell were recommended for induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the third year the organization has conducted this survey of the membership.
Larkin, a 12-time All-Star who fashioned an .815 OPS over 19 seasons, received the largest percentage of votes, being named on 84.25% of the 148 ballots cast. This is the highest percentage garnered by any player in the three years of BBA voting.
Bagwell, who hit 449 HR and had a .948 OPS in his 15 seasons in Houston, was selected on 115 ballots for a 78.77% rate. As with the official voting done by the Baseball Writers of America, a player must be named on 75% of the ballots to be recommended by the alliance.
And since everyone else on the web is throwing their own theoretical picks out there, here are mine (along with links to their Hall of Fame capsules from this site)…Jeff Bagwell, Barry Larkin, Fred McGriff, Tim Raines and Lee Smith.
I really wanted to go with more and, honestly, was surprised that I ended up with only five. But, unlike the BBWAA…I like to stay consistent.
Take a gander at the complete press release from the BBA and check out how all 27 players fared in the vote by clicking HERE.
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