This post is for voting and discussion in the 45th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round completes the group of players born in 1934. Rules and lists are after the jump.
The first group of players born in 1934, with A-Ka surnames, were voted on in last week’s balloting. This round continues with players born in 1934 and having Ke-Z surnames. This round’s new group joins the holdovers from previous rounds to comprise the full set of players eligible to receive your votes in this round of balloting.
As usual, this new group of 1934-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 (unless they appear on 75% or more of the ballots, in which case they win six added eligibility rounds). 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 11:00 PM PST Thursday, February 6th, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:00 PM PST, Tuesday, February 4th.
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 1934 Round 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 initially, there is a column for each of the holdover players; additional player columns from the new born-in-1934 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 17 current holdovers are listed in order of the number of future rounds (including this one) through which they are assured eligibility. The new group of 1934 birth-year guys are listed below in order of the number of seasons each played in the majors.
Holdovers:
Lou Whitaker (eligibility guaranteed for 9 rounds)
John Smoltz (eligibility guaranteed for 5 rounds)
Bob Gibson (eligibility guaranteed for 5 rounds)
Roberto Clemente (eligibility guaranteed for 4 rounds)
Sandy Koufax (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Al Kaline (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Ron Santo (eligibility guaranteed for 2 rounds)
Juan Marichal (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Craig Biggio (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Bobby Grich (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Harmon Killebrew (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Edgar Martinez (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Willie McCovey (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Ryne Sandberg (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Dick Allen (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Kenny Lofton (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Eddie Murray (eligibility guaranteed for this round only)
Everyday Players (born in 1934, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Lee Maye
Bill White
Russ Snyder
Leon Wagner
Roger Maris
Andre Rodgers
Jim Landis
Felix Mantilla
John Romano
Marty Keough
Pitchers (born in 1934, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Camilo Pascual
Jim Owens
Earl Wilson
