Rolen seemed to be the only lock for this year. Helton was expected to be close and he was. Beltran seems to have taken a hit because of the sigh stealing scandal. However, hard to quantify as no one really knew what his support looked like. Wagner, oh so close...
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"...I am the light that shall lead you to darkness..."
...Thus I kill and thus I'll die... Thus I will live for all time
Helton and Wagner are set up really well for next year, and Beltran is off to a pretty good start. It's worth noting that Rolen was around 13% in his first year, and gained enough support to get in on the sixth try. Helton is on a very similar trajectory. They'll compete for votes with Beltre and Mauer, but the ballots are still so much less crowded then they were a few years ago.
Rolen squeeks in, with Helton and Wagner just missing with big gains. I think Beltran's showing in year 1 indicates someone who eventually gets elected. Remember, Rolen debuted at 10.2%.
Yup, exactly as I expected. Helton will get in next year. Maybe Wagner, too. Beltran did better than I thought. And, though I love a good HOF debate, I'm glad that the comments here so far are just noting what happened and not lots of complaining about how undeserving or deserving players are. Congratulations to Mr. Rolen. Time to update my Last Topps Card of Every Hall of Famer Who Has a Topps Card List and display.
Happy to see him in. A player who came to the ballpark every day and did his best without looking for the fanfare, the way the game should be played.
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Bruno
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Check my Profile page to see my 2020 Goals and my Lists of sets near completion (5 cards or less) or sets getting close (less than 100 cards missing and 75% complete).
I never thought of Rolen as a Hall of Fame candidate as just a battery, but those 8 gold gloves at 3rd really show how great he was as an overall player.
I really feel like Helton should have been in the hall awhile ago. I don't think it's fair to knock him since he played in Colorado. It's not his fault he played for that stadium. If it wasn't for Sosa and McGwire getting jacked, he would have on back to back MVPs in 2000 and 2001. How do you lead the league in hits, doubles, BA, OBP, OPS and total bases and end up 5th in the MVP voting?
