Circle of Greats 1962 Results: Rocket Boosters Prevail

Not only did Roger Clemens gain induction into the Circle of Greats this round by a wide margin (appearing on 43 of 71 ballots), his manner on the mound is memorialized in song before every major league game. More on Roger and the voting after you click on the “Read the Rest” gizmo.

Most Pitching Wins Above Replacement (WAR) (baseball-reference version) accumulated over the past 100 seasons:
Roger Clemens 133.1
Lefty Grove 103.7
Walter Johnson 101.7
Tom Seaver 101.1
Greg Maddux 99.4

133.1 Pitching WAR > Sandy Koufax’s career WAR (50.3) + Whitey Ford’s career WAR (50.1) + Catfish Hunter’s career WAR (32.1).

–Nine of the ten carryover players in this round again appeared on more than 10% of the ballots, including Roberto Alomar, who broke through with enough votes for the first time to gain two rounds of eligibility. Roberto had received high number of votes early on, but only before we implemented the two-round eligibility threshold.

–Fred McGriff  was the only holdover on this ballot who failed to receive enough votes to receive a further extension — he falls out of eligibility. No one in the 1962 birth year group, other than Clemens, received more than two votes this round. The full record of the votes for this ballot is here:   1962 COG Vote Tally .  The full list of players who will carryover to the next ballot, and the length of their  currently assured eligibility will be listed in the 1961 ballot post.

The Circle of Greats membership thus far:
Jeff Bagwell
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Randy Johnson
Greg Maddux
Mike Piazza
Frank Thomas

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
11 years ago

Okay, people, here it is: the “empty” year. Choose wisely…

Ed
Ed
11 years ago

I may have to save a spot on my ballot for Rafael Belliard. He managed to play 17 years in the majors, split between only two teams (Pirates and Braves), never got more than 385 PAs in a season, and has a career OPS+ of 46. Talk about a survivor!!!

bstar
11 years ago
Reply to  Ed

Ed, that 46 OPS+ for Belliard is the second lowest for any position player with 2500+ PA.

1. Bill Bergen – 21 OPS+ in 3228 PA
2. Rafael Belliard – 46 OPS+ in 2524 PA
3. Hal Lanier – 50 OPS+ in 3940 PA

Ed
Ed
11 years ago
Reply to  bstar

Thanks for the additional info Bstar! I just find it amazing that Belliard only played for two teams his entire career. If I had looked and someone told me he played 17 seasons, I would have guessed that he played for 5 or 6 or 7 teams. Normally players like him move around a lot!