Former Twins slugger Thome elected to HOF

Thome, who slugged 612 home runs and drove in 1699 RBI in his 22 year big-league career, will go into the Hall in his first year of eligibility.

I make a lot of predictions and some of them even end up coming true. In every year since 2014, more than half of the BBWAA electorate have made their votes public, and Thibodeaux’s spreadsheet makes for a fairly accurate predictor of the actual results: Every candidate since 2014 who has appeared on at least 80% of collected ballots has wound up elected that year.

It was Thome’s first-time on the ballot and surpassing the mark players need to be selected, at least 75-percent of the voters to be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y. He played for 19 seasons with the Atlanta Braves and was a vocal piece during their run. As a sophomore, he led the Pac-10 with a.377 batting average. The one and only exception, in my view, should be men who actually conspired to lose baseball games, e.g., Shoeless Joe Jackson. He was able to receive an MVP vote or All-Star appearance in 12 of his 16 seasons in the Major Leagues. He was incredibly constant and was very rarely injured.

Guerrero’s peak wasn’t long-he only had five seasons with at least five FanGraphs’ wins above replacement-but few players in Major League Baseball were better when he was at the top of his game. His counting stats may be low because of several injury-shortened seasons, but he still managed 316 home runs, 13th among retired players and just behind Hall of Famer George Brett. Hoffman was great at pitching one inning at time for teams that were more often than not mediocre. In the last few years, we have seen Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Bobby Cox get inducted.

While neither Thome nor Morris spent more than a fraction of their careers in Minnesota, each made baseball history here. He converted 88.8 percent of his save chances in time with the Marlins, Padres and Brewers.

Hoffman’s coronation also stands as a testament to his work ethic, a thing of legend in San Diego and other circles he occupied throughout an 18-year career. Whenever teams saw him, you knew the game was over.

Vladimir Guerrero ( Montreal Expos) This is his second year on the ballot. Manny Ramirez, perhaps my favorite hitter to watch of all-time, remains a “no” vote after failing multiple drug tests late in his career.

Two days later, Thome hit No. 601 – but it would turn out to be the last of his 37 homers with the Twins, who traded him to Cleveland the following week in hopes of allowing the veteran slugger to take part in another pennant race.

Vladdy finished his career with 449 home runs, 2590 hits, and a.318 batting average. He broke into the big leagues in 1991 but didn’t become an everyday player until three seasons later. Mike Mussina has gained considerable support but still seems just shy of election. Controversial candidates Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds again fell short of the threshold, getting 57.3 and 56.4 percent of the vote, respectively.