After a lengthy layover, Chris and Tom are back with another new episode of the Roundtripper! On Show #10, the guys focus on the recent BBWAA Hall of Fame Election results and offer some thoughts and opinions on the three players who got elected (Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez) and some who didn't. They also look ahead and hypothesize the outcome of future elections and discuss the chances of players both on the current Hall of Fame ballot and those who are due to be added in the near future. Meanwhile, Tom potentially develops a powerful enemy by questioning the Hall of Fame credentials of RP Trevor Hoffman.

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By Chris Kubak

2016 did not turn into the season that Yovani Gallardo or anybody else in Baltimore envisioned when the team took the field on Opening Day. After signing for 2 year/$22MM to help stabilize a shaky rotation for a potential playoff team, Gallardo proceeded to have the worst season of his Major League career. In other words, in 2016 he was mostly clobbered. Over the course of 118 unexceptional innings he scuffled his way to a record of 6-8, setting new career highs in ERA, batting average against (BAA), BB/9 inn, and HR/9 inn, and new career lows in K/BB ratio, and percentage of runners left on base. After all of this the Orioles were more than happy to send him packing, shipping him to the Mariners in a swap for outfielder Seth Smith.

So what went wrong this year? Was it an injury issue? While he spent some time on the DL during the first half of the year with a bout of shoulder tendinitis, the numbers show that he was not any more or less effective before or after the injury. Could you blame the cozy confines of Camden Yards for his diminished numbers? While he wasn’t great pitching at home, his numbers are actually much better in his 10 starts in Baltimore than in the 13 he pitched on the road…so that’s out. Nor can you really blame his move from the National League to the American League, since he demonstrated the ability to pitch in the junior circuit by putting up a solid (albeit nowhere near spectacular) 2.4 WAR with a 13-11 record and 3.42 ERA during his one season in Texas. So what is left? The answer may have to do with the fact that, to put it nicely, one of his most important weapons was not very potent in 2016.  

By Tom Baird

So much has already been written about the 2017 Hall of Fame ballot. We all know the numbers:

There are thirty four total players on the ballot. Of those, three players are facing their final year on the ballot. Only one of those three stands any chance to get in. There are two newcomers who have a legitimate shot at getting elected in their first year of eligibility. There are six players on the ballot that look like they could have been cast in Sons of Anarchy. See below.

In the coming two weeks, Chris and I will be presenting our loyal readers with legitimate profiles on some of the deserving and not-so-deserving players. Today, we will merely present you with the list of eligible players, along with links to their stats on FanGraphs.


Jeff Bagwell
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Trevor Hoffman
Jeff Kent
Edgar Martinez
Fred McGriff
Mike Mussina
Tim Raines
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Lee Smith
Sammy Sosa
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker
Casey Blake
Pat Burrell
Orlando Cabrera
Mike Cameron
J.D. Drew
Carlos Guillen
Vladimir Guerrero
Derek Lee
Melvin Mora
Magglio Ordonez
Jorge Posada
Manny Ramirez
Edgar Renteria
Arthur Rhodes
Ivan Rodriguez
Freddy Sanchez
Matt Stairs
Jason Varitek
Tim Wakefield

Over the coming weeks, our analysis will include discussion of their overall performance, defensive value, camparisons to Hall of Famers, comparisons to non-Hall of Famers, consideration of their respective eras, their dominance within those eras, and their number of Challenge Victories in season 25 of Survivor (SPOILER: Jeff Kent leads all eligible players in this category). 

Stay Tuned.