This post is for voting and discussion in the 145th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG).  This is the second 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 N-Z surnames, joins the eligible holdovers from previous rounds to comprise the full list of players eligible to appear on your ballots (Josh Hamilton, who was missed inadvertently in the preceding round of balloting, is also eligible to receive your votes).

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 player 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 15th, while changes to previously cast ballots are allowed until 11:59 PM EST Friday, February 13th.

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 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-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):
Brandon Phillips
Ben Zobrist
Mike Napoli
Ryan Raburn
Álex Ríos
Ángel Pagán
Guillermo Quiroz
Chris Snyder
Josh Hamilton
Alexei Ramirez

Pitchers (born in 1981, ten or more seasons played in the major leagues or at least 20 WAR):
Óliver Pérez
Adam Wainwright
Jake Peavy
James Shields
Carlos Zambrano
Jerome Williams
Joe Saunders

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

1. Brandon Phillips’ 1586 games at second base is a Reds’ modern era franchise record, and his 191 home runs for Cincinnati are the most among all players with 500+ second base games for the Reds. Which two players are tied for 2^nd on the latter list?
2. Ben Zobrist led his league in WAR in 2009 while playing 50+ games at 2B and in the outfield. Which player has since matched that feat? (Mookie Betts, 2023)
3. Mike Napoli posted career bests in Total Bases and most other offensive categories for the 2016 AL champion Indians, becoming one of eight players with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI in a season with 50+ games at both 1B and DH. Which of those players recorded fewer Total Bases in such a season than Napoli’s mark of 259?
4. Ryan Raburn, in the 2011 ALCS, became the only player to homer in multiple games of a post-season series, while playing both LF and RF in each of those games. Which other player has homered in multiple games of a post-season series while playing two or more outfield positions in each of those games?
5. Álex Ríos is the only White Sox player to post 3+ WAR seasons with 50+ XBH at two different outfield positions (min. 140 games at each position). Which expansion era Sox team boasted two such outfielders?
6. Ángel Pagán’s 4.0 WAR in 2009 is an NL modern era record for seasons with double-digit triples in fewer than 100 games. Pagan and Melky Cabrera each posted 4+ WAR with 10+ triples for the 2012 Giants, the first expansion era WS champion with two such players. When was the last time both league champions had a pair of such players?
7. Guillermo Quiroz followed Will Clark as the only Giants since 1988 with a pinch-hit walk-off HR on an 0-2 count. Quiroz’s 1.043 career OPS as a pinch-hitter is the highest by a retired Venezuelan-born expansion era player with 15+ PA as a pinch-hitter. Which such player has the highest career OPS in 100+ PA as a pinch-hitter?
8. Chris Snyder is one of five catchers with a 3-run or grand slam home run in the final game of a post-season series. Which of those players, like Snyder, did not win the World Series that season?
9. Josh Hamilton‘s career best 2010 season is the most recent of 56 major league campaigns with a .350 BA, 30 HR and 100 RBI, totals that Hamilton reached despite walking fewer than 50 times. Which player posted a .350/30/100 season with fewer than 50 walks and did not win his league’s batting title?
10. Alexei Ramírez compiled 23.5 WAR over eight seasons with the White Sox. Which shortstop has the only higher WAR total in fewer than 5000 career PA for Chicago?
11. Óliver Pérez led the majors in 2004 with 11.0 SO/9. Before Perez, who was the last Pirate to lead his league in SO/9 in a qualified season?
12. Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina started 328 games together as Cardinal batterymates, the most of any modern era battery. Which battery ranks second in starts for the Cardinals?
13. Jake Peavy recorded a triple crown season and won the Cy Young Award in 2007. Which retired triple crown winner recorded fewer career wins than Peavy’s total of 152? (Johan Santana, 139 wins)
14. James Shields posted a creditable .567 career W-L% … excluding his last three seasons. But those last three seasons were painful, with a .300 W-L% (18-42), 267 points lower than his mark prior to that point of his career. Among modern era pitchers with 1500+ IP careers, who experienced the only larger such drop in W-L%, in 50+ decisions over his final three seasons?
15. Carlos Zambrano posted a record four consecutive 5+ WAR seasons with BB/9 of 3.5 or more. Which other modern era pitcher recorded more than one such season for the Cubs?
16. Jerome Williams, at age 21-22, is the youngest of seven Giant pitchers with 1.4+ WAR per 100 IP in 40+ starts over the first two seasons of a career. Which of those pitchers posted the highest WAR rate over that part of their careers?
17. Joe Saunders is one of 21 expansion era starting pitchers (min. 60% of games started) with a .650+ W-L% in 500+ IP over the first five seasons of a career. Saunders saw his W-L% drop almost 300 points (from .688 to .390) over the remainder of his career, easily the largest drop of that group. Of the three pitchers in that group who are currently active in the major leagues, who has seen the largest drop in W-L% between his first five seasons and the rest of his career to date?