A crowded ballot once again has resulted in a crowded house in Cooperstown.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America revealed on Wednesday night that it has elected four new members – Chipper Jones, “Vladimir Guerrero”, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman – for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Edgar Martinez fell 20 votes shy of the necessary 75 percent (of 422 total votes) for induction, leaving this group one member short of matching the record for the largest class elected by the BBWAA).
The initial Hall quintet in 1936 featured Babe Ruth and fellow early 20th century legends Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson.
This year’s total also pushes the number of BBWAA electees to 16 over the past five years, after only 10 players had been so honored over the previous eight voting cycles, including zero inductees in 2013. The freshly minted quartet will join Modern Era committee selections Jack Morris and Alan Trammell for the induction ceremony in Cooperstown on July 29.
Notably, PED-tainted former stars Roger Clemens (57.3 percent) and Barry Bonds (56.4) made only slight gains in their sixth of 10 opportunities on the ballot after each player had jumped nearly 10 points one year ago to 54 percent apiece.
Manny Ramirez (22.0 percent), twice suspended for failing MLB-administered PED tests, Gary Sheffield (11.1) and Sammy Sosa (7.8) also continue to linger on the fringes of the balloting.
MORE ON Vladimir Alvino Guerrero
In 2004, he was voted the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP). He helped lead the Angels to five AL West championships (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009), and was voted as one of the most feared hitters in baseball in a 2008 poll of all 30 major league managers.
A nine-time All Star, he was widely recognized as one of the best all-around players in the game because of his impressive offensive production, regularly hitting for power and average, and, prior to injuries that robbed him of range, stellar defense, and a strong throwing arm. He was also regarded as the game’s premier “bad ball hitter”, for his ability to consistently hit balls thrown well outside his strike zone, a skill made evident on August 14, 2009, when Guerrero hit a pitch which bounced in front of home plate. Guerrero’s proactive batting aggression was reflected by his career statistics: while he hit over 30 home runs in eight separate seasons and surpassed 100 RBI ten times, he had just two seasons with as many as 65 walks. In the first pitch of an at-bat, he hit 126 home runs, believed to be the most ever, and put 1,780 balls into play.
On September 26, 2011, Guerrero became the all-time MLB leader in hits among players from the Dominican Republic, surpassing Julio Franco. He was later surpassed by Adrián Beltré in 2014. At the time of his final game, he was the leader among active major league outfielders in errors, with 125, and was second in assists, with 126.
His older brother, Wilton Guerrero, also played in Major League Baseball, and the two were teammates for several seasons on the Montreal Expos.
His 6-foot-3-inch (1.91 m) frame, strong arm, and unusual ability to hit balls out of the strike zone drew attention at a Dodgers training camp. After injuring his hamstring running out a double, he allegedly hit a home run in his next at bat to avoid having to run the bases. Due to his leg condition, Guerrero only received a 30-day contract. But he grew frustrated with the structure of the Dodgers camp, and left. In March 1993, Guerrero signed with the Montreal Expos. During the process he lied about his age, claiming to be born February 9, 1976. It was not until March 2009 that he revealed to Major League Baseball that he was born February 9, 1975.
In 1994, Guerrero hit .314 in 37 games with the Expos’ Rookie League team. The next year, he hit .333 with the Albany Polecats. In 1996, while advancing from Single-A to Double-A, Guerrero batted .360 with 24 home runs and 96 RBI. His September callup was unproductive, although he hit his first major league home run.
Guerrero was signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent on March 1, 1993 and eventually made his major league debut on September 19, 1996. He was 1 for 5 in his debut, with his first hit a single to center field off of Steve Avery of the Atlanta Braves in the top of the 4th. He hit his first career home run off of the Braves closer Mark Wohlers on September 21, 1996.
He was criticized during his first season in 1997 (he had played 9 games in 1996) for being too aggressive at the plate. Nonetheless, he put up solid numbers for a rookie, batting .302 with 11 HRs and 40 RBI in just 325 at-bats.
Guerrero led all major league outfielders in errors in 1997 (12; tied), 1998 (17), 1999 (19), 2000 (10; tied), and 2001 (12; tied). He also led all NL outfielders in errors in 2002 (10), and led all AL outfielders in 2006 (11), and 2007 (9).
Guerrero batted .324 with 38 HRs and 109 RBI in 1998. Before the end of the 1998 season, Guerrero agreed to a $28 million deal. Guerrero represented the Expos at the 1999 All-Star Game. During the 1999 season, Guerrero maintained a 31-game hitting streak‚ the longest in the majors in 12 years.[19] He finished 1999 with 131 RBI, and in 2000, he hit 44 home runs; both figures are career highs.
On July 7, 2001, Guerrero threw out Alberto Castillo in one of the most exalted throws in Major League Baseball history. After a base hit by Toronto, Castillo, then a baserunner on second base, saw a patent opportunity to reach home base to score a run as the batter had hit the ball well into deep-right field. Guerrero caught the ball off a bounce and launched the ball all the way to his catcher, who received the throw squarely in his mitt without trouble or even having to retrieve it off a roll or bounce. Castillo was put out short of home base. The throw’s distance has been estimated to have been roughly three hundred feet, with its vertical arch peaking at merely twenty-one feet.
He posted similar or slightly improved numbers through the 2002 season. He also developed a running game, stealing 37 bases in 2001. In 2002, he stole a career-high 40 bases, and fell one home run short of becoming the fourth member of the “40-40 Club.” However, he hit 30+ home runs and stole 30+ bases in both 2001 and 2002 (see 30–30 club).
Guerrero’s 2003 season was shortened due to a back injury. In 394 at-bats, he hit .330 with 25 home runs and 79 RBIs. Because of the injury, some in the media thought signing him would be a risk. While he was playing injured, though, he still managed to hit for the cycle on September 14, 2003.
Throughout his career, he set single season Expos records in Batting average, slugging, OPS, home runs, RBI, TB, hits, XBH, TOB, IBB, as well as several other records. He is the all time Expos career leader in batting average (.323), home runs (234), slugging (.588), and OPS (.978). He won the Montreal Expos Player of the Year award in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002.
During his first season with Angels, Guerrero led his club, and in some cases the American League (AL), in several offensive categories, including 124 runs (set new club record and led the AL), 13 outfield assists (Tied for 1st in AL), 366 total bases (tied club record and led AL), and a season ending batting average of .337 (3rd in AL). He was the second player in club history with .300/30/100 numbers. Among AL leaders, he finished in the top 10 of 20 major offensive categories, which led to Guerrero being voted the Gene Autry Trophy (Team MVP) by his teammates. Making his fifth MLB All-Star game appearance in July, he led AL outfielders with 3,024,870 votes and was the first Angel outfielder to be a starter since Reggie Jackson in 1984.
Guerrero continued his offensive dominance in September, earning American League Player of the Month after batting .371 with 24 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, 10 home runs and 23 RBI. Guerrero was clutch down the stretch. Over the final seven games of the season, his 10 runs, six home runs and 11 RBI helped the Angels overcome a 3-game deficit, which ultimately led to an American League West Division Crown.
Down the stretch of the 2004 MLB season, Guerrero was impressive. Mike Scioscia, the Angels manager, said that Guerrero “really carried us on his back” in the last month of the season, as the Angels overtook first place from the faltering Oakland Athletics who finished the season one game behind in the standings. Guerrero leading the Angels to their first Western Division title since 1986 (The Angels won the 2002 World Series as the American League Wild Card). These late-season heroics led to Guerrero being chosen as the second Angel to win the AL MVP in franchise history. He finished with 354 points, 100 more than second-place finisher Gary Sheffield.
In the opening best-of-5 round of the playoffs, the Angels were swept by the Boston Red Sox, and Guerrero had an odd batting line: just a .167 average, but six RBIs in three games. He would also have a grand slam in Game 3.
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The Angels won the Western Division again in 2005, with Guerrero batting .317 with 32 home runs and 108 RBIs in 520 at bats. Late in the season, Guerrero became the 12th player to hit his 300th home run before the age of 30 (along with Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx,Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Harmon Killebrew, Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, Jr., Juan González, andAndruw Jones, who achieved the mark about the same time as Guerrero).
Guerrero had an up-and-down 2005 postseason, batting .389 in ALDS victory over the New York Yankees, but just .050 in the ALCSagainst the eventual world champion Chicago White Sox. He fared better in a national TV ad for Pepsi with the Yankees‘ third baseman Alex Rodriguez; the two engaged in a personal home run competition that ended up with the moon being broken. Guerrero also appeared at Game Four of the 2005 World Series, where he was introduced as a member of Major League Baseball’s Latino Legends Team.
Guerrero recorded his 1,000th career RBI on July 15, 2006 at home against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Making his 8th Major League Baseball All-Star game appearance, Guerrero subsequently won his first career Home Run Derby in the2007 season, highlighted by a 503-foot (153 m) home run. He is the third Angel to win the Derby (after Wally Joyner in 1986, and Garret Anderson in 2003). Guerrero was chosen for the All-Star Game in each of his first four seasons with the Angels (2004–2007). Guerrero’s stellar fielding talent dwindled in the later 2000s due to age and injuries, prompting the long-time outfielder to be reassigned as a designated hitter at the start of the 2009 season.
On August 10, Guerrero hit his 400th career home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Russ Springer. On August 26, he recorded his 1,000th career hit as an Angel, a single off Detroit Tigers pitcher Edwin Jackson. This hit made Guerrero only the fourth player (Frank Robinson, Dave Winfield, Fred McGriff) to record 1,000 hits as a National League player and as an American league player.
On October 11, Guerrero hit a two-run RBI single to score Bobby Abreu and Chone Figgins off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth-inning. The single gave the Angels a 7–6 lead and eventually the win to finally advance to the ALCS and beat the Boston Red Sox for the first time ever in postseason history. It was called “the biggest hit in Vlad’s career.”
2009 was the first time that Guerrero had a batting average below .300 (.295), an OPS below .800 (.794), or a doubles total less than 20 (16).
He set 15 team records – 10 career, 5 single season – during his tenure with the Angels.
He broke up a no-hitter by Shaun Marcum in the seventh inning of the Opening Day game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 5, 2010. On May 6, 2010 Guerrero hit two home runs versus the Kansas City Royals to secure a 13–12 win. On May 13, 2010, Guerrero’s walk off line drive to left field won the final game of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the twelfth. On May 25, 2010 he hit two more home runs to secure another win over the Kansas City Royals. On June 30, 2010, against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Guerrero hit two home runs and went 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs.
Guerrero signed a one-year, US $8 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles on February 18, 2011. He became the all-time MLB hits leader among Dominican-born players when he singled off Josh Beckett in the sixth inning of a 6–3 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards on September 26, 2011. In 2011, Guerrero hit .290, his lowest batting average since his rookie year with the Montreal Expos in 1996. He also had 13 home runs and 63 RBIs on a struggling Orioles team. Though it seemed like an unproductive year for him, Guerrero still hit in the top 20 and had 163 base hits.
