#EdgarHOF - Day 39

Okay, so I lied; today’s recommended podcast isn’t strictly about Edgar, but there is a lot of Edgar content in Ryan Divish’s new Mariners’ Podcast to Be Named Later.

I am super-thrilled about this because when Divish appeared on the LL podcast lo these many moons ago, he was really clever and funny, and it’s nice to have all the Mariners content you can get during the dark nights of the off-season. Divish promises he will also have many other baseball writers on over the course of the podcast, so it promises to be a rich resource, especially over the lean months.

Ryan’s guest on this pod (which sadly, is only on Soundcloud; get thee to Stitcher, Ryan!) is the venerable Larry Stone, who breaks down his HOF ballot. Larry uses all his ten slots, because Larry is Good (as Divish says, “I don’t trust anybody who can’t find ten guys on there.” HEAR HEAR!). Here are Judge Stone’s choices:

First, his holdovers from last year:

• Bagwell
• Raines

Larry feels good about the chances of both these guys. I think Bagwell is basically a lock, but Raines might depend on how much influence Eno Sarris and his Tim Raines tie exert.

• Edgar Martinez. Duh
• Clemens
• Bonds

Stone notes, “this gets me hate mail.” If one is voting for steroid guys, I personally feel like these are two no-brainers, as their non-steroid numbers are still Hall of Fame caliber. Just put them in already and clear those spots for some other guys.

• Mussina
• Schilling

Schilling is a bit of a sticky wicket, but Stone says, much like the steroid guys, you have to look at the player in a vacuum. Schilling has the numbers, in Stone’s estimation, so he gets the nod.

This leaves Stone with three slots to be filled, as two of his choices from last year (Griffey and Piazza) got in, and one (Alan Trammell) fell off the ballot. Of the new guys, Larry is considering Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramierz, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, and Jorge Posada. So far, he’s committed to Vlad and Pudge, but not Manny. Stone’s complaint with Manny is one many voters might share: that he failed tests well after the steroid policy was in place and enforced. Stone also notes that he’s considering Trevor Hoffman and Larry Walker, so it will be interesting to see who earns his final vote. It’s evident that Stone puts a lot of thought and analysis into his choices—actual analysis, not “who sells tickets”—which makes me pretty proud to have him representing our hometown paper in the BBWAA.

There’s plenty more in this episode: the two get a little more into discussing Edgar’s specific case, and also do some looking forward to next year, with analysis of the Winter Meetings and a look towards the Mariners’ lineup for next year. (Divish spills the beans on what exactly the Pirates were looking for in a Cutch deal, too, and I’m actually still laughing.) I will say the sound levels are a little wonky, but listen to it on a lower volume than you usually do and it’ll be fine.

What do you think of Larry Stone’s choices? Do you have an opinion on who should get his final vote? (There’s also some great shade thrown here at one particularly backwards HOF ballot. And also Eric Wedge and his crazy eyes.)