This post is for voting and discussion in the 139th 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 1979. Rules and lists are after the jump.
The new group of 1979-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 1979-born candidates, comprising those with G-Q 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, with the one player appearing on the most ballots cast in the round 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 Sunday, February 11th, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EST Friday, February 9th.
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 1979 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-1979 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 1979 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 | Bobby Abreu | 5 rounds |
| Carlos Beltran | 7 rounds | Ken Boyer | 5 rounds |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 5 rounds | Billy Williams | 5 rounds |
| David Ortiz | 3 rounds | Don Drysdale | 3 rounds |
| Luis Tiant | 3 rounds | Richie Ashburn | 2 rounds |
| Gary Sheffield | 2 rounds | Stan Coveleski | 2 rounds |
| Ted Simmons | 2 rounds | Monte Irvin | 2 rounds |
| Chase Utley | 2 rounds | Reggie Smith | 2 rounds |
| Bobby Wallace | 2 rounds | Andre Dawson | this round ONLY |
| Todd Helton | this round ONLY | Andruw Jones | this round ONLY |
| Ted Lyons | this round ONLY | Minnie Minoso | this round ONLY |
| Willie Randolph | this round ONLY | Graig Nettles | this round ONLY |
| Scott Rolen | this round ONLY | Rick Reuschel | this round ONLY |
| Don Sutton | this round ONLY |
Everyday Players (born in 1979, G-Q surname, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Ryan Howard
Gerald Laird
Adam LaRoche
Corey Patterson
Humberto Quintero
Bill Hall
Koyie Hill
Dan Johnson
Pitchers (born in 1979, G-Q surname, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Jon Garland
Jeremy Guthrie
Brandon Lyon
Colby Lewis
As is our custom, here are quiz questions for each of the new players on the ballot.
1. Gerald Laird scored more than 50% of the time he reached base (H+BB+HBP+ROE) in 2006, one of six such 250+ PA seasons by a catcher in the live ball era. Which of those players did so in a qualified season? (Ivan Rodriguez, 1999)
2. Ryan Howard‘s 1477 games at 1st base is a Phillie franchise record. Whose record did Howard break? (Fred Luderus)
3. Corey Patterson swiped 32 bags and slugged 63 XBH for the 2004 Cubs. Which player posted the most such 30/60 seasons for the Cubs? (Ryne Sandberg, 1984-85)
4. Humberto Quintero‘s two seasons (2010-11) with dWAR over 1, in fewer than 90 games and 300 PA, are the most by an Astro catcher. Who was the first Houston catcher to record such a season? (Alan Ashby, 1981)
5. Adam LaRoche played over 300 games at 1st base for the Braves, Pirates and Nationals, recording 150+ RBI for each franchise. Which other two players did the same for two of those franchises? (Elbie Fletcher, Al Oliver)
6. Bill Hall, in his lone qualified season at SS, posted 5.8 WAR in 2006, second only to Robin Yount among Brewer shortstops. Which player recorded the only higher WAR score in a lone qualified season at shortstop? (Bobby Grich, 1972)
7. Koyie Hill’s 46 OPS+ for the Cubs (and for his career) is the lowest mark among players with 200+ games caught for the Northsiders. Which player recorded the lowest OPS+ in 500+ games caught for the Cubs? (Malachi Kittridge, 53 OPS+)
8. Dan Johnson posted 7 consecutive seasons (2008-15) of 40 or fewer games, playing first base in all of them. Which player has the only longer streak of such seasons?
9. Jeremy Guthrie and Tim Hudson were the game 7 starters in the 2014 World Series. Who were the pitchers the only other time both World Series game 7 starters were aged 35 or older? (Max Scherzer/Zack Greinke, 2019)
10. Jon Garland was a CG winner in his first post-season game, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. Who is the last pitcher to allow more than 2 runs in a CG win in his post-season debut?
11. Brandon Lyon is the only pitcher to record 100+ IP for the Blue Jays, D-Backs and Astros. Among relief pitchers with 100+ IP for two of those franchises, who, like Lyon, posted a 70+ IP season with 150 ERA+ for Detroit? (Jose Valverde)
12. Colby Lewis‘s 7.30 ERA in 2003 is the worst (by more than half a run) of any rookie campaign with 25+ games started. Lewis reduced his BB/9 from 5.6 over his first three seasons to 2.3 for the rest of his career, a 3.3 improvement that is the largest among starting pitchers with 4.5+ BB/9 in 150+ IP over their first three seasons, and with 850+ IP over the rest of their careers. Among HoFers in that group, who recorded the largest such improvement? (Bob Feller)
