Commentary: Baseball Hall of Fame voting looks murky this year

Every year, the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot arrives. Every year, we consider it a privilege to cast a vote. Just maybe not this year. While we never take the voting process for granted, this year we feel a little, um, confused. Over the last 20 years of voting, we've tried to get a little more data-savvy every year. Then we take periodic trips to Cooperstown, feel all the feels and remember it's a museum of remarkable accomplishments and stories, not a data center spitting out code. Those two elements continually tug at me when the ballot comes, trying to balance indelible moments and memories against what the numbers say. It can lead to some brain fog. With the latest round of voting by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, we are a little more confused. The 16-member committee, of which seven members are Hall of Fame players, looked closely at an eight-man ballot of Jeff Kent, Dale Murphy, Carlos Delgado, Don Mattingly, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Roger Clemens and Fernando Valenzuela … and voted in exactly one of them. It was Kent, who won an MVP and made five All-Star teams. He was certainly deserving. The voting made some things more clear and others more murky. The group seemed to make it clear that they have no stomach for steroid users in the Hall. Fewer than five voters voted for the all-time home run leader Bonds, a seven-time Cy Young winner in Clemens and Sheffield, who hit 500 homers. What's not so clear is how this group would view amphetamine users, which were essentially PEDs and before there were PEDs and even more widespread. But, it makes it easy to affirm that there is no place on our current ballot for Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez. While none of Bonds, Clemens or Sheffield ever was suspended for steroid use, both Rodriguez and Ramirez were. It was a harsher stance than we've taken. We've presumed innocence for all unless an actual punishment was handed out but, essentially, we were on the same page as the committee. On other qualifications, however, we find ourselves differing. We tried to find a happy medium between both career performance and being honored as elite among peers. Kent won an MVP, made five All-Star teams and had a 55.4 career WAR, which was the highest among the non-steroid guys. Murphy won more MVPs, made more All-Star teams and won five Gold Gloves. Mattingly won an MVP and, like Murphy, was perennially honored as a Gold Glover and an All-Star. Neither made it. Both finished behind Delgado and were named on less than half the ballots. To this interested voter, it didn't make sense. So, it reaffirmed, at least this year, that you can't account for "feel." It matters. It's hard to quantify it, but it counts. Indelible moments count. Bonds — not the player, the ones formed with fan bases — count. Accomplishment counts. Performance, of course, counts most. All of that is important, because on this year's ballot, with the possible exception of Carlos Beltran, I'm not sure there is a should-be slam dunk. Beltran, a holdover from my ballot a year ago, was named on 70.3% of ballots, falling 22 votes shy of election. Expect that he'll make up the extra ground this time around. After him? Just not sure that anybody has a hands-down case based solely on data. So, here's the rest of my seven-man ballot with reasoning behind each vote: Mark Buehrle: No Cy Youngs. No 20-win seasons, but he was a five-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner and the model for reliability at a time when innings for pitchers have become the most valued asset they can add. Since 2000, Buehrle ranks third in innings pitched behind only sure-fire Hall of Famer Justin Verlander and likely Hall of Famer Zack Greinke. Not bad for a guy who hasn't pitched in 10 seasons. Add in the indelible moments: Two no-hitters, one of them being a perfect game. He's one of seven pitchers to have multiple no-hitters, with one of them being perfect. The other six are all in the Hall of Fame. Felix Hernández: His 49.8 career WAR is a little shy, probably, but he won a Cy Young, finished in the top five three other times and was a six-time All-Star. Let's add in his own perfect game and that for a decade, King Felix starts in Seattle were events. I remain uncertain if I'm convinced if he's a Hall of Famer, but he certainly deserves more consideration. Didn't vote for him last year, added him this time around. Torii Hunter: Added Hunter this year, too. And not because his barbecue spot, Tender, is fantastic. On the WAR scale, he's light at 50 for his career, but he won nine Gold Gloves and and made five All-Star teams. The nine Gold Gloves is where he gets the benefit of the doubt for me. More on that in just a second. Andruw Jones: About the Gold Gloves, Jones won 10 in center and, like Hunter, he made five All-Star teams. Jones had a greater reputation as a center fielder, for whatever that is worth, for his ability to play so shallow and still get back on balls. But Hunter was a regular contributor for a longer period of time. It's Hunter's sixth year on the ballot and it's been hard to squeeze him on a full ballot; this year there are more spaces and more ability to cast a vote for a guy, who barely received the 5% necessary last year to stay on. Feel pretty strongly that Jones' numbers make him a Hall of Famer. It's hard to think Hunter doesn't at least deserve more consideration. Dustin Pedroia: Another guy whose career faded a little quicker than a typical bona fide Hall of Famer. He played in more than 100 games in just nine seasons, but he was a Rookie of the Year, an MVP, a four-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner and at the core of a Boston team that won two World Series in a six-year span. Career WAR was only 51.8, but in Red Sox lore, that is just ahead of another second baseman, Bobby Doerr. Doerr is in the Hall of Fame. Though he had to wait for a Veteran's Committee. Andy Pettitte: Yes, he's got the steroid air around him, but never was suspended or disciplined, so, in my book, he's eligible. Over the last 30 years, he's one of three pitchers with at least 250 wins, which may not matter as much these days, but did when Pettitte was pitching, on average, into the seventh inning or longer. The others: CC Sabathia, already elected, and Verlander (see above). Sure, Pettitte's success was partly due to being part of the last great dynasty. Just add that to his resume to go with the wins, two 20-win seasons and four top-five Cy Young finishes. That's the seven-man ballot: Five holdovers (Beltran, Buehrle, Jones, Pedroia and Pettitte) from last year (sorry to drop Chase Utley) and two guys worth further conversation (Hunter and Hernandez). Is it a perfect ballot? Definitely not. Never is. But this year, this is what feels right.