This post is for voting and discussion in the 62nd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round adds to the ballot those players born in 1921. Rules and lists are after the jump.
This round’s group of 1921-born players joins the holdovers from previous rounds to comprise the full set of players eligible to receive your votes this round.
As usual, the new group of 1921-born players, in order to join the eligible list, must have played at least 10 seasons in the major leagues or generated at least 20 Wins Above Replacement (“WAR”, as calculated by baseball-reference.com, and for this purpose meaning 20 total WAR for everyday players and 20 pitching WAR for pitchers).
Each submitted ballot, if it is to be counted, must include three and only three eligible players. The one player who appears on the most ballots cast in the round is inducted into the Circle of Greats. Players who fail to win induction but appear on half or more of the ballots that are cast win four added future rounds of ballot eligibility. Players who appear on 25% or more of the ballots cast, but less than 50%, earn two added future rounds of ballot eligibility. Any other player in the top 9 (including ties) in ballot appearances, or who appears on at least 10% of the ballots, wins one additional round of ballot eligibility.
All voting for this round closes at 11:59 PM EDT Wednesday, July 2, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EDT Monday, June 30.
If you’d like to follow the vote tally, and/or check to make sure I’ve recorded your vote correctly, you can see my ballot-counting spreadsheet for this round here: COG 1921 Vote Tally. I’ll be updating the spreadsheet periodically with the latest votes. Initially, there is a row in the spreadsheet for every voter who has cast a ballot in any of the past rounds, but new voters are entirely welcome — new voters will be added to the spreadsheet as their ballots are submitted. Also initially, there is a column for each of the holdover candidates; additional player columns from the new born-in-1921 group will be added to the spreadsheet as votes are cast for them.
Choose your three players from the lists below of eligible players. The 15 current holdovers are listed in order of the number of future rounds (including this one) through which they are assured eligibility, and alphabetically when the future eligibility number is the same. The new group of 1921 birth-year guys are listed below in order of the number of seasons each played in the majors, and alphabetically among players with the same number of seasons played.
Ferris Fain, who appears on the 1921-born hitters list below, is one of those rare guys who did not play 10 years in the majors, but is eligible for these votes based on a 20 or more career WAR total.
Holdovers:
Whitey Ford (eligibility guaranteed for 5 rounds)
Kenny Lofton (eligibility guaranteed for 5 rounds)
Willie McCovey (eligibility guaranteed for 4 rounds)
Craig Biggio (eligibility guaranteed for 3 rounds)
Ryne Sandberg (eligibility guaranteed for 3 rounds)
Minnie Minoso (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Roberto Alomar (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Richie Ashburn (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Kevin Brown (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Larry Doby (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Dennis Eckersley (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Harmon Killebrew (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Ralph Kiner (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Eddie Murray (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Hoyt Wilhelm (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Everyday Players (born in 1921, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Elmer Valo
Andy Pafko
Bobby Adams
Hoot Evers
Willard Marshall
Dale Mitchell
Matt Batts
Roy Campanella
Jim Rivera
Clyde Vollmer
Ferris Fain
Pitchers (born in 1921, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Warren Spahn
Hal Newhouser
Howie Pollet
Jim Hearn
Fritz Dorish
Dick Fowler
Lou Kretlow
