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Kansas City Royals: Three thoughts on 2020 Hall of Fame

By Cullen Jekel

COOPERSTOWN, NY - JULY 24: Hall of Famer George Brett is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2016 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
COOPERSTOWN, NY - JULY 24: Hall of Famer George Brett is introduced at Clark Sports Center during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 24, 2016 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Andruw Jones #25 of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Andruw Jones #25 of the Atlanta Braves (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /

To wrap up this article, here is my 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot.

Unlike what most actual writers seem to be doing, with 10 available spots on the ballot, I’m filling in all 10. Why not? These guys are the best of the best. 10 out of these 32 deserve enshrinement.

Please note that these players are listed in no particular order (except the last two; more on that soon):

More from Kansas City Royals

  1. Derek Jeter
  2. Barry Bonds
  3. Larry Walker
  4. Roger Clemens
  5. Manny Ramirez
  6. Scott Rolen
  7. Curt Schilling
  8. Sammy Sosa
  9. Todd Helton
  10. Gary Sheffield

First two out:

  1. Jeff Kent
  2. Andruw Jones

The final four spots came down to Helton, Sheffield, Kent and Jones. Going into this, I strongly believed that Jones would easily make my ballot. But a deeper dive into the numbers suggested otherwise.

Jones started his career so well, but it really crashed and burned. Of all the final four, he had the fewest hits as well as the lowest batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and, of course, OPS. But, thanks to 10 Gold Gloves, he had the highest WAR of those four with 62.8.

But the fact that he finished with more than 500 fewer hits than the next guy on that list (Kent) and finished woefully short of the cut-off according to the Hall of Fame Standard (34 when the average Hall of Famer scores a 50), keeps him off my ballot.

Speaking of Kent: what keeps him off my ballot is comparing his JAWS to others at his position. For his career, Kent scored 45.6 on JAWS compared to 56.9 for others at the same position.

Both Helton and Sheffield were closer on JAWS than Kent, plus both of those guys scored higher on the Hall of Fame Monitor and Hall of Fame Standard while having better WAR, and, for the most part, better offensive numbers.

Next. Three Reasons for Optimism in 2020. dark

Let me know what you think!

Who’s got your vote?

Who shouldn’t have my vote?

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