Vote: The 25 best players not in the Hall of Fame

I’m pleased to announce I’m bringing back my project having people vote on the best players not in the Hall of Fame.

An article about my project went live a little while ago at Sporting News. As I wrote there:

  • You must vote for 25 players. Next to each of the 25 players you vote for, put a “Y” or “N” to signify if they belong in the Hall of Fame. Please doublecheck spelling, include first and last names, and include suffixes like Jr. or Sr.
  • Please submit votes HERE. A 200-player ballot can be found HERE.
  • Write-in votes are welcome. Please feel free to write in any player who hasn’t played since 2010. A player need not have played 10 seasons or even in the majors to be eligible here.
  • All votes are due by Dec. 28 at 6 p.m.ET. Results will be unveiled Jan. 4, two days before the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announces the results of its 2016 election.

Regular readers may know we’ve voted four times since 2010 on the 50 best players not in the Hall of Fame. I took last year off from doing the project since it’s a lot of work, and it had reached a point it seemed somewhat stagnant creatively.

With my gig at Sporting News, I thought it might be fun to resurrect my project over there and see how the results compare. I’ve cut the project down to 25 players for a few reasons. First, I wanted more people to vote. Requiring votes for 50 players can be intimidating and off-putting. I’m willing to do it for projects here, since some of the people who frequent this site are highly knowledgeable, but it seemed foolhardy for a major platform like Sporting News.

We’d also reached the point over here where people were copying and pasting the same ballot each year. I want voters engaged. I want people having to make the tougher decisions that a 25-player project calls for.

Anyhow, I look forward to seeing how everyone votes.

6 Replies to “Vote: The 25 best players not in the Hall of Fame”

  1. Graham, I enjoyed doing this! I think that there are many guys not in the HOF that should be there. One thing that irks me is when a player rightfully makes the decision to retire in their 30’s instead of playing longer just to try to add to their counting stats, and they get penalized by HOF voters. Another X factor is a player that plays for mediocre or losing teams that essentially hurt their overall numbers. Please keep doing what you are doing because I am definitely a fan of your writing projects, whether amateur or professional. I don’t always 100% agree with your assessment of past players, but I do like the fact that you weigh the pros and cons of the player’s chances of making the HOF. Until next time, JC

    1. It’s a 200-player ballot so I had to make some tough cuts toward the end to get it down. Veach was one of the final cuts, I think.

      He’s definitely been on the ballot in years past when it’s been a 50 player project rather than 25. Veach never came close to making the Top 50, but he has his supporters.

      That being said, please feel free to write him in.

  2. This was really fun and interesting….have been watching baseball since Dizzy and Nellie were doing the game of the week so lotta of these guys bring back great baseball memories!!!! Thanks

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