Last year saw Ichiro enter the Hall of Fame wing at SnakePit Towers. Will anyone join him?
Previous SnakePit Hall of Fame Inductees
- 2015 – Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez
- 2016 – Ken Griffey Jr.
- 2017 – Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, John Smoltz
- 2018 – Chipper Jones, Ivan Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez
- 2019 – Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Jim Thome
- 2020 – Roy Halladay, Derek Jeter
- 2021 – No inductees
- 2022 – No inductees
- 2023 – David Ortiz
- 2024 – Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer
- 2025 – Ichiro
The rules
We began with the same ballot as the Hall of Fame in 2015, and have proceeded from there on. The same 75% super-majority is required for election, and players are removed from the future ballot on election here, regardless of whether or not they made it into the “real” Hall of Fame. So far, the SnakePit electorate has been in reasonably close agreement with the BBWAA – timing has been the main variation, but we have generally been a greater proponent of “small Hall”. The differences are as follows
- In Cooperstown, but not yet here: Mike Mussina, Scott Rolen, Todd Helton, C.C. Sabathia, Billy Wagner
- In here, but not in Cooperstown: Curt Schilling
Wagner and Sheffield are now dropped from the SnakePit ballot, so have to wait for the Veterans’ Committee. Which would mean having to establish one, so they probably shouldn’t hold their breath. Failing to get over 5% last time, and so also removed are (deep breath) Cliff Lee, Mark Buehrle, Matt Holliday, David Wright, Brian McCann, Dan Haren, Adrián González, Ian Kinsler, Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Zobrist, Curtis Granderson, Hanley Ramírez. Russell Martin, Adam Jones and Carlos González. This year’s list has been adjusted for the non-electees mentioned above, along with adding the following new arrivals.
- Cole Hamels
- Ryan Braun
- Alex Gordon
- Shin-Soo Choo
- Edwin Encarnación
- Howie Kendrick
- Nick Markakis
- Hunter Pence
- Gio Gonzalez
- Matt Kemp
- Daniel Murphy
- Rick Porcello
Andruw Jones (9th season, 70%), Helton (8th, 70%), Rolen (9th, 50%) and Sabathia (1st, 55%) are the returning names mentioned on half or more of the ballots in 2025. We’ll see if any of these end up getting closer to induction into SnakePit Towers! Manny Ramirez (40%) will be drinking at the last chance saloon on the 2026 ballot. I’m not seeing any slam-dunk candidates this year, like Ichiro was, so it is possible I might not have to spend any money on PBR and sausage rolls for an induction ceremony. But we will see
To prevent potential ballot-box stuffing, voting is open only to registered AZ SnakePit users – forms without a valid username filled in will be rejected [however, since you can join by clicking on a link and filling in a form, it’s not exactly an onerous requirement!]. I reserve the right to publish your ballot, with or without your name attached, depending on how amusing it is. However, feel free to announce your ballot and explain it in the comments. You can select as many candidates as you want: there’s no “10 maximum” as on the real thing. Voting is open through Jan 19: the BBWAA will announce their results the following day, and we’ll follow suit shortly thereafter. I will filter out multiple votes too, so you know!
The form is below, and the eligible names are randomized for each submission: here’s a link if you’re on mobile or are otherwise finding the form griefsome. Please feel free to explain your selection in the comments!
Category: General Sports
