Three former Cleveland players exit Hall of Fame ballot; one remains

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tuesday was a good day for Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, who were both elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown by vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The four former Cleveland players on the 27-man ballot could not say the same. Manny Ramirez, who hit 236 of his 555 home runs in a Cleveland uniform, saw his 10-year stay on the ballot end without reaching the needed 75% of the vote for induction. Ramirez was named on 38.8% of the ballots. It was the best showing of his 10 years on the ballot, but well short of what was needed for enshrinement. In Cleveland history, few right-handed hitters have performed as well as Ramirez. In normal circumstances, Ramirez would have already been in Cooperstown. He was a 12-time All-Star, nine-time Silver Slugger winner, the 2004 World Series MVP for Boston and a two-time World Series champion. In the postseason, he is MLB’s all-time home-run leader with 29. Ramirez finished his 19-year career with a 69.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. He hit .312 (2,574 for 8,244) with 1,831 RBI in 2,302 games. He posted a .996 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) and a 154 OPS+. Yet, Ramirez tested positive twice for steroids, which cast a shadow over his Hall of Fame candidacy as it has with so many prominent players tainted by PEDs. Ramirez, undoubtedly, will still receive consideration in the coming years through the Era Committee, but his time on the BBWAA ballot is over. Omar Vizquel, Ramirez’s teammate in Cleveland, finished with 18.4% of the vote in his ninth year on the ballot. He has one year of eligibility left. Vizquel won 11 Gold Gloves for his play at shortstop. His career spanned 24 years, including 11 in Cleveland where he won nine Gold Gloves, and ended with 2,877 hits. Under normal circumstances, Vizquel, much like Ramirez, should already be in the Hall of Fame. In just his third year on the BBWAA ballot, he received 52.6% of the vote. He was on his way. But charges of spousal abuse and a sexual harassment complaint from a bat boy against Vizquel while he was managing in the White Sox’s minor league system, sent his candidacy into a spiral. Vizquel was not charged in the spousal abuse case and he reached an out-of-court settlement with the bat boy. However, any chance of regaining his momentum on the ballot ended. Vizquel and Ramirez are members of Cleveland’s Hall of Fame. Vizquel was inducted in 2014 and Ramirez in 2023. Former Cleveland players Edwin Encarnacion and Shin-Soo Choo appeared on the ballot for the first time this year. They did not receive the needed 5% of the vote and were removed from the ballot. Encarnacion received six votes (1.4%) while Choo received three votes (0.7%). BBWAA members cast 425 ballots. The Guardians signed Encarnacion before the 2017 season to a three-year $60 million deal. In 2016, they reached Game 7 of the World Series before losing to the Cubs in extra innings. Encarnacion was signed to add thump to the lineup and that’s just what he did with 70 homers with 214 RBI over two seasons. The right-handed hitting Encarnacion finished his career with 424 home runs. Choo played seven years in Cleveland from 2006 through 2012 after being acquired from Seattle. The Mariners found him in South Korea and signed him as a pitcher. But he soon became one of the better right fielders in the game. He hit .292 (736 for 2,524) with 83 homers and 372 RBI with Cleveland. Choo, who hit 218 homers in his career, played 16 years. Former Cleveland players Asdrubal Cabrera and Scott Kazmir are scheduled to appear on the 2027 ballot.