SnakePit Hall of Fame Inductees
We had 26 votes this year, but I had to discard a pair because the people in question voted twice. I don’t think there was anything malicious: for both, one ballot was submitted when I initially posted, and the other when I bumped the form earlier in the week. I accepted the first ballot only from each, so we ended with 24 valid ballots, and those discards proved crucial. Because Todd Helton appeared on both of them: 19 of 26 would have been more than the necessary three-quarters of votes, but 17 of 24 fell one vote short for the Toddfather, for the second year running. Carlos Beltran also missed out on becoming a SnakePit Hall of Famer by the narrowest of margins.
However, Andruw Jones will be enshrined in SnakePit Towers and Cooperstown this year, after also missing out on the ‘Pit by a single vote in 2025. This was his ninth year on the ballot, and it has been a slow climb for him to our Hall of Fame. Back on his first appearance, in 2018, Jones got 24% of the vote – actually one vote fewer than Manny Ramirez that year. Though a lot more than the BBWAA, where Jones barely survived, getting only 7.3% his first year – a record low for a subsequent inductee. However, Manny being Manny, left him around the same mark in subsequent polls, and this was his tenth and final appearance, both here and on the BBWAA ballot.
Jones, on the other hand, has seen his reputation improve, perhaps connected to a greater appreciation these days for defense. His ten Gold Gloves sit behind only Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays among outfielders, and Andruw’s career 24.4 dWAR is the most ever there. That helped counter a low .254 batting average in voters’ minds, although he his 434 home-runs in his career. He becomes the first player from Curacao to enter the Hall of Fame, which I am sure will delight DbacksEurope! Of course, his son Druw Jones is in the D-backs’ farm system. If his career approaches anything like his dad’s, I think we’ll all be more than satisfied.
On the outside, there was a gaggle of players in addition to Beltran and Helton, who came fairly close. C.C. Sabathia and Scott Rolen both got in the sixties, so still have a change of impressing the (generally tougher) SnakePit Hall voters. Rolen will be on his final shot for this site next year, as will Omar Vizquel. Among this year’s new arrivals, Cole Hamels did best at 20.8%, but most of the other newcomers will be one and done. An interesting exception: Ryan Braun. I’ll be reaching out to the two who voted for him, with a business proposal to avoid your identities from “accidentally” being leaked to the mob of angry SnakePitters, forming as I speak. 😀
Everyone else can feel to provide their ballots in the comments, and explain their choices. For example, did Beltran’s involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing impact your decision? Thanks to everyone who took part! We’ll be back next off-season – perhaps with the “Veterans Committee” idea discussed in the ballot comments! But certainly, in December with the 2027 ballot. The leading new candidate there is certainly Buster Posey, but other names to make their first appearance will be Jay Bruce, Jon Lester, Kyle Seager and Ryan Zimmerman. We’ll see how they, and the candidates returning from this year’s ballot, do on next year’s edition.