Indians: Former players could be hurt with odd Hall of Fame voting

There are several former Cleveland Indians on the 2020 Hall of Fame ballot who could have their chances hurt by a mind-boggling style of voting.

Hall of Fame voting always seems to take on a life of its own.

That is bound to happen with any subjective voting process.

Not all Hall of Fame voters have a weird agenda. Writers who cover the Cleveland Indians, or any team, may actually take time to sit down and consider the best available options. Others covering the same team may try to make a statement and do something foolish.

Or be like this guy:

Voters are able to choose up to 10 players. And to be fair, there may not be that many guys worthy of a vote every single year. But only voting for Derek Jeter in this instance is an example of someone making a statement for no good reason.

The Hall of Fame is a great honor for any player, obviously. Yet some voters act like it is an affront to the gods if certain guys get in. It’s just baseball. Reward guys who gave their all for years and did well. Leave the nonsense out of it.

Former Indians like Omar Vizquel, Manny Ramirez, and Cliff Lee are on the ballot this year and any of these “Just Jeter” ballots hurt their chances of ever being elected. The above ballot is not the only one of its kind and we are still early in the voting process.

There are voters who want a small Hall. Others who want the “steroid” guys to get in. Others who want those players banished forever. Then there are those who protest and don’t vote at all. It is all a bizarre spectacle for something that is simply supposed to be fun.

A great player who was rude to the media? Good luck making it in. A decent player who was the media’s best friend. A sure Hall of Famer.

Jeter, for all the hate he gets, deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. But he is not the only worthy member on this ballot. That is a waste of a ballot and there should be more stringent regulations on who is allowed to vote after making such decisions.

I am frustrated annually over these dumb voting decisions, and it is something that has been done by a specific Cleveland writer in the recent past. Baseball lags far behind in modernizing the business and promotional side of the game. This voting process is part of the problem.