If you thought the 2021 Hall of Fame vote was a contentious debate over statistics, characters and PEDs, wait until Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz join next year. It will not only be the first chance for writers to opine Rodriguez and Ortiz, it will be the last time in the vote for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling (although Schilling asked to be removed from his last year on the ballot) and Sammy Sosa.
Although Bonds and Clemens have seen their vote share increase in recent years, BBWAA has not elected them, despite their position as two of the most statistically talented players in the game’s history. Sosa, who made 609 home runs, failed even 20%. Schilling, with 216 wins and his record as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time, had the most votes of all players this year, but fell short – undoubtedly partly because of his controversial social media behavior .
Now Rodriguez and Ortiz will join the fray, making the 2022 vote perhaps the most difficult to clarify where we are going with all of this.