My 2024 IBWAA Ballot

IBWAA logo.

I’m honored to be a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) and vote for the IBWAA Hall of Fame ballot.

Please be advised that the IBWAA is different from the BBWAA, which votes for the who gets inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The IBWAA has been around since 2009 and in addition to the Hall of Fame, membership has voted on MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Reliever of the Year.

Much like the BBWAA, IBWAA can choose to make their votes public or keep them private. I’m a big believer in transparency especially when it comes to voting on the Hall of Fame. After all, it’s one of the biggest honors in all of baseball, be it IBWAA or BBWAA. IBWAA members can select up to 12 players for induction into the Hall of Fame.

My official IBWAA ballot selections are as follows:

• Adrian Beltre
• Todd Helton
• Matt Holliday
• Andruw Jones
• Joe Mauer
• Jimmy Rollins
• Gary Sheffield
• Chase Utley
• Billy Wagner
• David Wright

I want to stress that some of my votes are for players in which there needs to be a conversation. They are not necessarily first-ballot Hall of Famers but I would like to further examine their credentials. I do believe that Beltre, Helton, and Mauer should be elected for induction on the first ballot. It might come close for Utley in his first year on the ballot but both Beltre and Mauer are bonafide first-ballot Hall of Famers in my book.

In all likelihood, Wright will fall short of induction.

 Third Base (26th):
    49.2 career WAR | 39.5 7yr-peak WAR | 44.3 JAWS | 5.0 WAR/162
  Average HOF 3B (out of 16):
    68.4 career WAR | 43.1 7yr-peak WAR | 55.8 JAWS | 5.1 WAR/162

Utley is a different question but he has the JAWS numbers that should get him inducted. It might not be on the first ballot but further down the road. Where falls short are in the Black and Gray Ink. His Hall of Fame Monitor number is 94, just shy of the 100 for Likely Hall of Famer. Similarly, his Hall of Fame Standard number is 36, shy of 50.

 Second Base (12th):
    64.5 career WAR | 49.3 7yr-peak WAR | 56.9 JAWS | 5.4 WAR/162
  Average HOF 2B (out of 20):
    69.6 career WAR | 44.4 7yr-peak WAR | 57.0 JAWS | 5.1 WAR/162