This post is for voting and discussion in the 142nd round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This is the second 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 H-M 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 EST Wednesday, February 26th, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EST Monday, February 24th.
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 2 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 | 9 rounds | Billy Williams | 6 rounds |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 7 rounds | Bobby Abreu | 4 rounds |
| David Ortiz | 4 rounds | Ken Boyer | 4 rounds |
| Ted Lyons | 3 rounds | Andre Dawson | 3 rounds |
| Willie Randolph | 3 rounds | Andruw Jones | 3 rounds |
| Scott Rolen | 3 rounds | Monte Irvin | 3 rounds |
| Johan Santana | 3 rounds | Reggie Smith | 3 rounds |
| Luis Tiant | 3 rounds | Don Sutton | 3 rounds |
| Todd Helton | 2 rounds | Don Drysdale | 2 rounds |
| Gary Sheffield | 2 rounds | Richie Ashburn | this round ONLY |
| Stan Coveleski | this round ONLY | Chase Utley | 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):
Matt Holliday
César Izturis
Austin Kearns
Scott Hairston
Ryan Hanigan
Maicer Izturis
Erik Kratz
Ryan Langerhans
Felipe López
Pitchers (born in 1980, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Rich Hill
Dan Haren
Ryan Madson
Brett Myers
Roberto Hernández
As is our custom, here are quiz questions for each of the new players on the ballot.
1. Rich Hill has recorded four different stints playing for his hometown Red Sox, including his 2022 season with 26 starts at age 42. Which pitcher aged 42 or older has the only higher start total for the Red Sox? (David Wells, 2005)
2. Matt Holliday’s 2007 season for the NL champion Rockies is the most recent of nine with 200+ hits, 35+ home runs and 50+ doubles. Which player led his league in OPS and OPS+ in such a season? (Frank Robinson, 1962)
3. César Izturis won a Gold Glove in 2004 while collecting 193 hits, the most by a Venezuelan-born shortstop. Who was the first Venezuelan-born shortstop to win a Gold Glove? (Luis Aparicio, 1958)
4. Ryan Madson’s 5.69 ERA as a swingman in 2006 is the highest by a Phillie pitcher with a winning record in 20+ decisions. Madson recorded two 30+ save seasons, but had no other seasons with more than 10 saves. Which pitcher recorded two 30+ save seasons and had no other saves in his career? (David Aardsma)
5. Dan Haren finished his career with eleven consecutive seasons of 30+ starts. Which two pitchers have the only longer runs of such seasons to close out a career? (Greg Maddux, Mark Buehrle)
6. Brett Myers pitched 70+ games in his 2012 season, while playing for teams in both leagues. Who was the first pitcher to record such a season? (Jim Bouton, 1969)
7. Austin Kearns recorded career highs in OPS, OPS+ and all three slash categories in his 2002 rookie season, finishing 3rd in the NL RoY vote. Which other Reds player finished 3rd in the RoY vote and recorded career highs in OPS and OPS+ that season? (Hal Morris, 1990)
8. Felipe López won the NL Silver Slugger award for shortstops in 2005. Who was the first Puerto Rican-born shortstop to win a Silver Slugger award? (Wil Cordero, 1994)
9. Ryan Langerhans is the only player with 100+ games for the Braves, Nationals and Mariners. Which two players recorded 400+ games for two of those franchises?
10. Maicer Izturis is Cesar’s brother but the two are not twins, with Maicer born seven months after Cesar (particularly notable if they have the same mother). Izturis’s 2009 season featured career highs in many offensive categories, including .300 BA, .794 OPS and 65 RBI. Those three marks are the best by any Angel in a 100+ game season including 25+ games at both 2B and SS. Which other player, like Izturis, recorded two such seasons for the Angels? (Sandy Alomar, 1971 & 1973)
11. Scott Hairston counts his brother, father, uncle and grandfather among his major league brethren. Which player played against Hairston and also played with Hairston’s father Jerry? (Robin Ventura)
12. Roberto Hernández won 19 games and posted a 148 ERA+ in his second season, and first as a full-time starter. Unfortunately for Hernandez, it was all downhill after that, as his ERA+ plummeted to just 81 for the rest of his career, the lowest mark for any pitcher in 1000+ IP from the 3rd to 11th seasons of a career, and also from the 3rd to last seasons. Which pitcher active in 2024 is currently a close second to Hernandez in the latter category?
13. Ryan Hanigan walked more than he struck out in six consecutive seasons (2008-13) with PA in the 75 to 400 range. That is tied for the longest run of such seasons among expansion era catchers with a majority of each season’s PA at that position. Which player shares that record with Hanigan? (Tim McCarver, 1974-79)
14. Erik Kratz’s 2.5 career dWAR ranks 7th among catchers in careers of fewer than 1000 PA. Which other catcher, like Kratz, debuted at age 30 and played into his 40s?
