T.R.'s Memoirs: Judgment-free Hall of Fame ballot includes Texas Rangers Hall of Famer

T.R. Sullivan covered the Texas Rangers for 32 years from 1989-2000 with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and MLB.com, longer than any other beat writer in club history. Today, he reveals his Hall of Fame ballot.

What follows is my 27th Hall of Fame ballot, a privilege I first received after the 1998 season. The first name I ever checked off was former Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Spoiler alert: He was elected.

My 27th ballot includes former Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, who is on the ballot for the first time. Spoiler alert: He’s not going to get elected. He is probably not even going to get the required 5 percent to stay on the ballot next year.

Not sure Kinsler is a Hall of Famer, but it would be a shame for him to drop off the ballot after one year. But then, Michael Young did as well. Kinsler and Young were both outstanding players in their prime and had excellent careers.

As Young told me, it’s just an honor to even be on the Hall of Fame ballot. It’s not the gold medal, but many Olympians have been happy to take home silver or bronze.

Kinsler is one of three middle infielders I voted for this year. The others are Alex Rodriguez and Omar Vizquel, who were both considered the best of the best but are not going to make the Hall of Fame for other issues.

Rodriguez because of steroids. Many voters refuse to vote for players who were severely tarnished by the steroid accusations. Rodriguez has no excuses. He got banged twice during his career by steroid accusations that were ultimately proven.

So why do I vote for him? My personal, longtime stance is I refuse to sit in judgment on the Steroid Era. The Mitchell Report did nothing to clear up the situation. There are too many players who have gone unidentified.

Yada yada yada. Move on.

Vizquel was the premier defensive shortstop of his era and had sufficient offensive credentials. He was slowly building up his vote totals — 52.6 percent in year three — but then came serious off-field accusations involving domestic abuse and then sexual harassment. He got 17.7 percent last year, and that’s going to go down this winter in Year 8. He’ll only have two years left.

The accusations are quite serious, but the details are also quite murky in both cases and settled out of court. I voted for him.

Kinsler, Rodriguez, Vizquel.

That’s three. I voted for six more.

Billy Wagner: This is his 10th and last year on the ballot. It’s going to be close, but he is one of the best relievers ever. Not up there with Mariano Rivera but a lot closer than people must realize. Right up there with Rich Gossage and Trevor Hoffman.

Andruw Jones: I have been going back and forth on him for eight years. Great defensive player, excellent peak offensive numbers, but a little short on the longevity factor, which is why he hasn’t hit 75 percent yet. He received 7.3 percent in his first year and 61.3 percent last winter in Year 7. Go figure.

Carlos Beltran: Combine offense, defense and longevity, and he has a strong Hall of Fame resume. Didn’t have big-name recognition for much of his career, and the Astros getting caught banging on the garbage can in the World Series has hurt him in multiple ways.

Ichiro Suzuki: He could be elected unanimously. Not sure he deserves that distinction. But he is definite Hall of Famer, and really that’s all the matters.

C.C. Sabathia: Getting elected as a starting pitcher has become tough because of inflated stats from the Steroid Era, five-man rotations and — most recently and notably — decreased innings/pitches/workloads. Starting pitching numbers ain’t what they used to be, and they ain’t going to get better anytime soon. Sabathia is still a worthy candidate.

Felix Hernandez: The peak value is there. Longevity is not. But he was probably the best in the American League over a seven-year run while laboring in obscurity in Seattle. Long-term contracts are nice, but you can also bury yourself. See Trout, Mike.