Written by Mike Axisa at CBSSports.com
There were 34 players on the Hall of Fame ballot this winter, including 19 newcomers, and only Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez were selected for induction.
Of the 19 first-time candidates, 16 received less than 5 percent of the vote and will drop off the ballot. Among those 16 are Jorge Posada (3.8 percent), J.D. Drew (no votes) and Mike Cameron (no votes).
Posada, more so than Drew and Cameron, went into the voting season with a borderline Hall of Fame case. He was one of the best hitting catchers of his generation and was a backbone of four World Series championship teams. He retired with 42.7 WAR, better than eight of the 17 catchers currently in the Hall of Fame.
Drew was always dogged by the media for his relatively low RBI totals and what was perceived to be low energy when he played. He retired as a career .278/.384/.489 (125 OPS+) hitter with 44.9 WAR, which is outstanding. Cameron was one of the game’s top power/speed threats, plus he won three Gold Gloves. He retired with 46.5 WAR.
Do Posada, Drew and Cameron belong in Cooperstown? Everyone is welcome to feel differently. The BBWAA voting body determined that not only were none of the three Hall of Fame worthy, they weren’t even worthy of another year on the ballot. They all dropped off in their first year of eligibility. That’s crazy. Those three deserve better than one year on the ballot.
With Posada, Drew and Cameron in mind, let’s look back throughout history at some of the best players who dropped off the Hall of Fame ballot after only one year. The players are listed alphabetically.
Buddy Bell
Career WAR: 66.1
Hall of Fame vote: 1.7 percent in 1995
Three generations of Bells have played in the big leagues. There’s Buddy, his father Gus, and his two sons David and Mike. Bloodlines don’t make you a Hall of Famer, but Bell was a five-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner at third base who hit .301/.366/.443 (127 OPS+) while averaging 28 doubles, 13 homers, 53 walks, and just 44 strikeouts per season during his peak from 1980-84. Bell retired with 2,514 hits and was one of the best defensive third basemen in the game at that time.
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