Examining who should and who will make the 2015 Hall of Fame class

The new class of Hall of Famers will be announced Tuesday, and this time, the 500-plus voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America had a new wrinkle to debate. There are three dozen names or so on the ballot, but the voting rules from the Hall of Fame say that a voter can select no more than 10. The problem is that many voters think there are more than 10 qualified players. So, that means voters will come up with a unique strategy. Mike Berardino, who covers the Minnesota Twins for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, announced on Facebook that he's not voting for pitchers Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez, each on the ballot for the first time, because he believes they'll get the 75 percent of the votes needed to make Cooperstown anyway. Instead, Berardino will use his votes to help two struggling candidates, shortstop Alan Trammell and outfielder Larry Walker. It's difficult to imagine having a ballot that doesn't include votes for Martinez and Johnson, but that's the type of vote that could be a snapshot of this year's election. Other voters could follow Berardino's logic. The 10-player limit is a Hall rule. The baseball writers have petitioned the Hall to increase the limit to 12. That rule could be changed for next year's vote. There is a glut of players on the ballot that deserve a vote or strong consideration. Eventually, the players associated with steroids - Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds - will fall off the ballot. I voted for Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Tim Raines, Alan Trammell, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina and Mike Piazza. That means I left off Walker, Fred McGriff, Curt Schilling and Lee Smith. I'm not sure I would vote for Walker, McGriff and Smith anyway. Walker had 383 home runs and 1,311 RBIs playing in hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver. Smith had 478 saves, but doesn't seem to be in the same class as Goose Gossage or Dennis Eckersley, Hall of Fame closers. Gossage was a Yankee and Eckersley an Athletic, but which team did Smith play for? That's hard to identify. He played for eight teams in 18 seasons, including one season with the Orioles. And he didn't pitch well in the two postseasons with the Cubs and Red Sox. McGriff is a borderline Hall of Famer with 493 home runs and 1,550 RBIs. His case is similar to Jim Rice, who is in Cooperstown. Schilling had 216 career wins with a 3.46 ERA. He was a six-time All-Star and finished second three times and fourth once in the Cy Young Award balloting. He was on three World Series championship teams, including 2001 in Arizona when he was the Series MVP and 2004 and 2007 with Boston. Schilling had a 2.23 ERA in 19 postseason starts. There is time to vote for Schilling and he deserves the support. And so does Mussina, who pitched 10 years for the Orioles and eight for the Yankees. Mussina had 17 seasons of double-digit wins, including 11 with 15 or more. He finished with 280 wins and was one of the best pitchers of his era, no matter what standard is used. The BBWAA slights Trammell. If Cincinnati's Barry Larkin is in Cooperstown, than Detroit's Trammell should be, too. Each was a one-team superstar that defined a franchise. Trammell hit .285 with 2,365 hits and 185 home runs. Larkin hit .295 with 198 home runs and had 2,340 hits. Johnson, a devastating lefty, is a no-brainer with five Cy Young Awards, 10 All-Star appearances and 4,875 strikeouts. Smoltz gets in for his versatility. He had 213 wins as a starter, 153 saves a closer and when you think of the Braves in the 1990s, Smoltz comes to mind, along with Braves Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. Pedro Martinez was a three-time Cy Young winner and his average season was 17-8 with a 2.93 ERA and 217 innings pitched. The Hall doesn't have enough pitchers from Martinez's era. Piazza and Bagwell are hurt by rumors and speculation that they took steroids, but there is no smoking gun that says they did. So I can't withhold a vote because of that. Raines with 808 steals is another slight by the BBWAA. He's one of the top three leadoff hitters in the history of the game, joining Rickey Henderson and Lou Brock, who are both in the Hall. Raines had 2,605 hits and four stolen-base titles, including 90 with Montreal in 1983. Edgar Martinez is a long way from getting in, but he was a dangerous hitter who shouldn't be held out because he was a DH. The DH is a legitimate position. Martinez hit .312 and was a seven-time All-Star who won two American League batting titles. Biggio missed by two votes last year. He had 3,060 hits playing his entire career with the Astros. He should be in Cooperstown. That's a mistake that should be corrected this time. The prediction here is that Biggio, Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Smoltz will make Cooperstown. And that next year, voters will be allowed to pick an additional two players.