This post is for voting and discussion in the 143rd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the last of three rounds of balloting adding to the list of candidates eligible to receive your votes those players born in 1980. Rules and lists are after the jump.
The new group of 1980-born players, in order to join the eligible list, must, as usual, 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). This group of 1980-born candidates, comprising those with N-Z surnames, joins the eligible holdovers from previous rounds to comprise the full list of players eligible to appear on your ballots.
In addition to voting for COG election among players on the main ballot, there will be also be voting for elevation to the main ballot among players on the secondary ballot. For the main ballot election, voters must select three and only three eligible players, and list them in ranked order. The first player listed on each ballot receives three points, the second player listed receives two points, and the third listed receives one point. The one player accumulating the most points from all ballots cast in the round is inducted into the Circle of Greats. For the secondary ballot election, voters may select up to three eligible players, with the one player appearing on the most ballots cast elevated to the main ballot for the next COG election round. In the case of ties, a runoff election round will be held for COG election, while a tie-breaking process will be followed to determine the secondary ballot winner.
Players who fail to win either ballot 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. One additional round of eligibility is earned by any player who appears on at least 10% of the ballots cast or, for the main ballot only, any player finishing in the top 9 (including ties) in ballot appearances. Holdover candidates on the main ballot who exhaust their eligibility will drop to the secondary ballot for the next COG election round, as will first time main ballot candidates who attract one or more votes but do not earn additional main ballot eligibility. Secondary ballot candidates who exhaust their eligibility will drop from that ballot, but will become eligible for possible reinstatement in a future Redemption round election.
All voting for this round closes at 11:59 PM EDT Sunday, March 9th, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EST Friday, March 7th.
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 1980 Part 3 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 in the spreadsheet is a column for each of the holdover candidates; additional player columns from the new born-in-1980 group will be added to the spreadsheet as votes are cast for them.
Choose your three players, for both the main and secondary ballots, from the lists below of eligible players. The 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 1980 birth-year players 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.
Holdovers:
| MAIN BALLOT | ELIGIBILITY | SECONDARY BALLOT | ELIGIBILITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Allen | 10 rounds | Billy Williams | 6 rounds |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 7 rounds | Bobby Abreu | 4 rounds |
| Ted Lyons | 6 rounds | Ken Boyer | 4 rounds |
| David Ortiz | 4 rounds | Don Sutton | 4 rounds |
| Willie Randolph | 4 rounds | Andre Dawson | 3 rounds |
| Stan Coveleski | 3 rounds | Don Drysdale | 3 rounds |
| Todd Helton | 2 rounds | Monte Irvin | 3 rounds |
| Johan Santana | 2 rounds | Reggie Smith | 3 rounds |
| Luis Tiant | 2 rounds | Chase Utley | 2 rounds |
| Richie Ashburn | this round ONLY | ||
| Andruw Jones | this round ONLY | ||
| Gary Sheffield | this round ONLY | ||
| Ted Simmons | this round ONLY | ||
Everyday Players (born in 1980, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Albert Pujols
Mark Teixeira
Cody Ross
Nick Swisher
Shane Victorino
Laynce Nix
Skip Schumaker
Dan Uggla
Pitchers (born in 1980, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
CC Sabathia
Pat Neshek
Jonathan Papelbon
C.J. Wilson
As is our custom, here are quiz questions for each of the new players on the ballot.
1. Albert Pujols recorded .995 OPS for his post-season career. Among retired players with 200+ post-season PA, who has the only higher career post-season OPS? (Carlos Beltran, 1.021 OPS)
2. CC Sabathia recorded 115 ERA+ aged 35-37 after managing only 83 ERA+ aged 32-34, a 32 point improvement that is among the largest by any pitcher with 400+ IP in both periods. Which pitcher recorded the largest such ERA+ improvement? (Lefty Grove, 49 points, from 125 to 174)
3. Mark Teixeira led his league in home runs, RBI and total bases playing for the 2009 Yankees. Which other two players had the same trifecta while playing in their first season for a new team and winning the World Series? (Frank Robinson 1966, Shohei Ohtani 2024)
4. Pat Neshek finished his career with twelve consecutive seasons (2007-19) with more appearances than innings pitched. Which pitcher recorded the longest run of such seasons to close out a career? (Joe Smith, all 15 seasons of his career)
5. Shane Victorino compiled 31.5 WAR for his career, the most for non-pitchers born in Hawaii. Which pitcher leads all Hawaii-born players in career WAR? (Charlie Hough, 38.4 WAR)
6. Cody Ross was MVP of the 2010 NLCS in which he homered twice off of Roy Halladay in game 1. Which other Giant homered twice in a post-season game against a future HOF pitcher? (Will Clark, 1989 NLCS game 1, off of Greg Maddux)
7. Nick Swisher’s .165 BA for his post-season career is lowest among all players with 150+ career post-season PA. Which player active in 2024 currently holds the record for lowest career post-season OPS in 150+ post-season PA? (Martin Maldonado, .501 OPS)
8. Jonathan Papelbon recorded 17 consecutive scoreless appearances to begin his post-season career, tied with Trevor Rosenthal for the longest such streak when averaging 1+ IP per game. Among retired pitchers with zero runs allowed for their post-season careers, who recorded the most post-season games while averaging at least one IP per appearance? (Matt Herges, 10 games)
9. Laynce Nix ranked first in Total Zone Runs among NL left-fielders in 2009, despite playing only 558 innings (equivalent to 62 games) at the position that season. Which other player, like Nix, recorded career totals including 100+ games at each outfield position, and positive oWAR and dWAR, with at least three times as much of the latter as the former? (Endy Chavez)
10. Skip Schumaker played at both 2B and LF in 31 games in 2009, the most games in one season for that combination of positions. Which player recorded the most career games playing at both of those positions? (Ben Zobrist, 68 games)
11. C.J. Wilson snagged a W in his post-season debut, his only win in 10 post-season starts. Which other pitcher saw his post-season career begin the same way? (Gary Nolan)
12. Dan Uggla ranks first in career home runs among second basemen for the first season of a career, the first 3 seasons, first 4, first 5, first 6, first 7, and first 8. Which player bumped Uggla to second place for the first 2 seasons? (Gleyber Torres)
