Barry Bonds? Mike Mussina? Imagining the perfect 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

Joe Giglio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

By Joe Giglio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Baseball's Hall of Fame standards are broken.

When the Class of 2018 is announced on January 24, a four (or possibly five) man class will enter Cooperstown, New York. Honors for Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez and Trevor Hoffman are all deserved and could make for a wonderful induction ceremony in July.

But that doesn’t mean the process to get there makes any sense.

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Hall of Fame voters are governed by ridiculous rules and made-up standards such as a 10-man limit on the ballot (totally ignoring a deep class like we have now), 10-year limits on the ballot (making it harder to watch a player's case grow as the years pass), five percent threshold for rolling over to next year's ballot (ruining chances for good players in loaded classes) and an inability to apply logic to the greats of the Steroid Era.

This hypothetical ballot will challenge and change all of that. Here's what the perfect 2018 Hall of Fame ballot would look like. The rules? There are none. Just vote for players that belong in Cooperstown.

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Barry Bonds

The numbers: 162.4 WAR, 762 HR, 1.061 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Unless you're old enough to have watched Babe Ruth, Bonds was the greatest baseball player you have ever seen. Did he cheat? Probably. But he was up against other cheaters and dominated. Plus, we're talking about a 400 HR, 400 SB player before the alleged use began.

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Roger Clemens

The numbers: 140.3 WAR, 4,961.2 IP, 143 ERA+

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Basically, Clemens is the pitching version of Bonds. Dominance, longevity and one of the most valuable pitchers of all time. You can't have a Hall of Fame without The Rocket.

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Brett Davis

Chipper Jones

The numbers: 85.0 WAR, 486 HR, .930 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: The true definition of a franchise player that transformed the Braves. One of the greatest switch hitters ever.

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Mike Mussina

The numbers: 83.0 WAR, 3,562.2 IP, 123 ERA+

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Part of the knock (or lack of buzz around) on Mussina throughout his great career: He was never considered one of the top one or two pitchers in his league. Here's why that should have nothing to do with a potential induction: Mussina shouldn't be penalized for pitching in an era with some of the best pitchers of all-time. While the 90s and 2000s were known for offense, Mussina's peers included Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, Clemens, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling and Mariano Rivera. Ranking toward the bottom of a list like that isn't a slight; it's the mark of a Hall of Famer in a special era of arms.

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Curt Schilling

The numbers: 79.9 WAR, 3,261.0 IP, 127 ERA+

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Here's where Schilling ranks among starters in baseball history (min. 1500 IP) in key categories:

Strikeouts: 15th

SO/BB ratio: 1st

ERA+: 24th

WHIP: 27th

WAR: 21st

Without even including Schilling's most HOF-worthy credential (postseason excellence), we're talking about one of the 30-or-so best starting pitchers ever. Don't let pitcher wins or an ERA inflated by pitching in the Steroid Era distract from that.

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H. Rumph Jr.

Jim Thome

The numbers: 72.9 WAR, 612 HR, .956 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Thome is just one of five players in major league history with at least 500 home runs, 1,600 RBI, 1,500 runs scored and 1,700 walks. The other four: Bonds, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.

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Vladimir Guerrero

The numbers: 59.3 WAR, 449 HR, .931 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: During his prime, few players brought Guerrero’s combination of defense, power and hitting ability to the table. A true five-tool superstar.

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Randy Miller's ballot

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Edgar Martinez

The numbers: 68.3 WAR, 309 HR, .933 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Here’s a full list of right-handed hitters with a career slash line of .300/.400/.500, 300 HR, 500 doubles and more walks than strikeouts: Rogers Hornsby and Martinez.

That’s the whole list.

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GENE BOYARS

Scott Rolen

The numbers: 70.0 WAR, 316 HR, .855 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: There are 319 Hall of Famers. Only 16 are third baseman. Rolen’s combination of power and all-time great defense made him one of the best to ever man the position.

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Larry Walker

The numbers: 72.6 WAR, 383 HR, .965 OPS

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: As of now, 20 right fielders are enshrined in Cooperstown. If Walker was elected, he would have a better OPS+ than 14 of them. More than just a product of Coors Field. Walker was one of the games best hitters—ever.

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Steve Politi's ballot

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Trevor Hoffman

The numbers: 28.4 WAR, 601 saves, 141 ERA+

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Best save percentage in history. Longevity. Far from flashy, but it’s impossible not to give Hoffman a vote on an unlimited ballot.

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Joe Giglio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Billy Wagner

The numbers: 28.1 WAR, 422 saves, 187 ERA+

Why he belongs in Cooperstown: Here’s a little secret most baseball folks won’t admit: Wagner was better than Hoffman—and it’s not even really close. If Hoffman is as close to a lock as he seems to be, than small voting percentages for Wagner make little sense.

Among pitchers (starters or relievers) with at least 900 career innings, Wagner’s ERA+ is second ever. The only pitcher Wagner trails? Mariano Rivera.

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Just missed the cut

Manny Ramirez: Clearly, steroid use doesn’t bother me. But Ramirez failed multiple tests after baseball’s policy was in place.

Gary Sheffield: The best hitter to ever be lost in the shuffle. He’s the opposite of Mussina. Great player, but I will hold him back because he never stood out vs. his peers.

Sammy Sosa: No player in history is more perplexing when it comes to Hall of Fame standards. It’s hard to write the history of the game without Sosa. In fact, it’s impossible. But my perception is of a good, but flawed player that was completely enhanced by whatever made him great for a burst of time.

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Great, but not special enough

Johan Santana: Santana deserves real consideration, but probably falls a year or two of production away from deserving the honor.

Andruw Jones: The Dale Murphy of this generation. Impossible to imagine Jones not in the Hall of Fame after his age-29 season, but it’s now even harder to vote him in.

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Kathy Kmonicek

Good, not great

Fred McGriff: It's amazing what seven more career home runs would have done for McGriff over the years.

Jeff Kent: I know, I know. We're talking about a MVP-level bat at second base. But Kent was a negative defensively.

Johnny Damon: The personification of good, not great on this ballot.

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Defense can be overrated

In no world should Omar Vizquel and his 82 OPS+ (18 percent below league average!) be receiving serious votes. It's a joke.

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Joe Giglio may be reached at jgiglio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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