This post is for voting and discussion in the 144th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This is the first of two rounds of balloting adding to the list of candidates eligible to receive your votes those players born in 1981. Rules and lists are after the jump.

The new group of 1981-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 1981-born candidates, comprising those with A-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 with eligibility for two COG election rounds. First time main ballot candidates who attract one or more votes but do not earn additional main ballot eligibility will drop to the secondary ballot with eligibility for one COG election round. 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 1st, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EST Friday, January 30th.

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 1981 Part 1 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-1981 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 1981 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:

Everyday Players (born in 1981, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Curtis Granderson
Carl Crawford
Omar Infante
Justin Morneau
Jeff Baker
Wilson Betemit
A.J. Ellis
Mike Aviles
Ryan Doumit
Nate McLouth
David Murphy

Pitchers (born in 1981, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Jorge De La Rosa
Blaine Boyer
Jeff Francis
Scott Baker
Jesse Crain

As is our custom, here are quiz questions for each of the new players on the ballot.

1. Curtis Granderson played 500+ games for the Yankees, Mets and Tigers. Which other player recorded 500+ games for two of those franchises?
2. Carl Crawford posted three consecutive seasons (2004-06) with 40+ stolen bases and 15+ triples. Which other player did the same?
3. Omar Infante played for four franchises in his career, and posted exactly one qualified season for each of them. Infante was an All-Star in 2010, while playing 15+ games at 2B, 3B, SS and the outfield. Which other All-Star player did the same?
4. Justin Morneau’s four seasons (2006-09) with 30+ doubles, 20+ HR, 100+ RBI and fewer than 100 K’s are the most by a Senator/Twin. Which Twins’ player posted such a season more recently than Morneau?
5. A.J. Ellis’s career best 3.4 WAR in 2012 is the most by a Dodger catcher in the lone qualified season (modern definition) of his career. Which catcher recorded the most career WAR for the Dodgers, while posting just one qualified season in blue?
6. Jeff Baker, “Mr. Consistency”, posted a record four consecutive seasons (2009-12) with 200 to 250 PA and 20 to 25 RBI. He also recorded 12 to 15 doubles, 1 or 2 triples and 3 or 4 home runs in each of those campaigns. Baker is one of five players with 200+ games for the Cubs and Rockies. Which two of those players were teammates on both teams?
7. Wilson Betemit compiled less than 3 WAR in a 2000+ PA modern era career that began as a teenage shortstop with the Braves. Which other player did the same?
8. Mike Aviles is one of 25 modern era players to record 1+ WAR per 100 PA in a 400+ PA rookie season. Who was the only pre-expansion player to do so in the AL or NL?
9. David Murphy is the only player with 10+ WAR and 2500+ AB for Texas, and no more than one qualified season as a Ranger. Among players, like Murphy, with less than 15 WAR in 2500+ AB as a Ranger through age 32, who compiled the most WAR over his entire career?
10. Ryan Doumit is one of six Pirate catchers with a 3+ WAR season batting .300. Who was the first of those catchers to post such seasons consecutively?
11. Nate McLouth’s 64 career stolen bases as a Pirate are the most by any retired player with a 90%+ stolen base success rate with any one franchise. Who is the oldest player with 50+ career stolen bases and a 90%+ success rate for one franchise?
12. Jorge De La Rosa’s 241 career starts rank 2^nd among Mexican-born left-handers. Who was the first Mexican-born pitcher with 100 career starts?
13. Blaine Boyer’s 2018 season is one of ten modern era campaigns with ERA of 12 or higher in 20+ IP. Which pitcher recorded the highest ERA in such a season?
14. Jeff Francis’s 17-9 record for the 2007 NL champion Rockies established a Colorado franchise record for W-L% (.654) by southpaws in seasons with 25+ decisions. Francis’s 4.96 career ERA for Colorado is second highest among eight pitchers with Rockies career marks of 10+ WAR and a winning record. Which of those pitchers recorded the highest career ERA for Colorado?
15. Scott Baker posted five consecutive seasons (2007-11) for the Twins with 20+ starts, 1.5+ WAR and a .500+ W-L%. Which two Minnesota pitchers posted the only longer runs of such expansion era seasons?
16. Jesse Crain’s 4.0 WAR per 100 IP over the last three seasons (2011-13) of his career ranks second only to Mariano Rivera among retired expansion era relievers (min. 80% of games in relief) with 100+ IP over that part of their careers. Crain’s 11.4 career WAR ranks second among Toronto-born pitchers. Who posted the highest career WAR total among Toronto-born pitchers?