As is always the case, the Hall of Fame voting provided some interesting and mind-boggling results.
Perhaps the most mind-boggling case in my eyes is Kevin Brown's 2.1%. He had a career ERA of 3.28, ERA+ of 127, FIP of 3.33, HR/9 of 0.57, and a fWAR of 77.2. He went to six All-Star Games and finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting five times, including a second and third place finish. Brown isn't a huge name and may not really deserve a ton of shots at this, but the fact that he received 2.1% is crazy to me.
It is made worse by the fact that Lee Smith received 45.3%. Was Smith that much greater than Brown to justify such a difference in voting? No way. Even John Franco received 4.6%. Nothing justifies such a low vote total for Brown, but since his total was below 5%, he is off the ballot for good.
On a brighter note, congratulations to Bert Blyleven on finally getting in. At 79.7%, it wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.
On another craziness note, Roberto Alomar got in at 90% while Barry Larkin sits at 62.1%. There is no doubt Alomar is deserving. He had a career line of .300/.371/.443, career wOBA of .365 and wRC+ of 125. An fWAR of 68.2, 11 All-Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers shows he is deserving. The one knock on him is a lack of MVP voting success, finishing in the top five just twice.
Larkin hit .295/.371/.444, career wOBA of .366 and wRC+ of 124. An fWAR of 69.8, 12 All-Star Games, three Gold Gloves and nine Silver Sluggers shows he is deserving. Larkin also has an MVP Award on his mantle, something Alomar doesn't have. So where's the huge difference in careers that justifies such a huge difference in the voting? If someone knows, please tell me.
Fred McGriff's 17.9% is four percentage points lower than his first attempt last year, so that's a pretty sure sign that he won't have much of a chance going forward. With the talk surrounding him prior to the voting, I expected a higher total, but it doesn't mean anything in the end.
Dale Murphy actually received his highest total since 2008, but considering it was 12.6%, it doesn't mean anything. Murphy is more of an afterthought when it comes to the Hall of Fame now.
As expected, the remaining former Braves either received a couple votes or none at all. Marquis Grissom, Bret Boone, B.J. Surhoff and Raul Mondesi will be off the ballot next year.