2018 Cooperstown
By 
- Jones, Thome, and Vlad are all eminently qualified and I’m happy to see them get in.
- There have been worse selections than Hoffman, but I definitely wouldn’t have voted for him. I do think that, while WAR and similar stats will tell you that modern relievers should never be qualified, that it’s appropriate to elect the very best closers; it’s a major role, and while the bar should be higher than it is for starters it always has been. It’s just I don’t think Hoffman was special enough. Billy Wagner, for example, was a much better pitcher in a long career. Lee Smith was as good or better. He doesn’t have Rivera’s exceptional postseason record, and he wasn’t as historically significant or dominant at his peak as Sutter. I don’t see it.
- Edgar Martinez missed, but gained enough that he should make it next year, as he should.
- It’s obviously ridiculous that arguably the best player and best pitcher in baseball history aren’t in because of a silly, arbitrary, and selective moral panic.