SoDo Mojo's (un)official Hall of Fame Ballot - Will former Mariners make the cut?

Players we voted into the Hall of Fame: Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Joe Mauer, Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltran

And here is out (un)official SoDo Mojo ballot for the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame. 7 getting in may seem like a lot, but in my opinion, we are just correcting the mistakes of previous hall of fame votes. Newcomers Beltre and Mauer each gained 100% of out votes, along with Todd Helton. Helton should have been voted in a long time ago, so we have correctly voted him in here.

Adrian Beltre is the only former Marner to enter the Hall of Fame for us in 2024. He played for Seattle from 2005-2009, and really struggled here. He slashed .266/.317/.442 with 103 home runs and an ops+ of 101. Beltre spent the previous 7 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and spent the 2010 season with the Red Sox, turning his career around. He would go on to sign with the Texas Rangers, where his career flourished. Beltre finished his career third all time in WAR for a third baseman, only trailing Mike Schmidt and Eddie Matthews.

The only player listed above that I did not vote for is Carlos Beltran. I still can not get over the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal. To me, what that team did was much worse than taking steroids. And he was allegedly the mastermind. So for me, he does not get my vote.

The case For Billy Wagner is one I have been making since the day his name first appeared on the ballot. Sure, he is farther down the all-time saves list than you would like, but the man was a dominant reliever. He boasted a career 2.31 ERA and a 2.73 FIP in his career. In 16 seasons, he only finished with an ERA over 2.85 once. ONCE! He received Cy Young votes in 2 different seasons and went to 7 all-star games. 11.9 strikeouts per 9 innings, 0.8 home runs per 9 innings. He was unhittable. Put this man in the Hall of Fame.

A little rapid fire with the last group of guys here. Joe Mauer was one of the best catchers in baseball from the moment he was called up to the day he retired. Minnesota kid born and raised, and played his entire career as a Twin. Andruw Jones was quite possibly the best defensive CF in baseball history, and had a good bat to go along with it. Gary Sheffield hit 509 home runs in his career and had a career 140 OPS+. Put him in.

Personally, I love that we elected 7 players this year. Hopefully, we elect even more in the future. Next year's class will include Ichiro for the first time, and Felix Hernandez. I will be pounding the drum for both of those guys, for as long as it takes. Congrats to all of the new Hall of Famers, and as always, Go Mariners!