[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 2015 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot was historic as no players ended being inducted. It was the first blank ballot since 1987 and only the fifth since 1924. Playing a big role was the lack of impactful debuts. The top newcomer was CL Emery Gulbranson who only received 32.0%, well short of the 66% requirement.



Some returners got very close, led by CF Tyler Ryabenko at 65.1% on his second try. 2B Elias Wilson had 63.7% and C Elliott McKay got 62.0%, both on their eighth ballots. CL Brendan Gordon had 60.9% in his tenth and final chance. Also cracking 50% were SS Robert Hightower with 54.9% for his second go, SP Qazi Khwaja at 54.6% in his sixth ballot, and SP Keifer Bobbins with 52.5% for his second attempt.

For Gordon, he never fell below 50% and got as high as 63.8% in 2014. He won Reliever of the Year in 1987 and in 15 seasons had a 1.84 ERA, 304 saves, 377 shutdowns, 850.1 innings, 1320 strikeouts, 255 walks, 207 ERA+, and 47.8 WAR. Gordon’s ERA was better than any of the relievers that got inducted and his WAR would’ve ranked sixth compared to the other inducted relievers.

However, many of the traditionalist voters thought his save total was too low, although there had been others with similar lines that made it. Gordon only won ROTY once, although he finished second four times. Hurting him was poor playoff efforts during Atlanta’s regular berths with a 4.08 ERA over 35.1 innings. Still, it was surprising to see Gordon miss out considering the criteria used for prior relievers and the lack of competition on the ballot.

Also dropped after ten failed ballots was another reliever in Christopher Fournier. He got as high as 50.6% in his second ballot, but fell as low as 8.8% before ending at 35.6%. Fournier also had one Reliever of the Year and ended with 293 saves and 348 shutdowns, a 1.70 ERA, 830.2 innings, 1206 strikeouts, 223 ERA+, and 45.6 WAR.

Most of the same critiques of Gordon could be used for Fournier. He also struggled in his limited playoff appearances with a 5.79 ERA over 14 innings. Fournier also had only the one ROTY, although Fournier’s ERA was actually better than anyone in MLB’s Hall of Fame. The 2015 MLB voters though were much stricter looking at relievers compared to the older generation, leaving both guys out.