Several Phillies legends snubbed on ‘worst Hall of Fame ballot ever’

Is this the worst Baseball Hall of Fame ballot ever?!

It’s that time of year when Hall of Fame ballots are being submitted, and the results are tracked by the amazing team at Baseball Hall of Fame Vote Tracker.

And each year, there’s at least one preposterously bad ballot, which makes the rounds on social media and throws into question the entire BBWAA voting system. But of all the bad ballots ever made public, this one really takes the cake.

It’s no surprise this voter wanted to remain anonymous, as this is one of the most appalling and absurd ballots in recent memory.

The voter selected Curt Schilling, Todd Helton, and Billy Wagner. Schilling and Wagner are former Philadelphia Phillies, but so are several of the players the voter snubbed: Bobby Abreu, Ryan Howard, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jimmy Rollins.

Unsurprisingly, baseball fans had a field day with this one on Twitter. Many are calling it “the worst ballot” they’ve ever seen, while others say the voter’s BBWAA membership should be revoked. Some are even suggesting the voter was racist. Overall, the replies and quote-tweets are absolute mayhem, and an entertaining read if the lockout has you bored out of your skull.

Who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022?

Currently, only three former players have received the requisite 75% of votes to earn induction into the Hall: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and David Ortiz. However, BBHOF Tracker has only accounted for 7.7% of voters thus far.

On Thursday, Rolen had garnered the fourth-highest percentage of votes but was still almost 10% shy of the benchmark.

In 2020, 397 BBWAA members cast ballots for that year’s class. This year, BBHOFT estimates that 392 ballots have been cast, meaning candidates need a minimum of 294 votes to be inducted. 2022 might a Phillies-less HOF class.