| Rank | Name | Votes (Pct.) | Yrs on ballot |
Pos | Yrs active |
BTP | BT rank |
BT pos rank |
| 1 | *Mariano Rivera | 425 (100.0) | 1 | pi cp | 95-13 | 126.4 | 39 | 2 |
| 2 | *Roy Halladay | 363 (85.4) | 1 | pi sp | 98-13 | 170.7 | 12 | 10 |
| 3 | *Edgar Martinez | 363 (85.4) | 10 | dh | 87-04 | 77.5 | 143 | 9 |
| 4 | *Mike Mussina | 326 (76.7) | 6 | pi sp | 91-08 | 155.6 | 21 | 18 |
| 5 | Curt Schilling | 259 (60.9) | 7 | pi sp | 88-07 | 194.1 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Roger Clemens | 253 (59.5) | 7 | pi sp | 84-07 | 164.8 | 15 | 12 |
| 7 | Barry Bonds | 251 (59.1) | 7 | lf | 86-07 | 153.2 | 22 | 2 |
| 8 | Larry Walker | 232 (54.6) | 9 | rf | 89-05 | 100.1 | 83 | 11 |
| 9 | Omar Vizquel | 182 (42.8) | 2 | ss | 89-12 | 42.2 | 435 | 11 |
| 10 | ††Fred McGriff | 169 (39.8) | 10 | 1b | 86-04 | 57.7 | 272 | 38 |
| 11 | Manny Ramirez | 97 (22.8) | 3 | lf | 93-11 | 167.2 | 13 | 1 |
| 12 | Jeff Kent | 77 (18.1) | 6 | 2b | 92-08 | 109.7 | 60 | 1 |
| 13 | Billy Wagner | 71 (16.7) | 4 | pi cp | 95-10 | 108.7 | 62 | 3 |
| 14 | Todd Helton | 70 (16.5) | 1 | 1b | 97-13 | 116.4 | 48 | 5 |
| 15 | Scott Rolen | 73 (17.2) | 2 | 3b | 96-12 | 97.6 | 87 | 5 |
| 16 | Gary Sheffield | 58 (13.6) | 5 | lf | 88-09 | 124.1 | 41 | 4 |
| 17 | Andy Pettitte | 42 (9.9) | 1 | pi sp | 95-13 | 138.5 | 30 | 22 |
| 18 | Sammy Sosa | 36 (8.5) | 7 | rf | 89-07 | 113.2 | 56 | 6 |
| 19 | Andruw Jones | 32 (7.5) | 2 | cf | 96-12 | 96.5 | 89 | 14 |
| 20 | †Michael Young | 9 (2.1) | 1 | ss | 00-13 | 73.1 | 168 | 4 |
| 21 | †Lance Berkman | 5 (1.2) | 1 | 1b lf | 99-13 | 108.1 | 65 | 6 |
| 21 | †Miguel Tejada | 5 (1.2) | 1 | ss | 97-13 | 102.3 | 74 | 1 |
| 23 | †Roy Oswalt | 4 (0.9) | 1 | pi sp | 01-13 | 127.2 | 38 | 27 |
| 24 | †Placido Polanco | 2 (0.5) | 1 | 3b | 98-13 | 44.4 | 401 | 24 |
| 25 | †Ted Lilly | 0 (0.0) | 1 | pi sp | 99-13 | 93.3 | 97 | 59 |
| 25 | †Derek Lowe | 0 (0.0) | 1 | pi sp | 97-13 | 91.5 | 102 | 62 |
| 25 | †Travis Hafner | 0 (0.0) | 1 | dh | 02-13 | 76.9 | 147 | 12 |
| 25 | †Freddy Garcia | 0 (0.0) | 1 | pi sp | 99-13 | 76.7 | 148 | 81 |
| 25 | †Vernon Wells | 0 (0.0) | 1 | cf | 99-13 | 75.8 | 155 | 32 |
| 25 | †Jason Bay | 0 (0.0) | 1 | lf | 03-13 | 63.7 | 212 | 44 |
| 25 | †Jon Garland | 0 (0.0) | 1 | pi sp | 00-13 | 50.2 | 347 | 181 |
| 25 | †Kevin Youkilis | 0 (0.0) | 1 | 1b | 04-13 | 35.6 | 545 | 65 |
| 25 | †Rick Ankiel | 0 (0.0) | 1 | cf | 99-13 | 32.6 | 627 | 132 |
| 25 | †Juan Pierre | 0 (0.0) | 1 | cf | 00-13 | 28.5 | 733 | 153 |
| 25 | †Darren Oliver | 0 (0.0) | 1 | pi sp | 93-13 | 24.0 | 887 | 426 |
† Player to be removed the Hall of Fame ballot in 2020 because he did not receive 5 percent of the vote to remain on subsequent year's ballots.
†† Fred McGriff will not return to the Hall of Fame ballot in 2020 because he had been on the ballot for the maximum 10 years without being elected.
Note: Most Hall eligible candidates had careers that, in part, preceded the era of Box-Toppers player tracking, which began in 1995. However, 22 of the 35 players listed here began their career in 1995 or later, so their entire career was tracked by Box-Toppers.
Rivera, Halladay, Martinez, Mussina elected to Hall of Fame; Box-Toppers leaders Schilling, Kent among notable snubs
Four players—Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina—were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday.
Box-Toppers Hall of Fame ballot
Here are Box-Toppers' ballot selections for the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) 2019 Hall of Fame selections. Shown first in alphabetical order by last name are the eight players Box-Toppers is voting for Hall induction, followed by the list of players Box-Toppers is not voting for Hall induction, also in alphabetical order by last name.Finally, there is the list of four players the IBWAA has already voted for induction. Those four have so far been passed over for "official" induction by the Baseball Writer Association of America (BBWAA).
| YES: Players Box-Toppers is voting for Hall of Fame | ||
| Player | Career BTP | Year on ballot |
| Lance Berkman | 108.1 | 1 |
| • Most single season BTP for batter (20.8 in 2006 with Astros). • Four times among top 10 NL batters in season BTP. |
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| Roy Halladay | 170.7 | 1 |
| • 10th among all pitchers since 1995 in career BTP. • Top NL pitcher 2010 with Phillies (23.4 BTP.) • Five times among top 10 overall players in season BTP. |
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| Todd Helton | 116.4 | 1 |
| • Top NL batter in 2000 (15.2), 2001 (17.0). • Top NL 1B 4 times from 1999-2002. |
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| Jeff Kent | 109.7* | 6 |
| • Top-ranked 2B in career points since 1995. • Would have estimated 125 BTP if entire career from 1992 were tracked. • Top NL 2B 6 times: 1997 (11.2), 1998 (10.0), 2000 (12.9), 2001 (9.2), 2002 (10.9), 2004 (7.5). • Top 5 NL 2B 11 times. • Top 10 NL batters twice |
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| Mariano Rivera | 126.4 | 1 |
| • Ranked 2nd among all closing pitchers in career BTP since 1995. • Top AL CP twice 2005 (11.0), 2008 (14.0). • Top 5 AL CPs 9 times. • Top 10 AL P 3 times. |
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| Curt Schilling | 194.1 | 7 |
| • Ranked 5th among all players since 1995. • Five-time top 5 in season BTPs. • Nine-time top 10 pitcher in league in BTPs. |
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| Billy Wagner | 108.7 | 4 |
| • Ranked 3rd among all closing pitchers since 1995. • Top NL closer three times: 1998 (12.0), 1999 (15.0), 2010 (13.0). • Seven times top 5 NL closer. • Top 10 NL pitcher twice. |
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| Larry Walker | 100.1* | 9 |
| • Ranked 11th among all OFs since 1995. • Would have estimated 135 BTP if career from 1989 were tracked. • Top NL batter 1997 (18.5). • Top 10 overall twice. • Top 10 NL batter 3 times. • Top 10 NL OF 6 times. |
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| NO: Players Box-Toppers is not voting for Hall of Fame | ||
| Player | Career BTP | Year on ballot |
| Rick Ankiel | 32.6 | 1 |
| • Pitcher from 1999 to 2006, batter after 2007. • Top 10 NL pitcher in 2000. |
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| Jason Bay | 63.7 | 1 |
| • Top 10 AL batter twice. • Top 10 AL OF 4 times. |
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| Freddy Garcia | 76.7 | 1 |
| • Top 10 AL pitcher 2002. | ||
| Jon Garland | 50.2 | 1 |
| • Top 10 AL pitcher 2005. | ||
| Travis Hafner | 76.9 | 1 |
| • Top 10 overall 2006 (15.9). • Top 10 AL batter 4 times. |
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| Andruw Jones | 96.5 | 2 |
| • Top 10 NL batter twice. • Top 10 NL OF 6 times. |
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| Ted Lilly | 93.3 | 1 |
| • Best year 2010: 13.7 BTP, 12th among NL pitchers. | ||
| Derek Lowe | 91.5 | 1 |
| • Top 10 AL pitcher 2002. | ||
| Fred McGriff | 57.7* | 10 |
| • B-T did not track his career from 1986 to 1994. • Top 10 NL batter twice. |
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| Darren Oliver | 24.0* | 1 |
| • Not tracked in 1993 and 1994. • Best year 1996 4.0 points. |
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| Roy Oswalt | 127.2 | 1 |
| • Top 10 player 3 times. • Top 10 NL pitcher 5 times. |
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| Andy Pettitte | 138.5 | 1 |
| • Ranks 22nd among all pitchers since 1995. • Top 10 AL pitcher 4 times, never higher than 8th. |
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| Juan Pierre | 28.5 | 1 |
| • Earned BTPs from 2000-12. Best year 2003, 4.5 BTP. | ||
| Placido Polanco | 44.4 | 1 |
| • Earned BTP 2000-13. • Best year 2003, 7.7 BTP. • Top AL 2B in 2008 (5.5). • Top 5 AL 2B twice. • Top 5 NL 2B twice. |
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| Manny Ramirez | 167.2* | 3 |
| • Steroids. • Ranked 12th among all players since 1995, 3rd among all batters. • Would have estimated 173 BTPs if career from 1993 were tracked. • Top 10 players twice, 1998 & 1999. • Top AL batter 1999 (19.9). • Top 10 AL batter 7 times. • Top 10 NL batter once. • Top AL OF three times 1999 (19.9), 2000 (13.2), 2005 (14.0). • Top 10 AL OF 9 times. • Top 5 AL DH three times. • Top NL OF 2008 (13.9). |
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| Scott Rolen | 97.6 | 2 |
| • Top 10 NL batters three times. • Top NL 3B three times 2002 (10.0), 2004 (13.5), 2010 (12.0). • Top 5 NL 3B 6 times. |
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| Gary Sheffield | 124.1* | 5 |
| • Steroids. • Ranked 11th among batters since 1995. Would have about 155 BTP if career from 1988 were tracked. • Top 10 overall in 2004. • Top AL batter in 2004 (16.2). • Top 10 AL batter twice. • Top 10 NL batter four times. • Top AL OF in 2004 (16.2). • Top 10 AL OF twice. • Top 5 AL DH once. • Top NL OF in 2000 (14.2). • Top 10 NL OF four times. |
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| Sammy Sosa | 113.2* | 7 |
| • Steroids. • Would have 134 BTP if career from 1989 were tracked. • Top 10 overall 1995. • Top NL batter twice 1995 (15.9), 1998 (15.5). • Top 10 NL batter three times. • Top 5 AL DH once. • Top NL OF three times 1995 (15.9), 1998 (15.5), 2001 (16.0). • Top 10 NL OF 7 times. |
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| Miguel Tejada | 102.3 | 1 |
| • Steroids. • Top 10 AL batter four times. • Top AL SS twice 2003 (10.2), 2004 (10.7). • Top 10 AL SS 9 times. • Top 5 NL SS once. • Top 5 NL 3B once. |
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| Omar Vizquel | 42.2 | 2 |
| • Top 5 AL SS twice. • Top 5 NL SS once. |
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| Vernon Wells | 75.8 | 1 |
| • Top 10 AL batter twice. • Top AL 10 OF four times. |
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| Kevin Youkilis | 35.8 | 1 |
| • Best year 2008—8.5 BTP, 3rd among AL 3B. • Top 5 AL 3B twice. |
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| Michael Young | 73.1 | 1 |
| • Best year 2011—9.0 BTP, 7th among AL batters. • Top AL SS in 2007—8.4 BTP. • Top 5 AL 2B twice. • Top 5 AL SS four times. • Top 5 AL 3B once. • Top 5 AL DH once. |
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| ALREADY IN: Players IBWAA voters have already voted to Hall of Fame | ||
| Player | Career BTP | Year on ballot |
| Barry Bonds | 153.2* | 7 |
| • Steroids. • 4th among all batters since 1995. • Would have 230 BTP if career from 1986 were tracked. • Top 10 overall player three times. • Top NL batter twice, 1999 (15.2), 2002 (20.7). • Top 10 NL batter 10 times. • Top 10 NL OF 10 times. |
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| Roger Clemens | 164.8* | 7 |
| • Steroids. • 12th among all pitchers since 1995. • Would have 320 BTP if career from 1984 were tracked. • Top player 1997 (27.4). • Top 10 overall player three times. • Top AL pitcher twice—1997 (27.4), 1998 (25.8). • Top 10 AL pitcher seven times. • Top 10 NL pitcher once. |
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| Edgar Martinez | 77.5* | 10 |
| • BT did not track his career from 1987 to 1994. • Would have estimated 97.0 BTP if entire career were tracked. • Top 10 AL batter twice. • Top 5 AL 1B once. • Top 5 AL DH six times, never higher than third place. |
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| Mike Mussina | 155.6* | 6 |
| • 18th among all pitchers since 1995. • Would have 193 BTP if career from 1991 were tracked. • Top 10 overall players four times. • Top 10 AL pitchers six times, highest 2nd—2000 (17.7). |
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The four received the necessary 75 percent of the vote from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and will be inducted in the Hall in Cooperstown, N.Y., in July.
The three pitchers selected—Rivera, Halladay and Mussina—are among the top 40 players in career Box-Toppers points (tracking began in 1995). Martinez ranks ninth among designated hitters in career Box-Toppers points since 1995, but he started his career in 1987, before the advent of Box-Toppers tracking.
But overlooked Tuesday in voting were players who are among career overall Box-Toppers points leaders or leaders at their position. Most conspicuously absent was pitcher Curt Schilling who earned 194.1 career Box-Toppers points from 1995 through 2007, the fifth-highest total since 1995. Also not voted in was Jeff Kent, who leads all second basemen since 1995 with 109.7 Box-Toppers points.
Also not voted in were the usual suspects associated with performing enhancing drugs, including Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield and Manny Ramirez.
In addition, three players with more than 100 career Box-Toppers points—Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman and Miguel Tejada—failed to receive the necessary 5 percent of the vote to remain on next year’s Hall of Fame ballot, so they will disappear after one year. They were among 16 players appearing in their first year who received less than 5 percent of the vote and won’t appear on the 2020 ballot. Also not appearing on the 2020 ballot will be Fred McGriff, who was not elected in his 10th and final season of eligibility to be voted by writers to the Hall.
Here’s a look at the four players elected:
Mariano Rivera
Rivera, who played his entire career for the New York Yankees, received the most Hall of Fame votes and in fact, became the first player to be voted unanimously by writers to the Hall (voting began in 1936). Rivera received all 425 of writers’ votes in his first year of eligibility.
Rivera played from 1995 to 2013, making his Major League debut May 23, 1995, shortly after Box-Toppers player tracking began at the start of the 1995 season. Rivera becomes one of just three Hall of Famers to play his entire career during the Box-Toppers tracking era and to have all the games in his career tracked by the metric. The other Hall of Famers to begin their career in 1995 or later are this year’s inductee Halladay and last year’s inductee Vladimir Guerrero.
Rivera earned 126.4 Box-Toppers points in his regular season career. That ranks 39th among all players but interestingly, ranks second among all closing pitchers. While Rivera is widely considered to be the greatest closer ever, Box-Toppers has him ranked behind Trevor Hoffman.
Hoffman, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, played from 1993 to 2010 for the Padres, Brewers and Marlins, has 129.4 career Box-Toppers points since 1995, 3.0 more than Rivera. But if Hoffman’s entire career were tracked, rough projections put his career total at about 135 Box-Toppers points, increasing his lead on Rivera, who would still have 126.4.
Hoffman has the second-most career saves (601), behind Rivera (625). Plus, Rivera is often considered the era’s supreme closer because of his postseason success, which isn’t reflected in Box-Toppers statistics.
Still, with more saves and more accolades, including Tuesday’s unanimous vote, how is it that Rivera doesn’t have as many Box-Toppers points as Hoffman? Good question. The simple answer is that Hoffman simply earned Box-Toppers Player of the Game honors more frequently than Rivera. But why was that? My guess is that Rivera was so surrounded by superstar players that he frequently was not the one key player who most contributed to his team’s success—Player of the Game honors often went to other Yankees, such as CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi, all of whom had more career Box-Toppers points than Rivera. On the other hand, Hoffman played on smaller market teams with fewer superstars and his contributions were more often the key element in his team’s wins, which netted him more Box-Toppers points.
Rivera led American League closing pitchers in Box-Toppers points in two seasons—2005 with 11.0 and 2008 with 14.0 (his best season). He was among the top five AL closers in points nine times. Plus, he ranked among the overall top 10 AL pitchers three times.
Rivera had four seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points. He’s a 13-time All-Star, a five-time World Series champion, the 1999 World Series Most Valuable Player and led the Majors in saves in three seasons.
Roy Halladay
Halladay, the starting pitcher who played from 1998-2013 for the Blue Jays and Phillies, received 363 Hall of Fame votes (85.4 percent of the writers) in his first year on the ballot.
Halladay is now one of three players voted to the Hall whose entire career was tracked by Box-Toppers, which began in the 1995 season. He joins Rivera and last year’s inductee, Vladimir Guerrero.
Halladay earned 170.1 career Box-Toppers points, 12th among all players and 10th among all pitchers since 1995.
Halladay led National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2010 (23.4) with the Phillies. His best year was 2011 with the Phillies, when he had 24.1 Box-Toppers points, third among NL pitchers. Halladay was among the overall top 10 players five times. He was among his league’s top 10 pitchers seven times.
He had 20.0 or more Box-Toppers points in a season twice, 15.0 or more five times and 10.0 or more eight times.
Halladay won the Cy Young Award twice. He won the AL Cy Young in 2003 with the Blue Jays, when he had 14.1 Box-Toppers points, fifth among AL pitchers. He won the NL Cy Young Award in 2010 with the Phillies, when he led NL pitchers with 23.4 Box-Toppers points.
Halladay was an eight-time All-Star, led all baseball in wins twice, pitched a perfect game on May 29, 2010 (earning Box-Toppers Player of the Day honors) and pitched only the second postseason no-hitter in history on October 6, 2010.
Halladay was killed in a plane he was piloting in 2017. He was 40.
Edgar Martinez
Martinez, the designated hitter, who played from 1987 to 2004 for the Mariners, received 363 Hall of Fame votes (85.4 percent of the writers) in his 10th and final year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot.
Martinez has 77.5 career Box-Toppers points since 1995, which ranks 143rd among all players, 63rd among all batters and ninth among designated hitters over that span. If his entire career from 1987 were tracked, Box-Toppers estimates he would have about 97.0 career points.
In the 10 seasons Box-Toppers tracked, Martinez had 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points four times, with his best season being 2000 with 12.0 points, seventh among AL batters.
Martinez never led his league position in Box-Toppers points, with his highest finish being third among AL designated hitters in 2000 (with 12.0 points). He was a top five AL DH six times, a top five AL first baseman once and a top 10 AL batter twice. Because he likely would have fallen short of 100 career Box-Toppers points and because he never led his position in points in any season, Box-Toppers rates him just short of being a Hall of Famer.
Martinez was a seven-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a two-time AL batting champion and the 2000 AL RBI leader.
Mike Mussina
Mussina, the starting pitcher who played from 1991 to 2008 for the Orioles and Yankees, received 326 Hall of Fame votes (76.7 percent of the writers, just seven more than needed for election) in his sixth year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot.
Mussina has 155.6 career Box-Toppers points since 1995, 21st among all players and 18th among all pitchers since 1995. Mussina would have an estimated 193 Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1991 were tracked.
While he never led his league’s pitchers in points in any season, he finished among the top five AL pitchers six times and the top 10 overall players four times. His long, consistent tenure and high career Box-Toppers point total is enough to consider him a Hall of Famer.
In the 14 seasons Box-Toppers tracked him, he had 15.0 or more Box-Toppers points four times and 10.0 or more points seven times. His best season was 2003 with the Yankees when he had 17.8 Box-Toppers points, third among AL pitchers. His highest finish in a season among AL pitchers in Box-Toppers points was second in 2000, when he had 17.7 (which was 15.8 points behind leader Pedro Martinez of the Red Sox, who had 33.5).
Mussina was a five-time All-Star, a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner and baseball’s wins leader in 1995.
•
Here is a look at key players who missed the cut:
Curt Schilling
In his seventh year of eligibility, Schilling received 60.9 percent of the vote, gaining from the 51.2 percent he received in 2018. Schilling played from 1988 to 2007 primarily for the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox and had 194.1 Box-Toppers points since 1995, ranked fifth on the “all-time” list (also fifth among all pitchers).
He is the highest-ranked Hall-eligible player not to be elected to the Hall of Fame. Two players ahead of him in Box-Toppers rankings are Hall-of-Famers—pitchers Randy Johnson (278.8 Box-Toppers points) and Pedro Martinez (244.8).
Larry Walker
In his ninth year of eligibility, Walker received 54.6 percent of the vote. The outfielder played from 1989 to 2005 with the Rockies, Expos and Cardinals and has 100.1 career Box-Toppers points, 11th among all outfielders since 1995.
He would have an estimated 135 Box-Toppers points if his entire career from 1989 were tracked, which would be more than Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero (128.3).
Fred McGriff
In his 10th and final year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot, McGriff received 39.8 percent of the vote, falling short of election and won’t reappear on the ballot in 2020.
McGriff, primarily a first baseman, played from 1986 to 2004 and earned 57.7 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to the end of his career, 38th among first basemen.
Jeff Kent
In his sixth year of eligibility, Kent received 18.1 percent of the vote, up slightly from the 14.5 percent he had last year.
The second baseman who played from 1992 to 2008 for the Mets, Giants, Astros and Dodgers has 109.7 career Box-Toppers points since 1995, when Box-Toppers tracking began, which is most among all second basemen in that span. Kent’s career started in 1992, before the advent of Box-Toppers tracking, and estimates put his actual career total at 125 points. Still, given his career points since 1995, he ranks 17th among all batters.
Kent didn’t just lead all second basemen in Box-Toppers points during his career, he dominated them. And a decade after his retirement, no other second baseman has come close—Robinson Cano, now of the Mets, ranks second among all second basemen in Box-Toppers points since 1995 with 83.4, 26.3 points behind Kent.
PED-associated players
Six players associated with performance enhancing drugs who otherwise might have been shoo-ins to the Hall of Fame were denied induction, including five who have been denied in previous years:
Roger Clemens, in his seventh year of eligibility, received 59.5 percent of the vote, up slightly from the 57.3 percent he received in 2018. His career began in 1984 and he earned 164.8 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2007, 15th among all players and 12th among all pitchers. (If his entire career were tracked, projections put his Box-Toppers point total at about 320.)
Barry Bonds, in his seventh year of eligibility, received 59.1 percent of the vote, up slightly from the 56.4 percent he received in 2018. His career began in 1986 and he earned 153.2 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2007, 22nd among all players and second among all outfielders. (If his entire career were tracked, projections put his Box-Toppers point total at about 230.)
Manny Ramirez, in his third year of eligibility, received 22.8 percent of the vote, up slightly from the 22.0 percent he received in 2018, but down from the 23.8 percent he received in 2017. Ramirez had 167.2 career Box-Toppers points since 1995, ranked 13th among all players and first among outfielders. (Ramirez began his career in 1993, prior to Box-Toppers tracking. If his entire career were tracked, rough projections put his career total at about 173.)
Gary Sheffield, in his fifth year of eligibility, received 13.6 percent of the vote, up from the 11.1 percent he received in 2018. Sheffield has 124.1 career Box-Toppers points since 1995, ranked 41st among all players and fourth among all outfielders. If his entire career from 1988 to 2009 were tracked, he would have roughly 155 career Box-Toppers points.
Sammy Sosa, in his seventh year of eligibility, received 8.5 percent of the vote, up from the 7.8 percent he received in 2018, but down from the 8.6 percent he received in 2017. His career began in 1989 and he earned 113.2 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2007, 56th among all players and sixth among all outfielders. If his entire career were tracked, projections put his Box-Toppers point total at about 135.
Miguel Tejada, in his first year of eligibility, received 1.2 percent of the vote. Failing to reach the 5 percent threshold, Tejada will not return to the writers’ ballot in 2020. Tejada played from 1997 to 2013 and had 102.3 career Box-Toppers points, 74th among all players and first among all shortstops.
First year of eligibility
There were 20 players who were in their first year of Hall eligibility, having played at least 10 seasons and been retired for five. Two received the 75 percent vote needed for induction (Rivera and Halladay). Only two others received at least 5 percent of the vote to be eligible for the 2020 ballot—Todd Helton and Andy Pettitte.
Sixteen others did not receive the requisite 5 percent of the vote and so will not return to the 2020 ballot. Of those, only five received votes—Michael Young, Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt and Placido Polanco. Eleven others received no votes—Jon Garland, Juan Pierre, Travis Hafner, Jason Bay, Kevin Youkilis, Darren Oliver, Derek Lowe, Ted Lilly, Freddy Garcia, Vernon Wells and Rick Ankiel.
Internet writers’ Hall of Fame voting
Box-Toppers voted in the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot, which is separate from the official BBWAA ballot. The IBWAA had already previously inducted Martinez and Mussina to its Hall of Fame and this year, internet writers added Rivera and Halladay, in essence, matching the print writers’ voting.
We IBWAA voters were allowed to choose 15 players on the ballot. Box-Toppers voted for Hall inductees Rivera and Halladay. Box-Toppers would have voted for Hall inductee Mussina (who internet writers previously inducted). But Box-Toppers would not have voted for Martinez (who internet writers also previously inducted), as he fell just short of Box-Toppers’ threshold for enshrinement.
Box-Toppers also voted for these six players who were not inducted: Todd Helton, Jeff Kent, Curt Schilling, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker and Lance Berkman. Among those six, five will return to next year’s ballot, having received at least 5 percent of the vote. Berkman, who received 1.2 percent on the “official” ballot, will not return to the 2020 ballot. (However, Berkman did receive 16.1 percent of votes on the internet writers’ ballot.)
More information on Box-Toppers Hall of Fame voting reasoning.
While Rivera was unanimously selected by the BBWAA to the Hall, one internet writer (not me) left him off the ballot, meaning he received only 99.4 percent of the IBWAA vote. Halladay received 92.5 percent of internet writers’ votes.
Smith and Baines also to be inducted in 2019
In addition, two other players were voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in December by the Today’s Game Era Committee. Relief pitcher Lee Smith and designated hitter/outfielder Harold Baines were selected and will be inducted alongside the four players chosen by the writers this week.
The Today’s Game Era Committee is made up of 16 Hall-appointed voters, who select from a group of candidates whose greatest contributions to the game happened from 1988 to 2016.
Smith played from 1980 to 1997 primarily for the Cubs, Cardinals and Red Sox. Box-Toppers tracked only the last three seasons of his 18-year career. He had 7.0 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 1997.
Baines played from 1980 to 2001, primarily for the White Sox, Orioles and Athletics. Box-Toppers tracked only the last seven seasons of his 22-year career. He had 32.6 Box-Toppers points from 1995 to 2001, including 9.5 in 1996 with the White Sox. That total would have ranked third among AL batters in 2018, but did not crack the top 10 batters in 1996.
About Box-Toppers—Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. In regular season games, players earn 1.0 Box-Toppers point for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Box-Toppers strives for accuracy. See a mistake in a post? A wrong name, wrong team, grammar error, spelling goof, etc.? Thanks for pointing it out! Contact Box-Toppers here. Let's fix it and make it right.
Related:
Box-Toppers’ 2019 Hall of Fame picks
How 2018 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
How 2017 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers
How 2016 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers points
How 2015 Hall of Fame candidates fared in Box-Toppers points