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FuzzyRussianHat · 04-06-2025, 06:18 AM

Major League Baseball’s 2029 Hall of Fame ballot nearly ended up empty, but one player got across the 66% requirement. That was 3B Jeanpaul Vick at 73.3%, finally making it on his tenth and final ballot. Two debuts came very close with closer Tyler Sattler at 63.5% and C Dominick Hennessy at 63.2%. Also above 60% was CL Etzel Urban with 62.3% on his second ballot and 3B Kieran Wilson at 60.2% in his tenth and last chance.

Four other players were above 50%, but below 60%. LF Lorenzen Campbell was at 56.5% in his debut, while CL Jeremy Dau had the same on his eighth go. CL Sebastian Gomez received 55.3% for his sixth ballot and 1B Colin Jordan had 53.5% on his tenth try.

For Kieran Wilson, his 60.2% was his peak ballot and he was never below 40%. He had a 20-year career with one MVP, three Silver Sluggers, and two World Series wins with San Diego. Wilson’s longest tenure was 12 years with Las Vegas, who later retired his #39 uniform. Injuries did limit his final tallies despite the length of his run.

Wilson played 2325 games with 2463 hits, 1223 runs, 425 doubles, 405 home runs, 1346 RBI, .291/.336/.498 slash, 131 wRC+, and 82.5 WAR. His resume was somewhat similar to 2029 inductee Jeanpaul Vick, but Vick had 700+ more games to raise his accumulations. Wilson ranks 17^th in WAR at 3B as of 2037, but he didn’t have prolific power and didn’t quite get to the benchmarks many voters wanted.

For Colin Jordan, he had a 19-year MLB run, then spent his final four seasons in the Arab League. He lacked big awards and black ink with only one Silver Slugger, but was a nine-time All-Star. Jordan was most notable as the 2001 World Series MVP with Nashville, where he spent his first nine seasons. His 53.5% mark in 2029 was his peak with a low of 34.9% in 2022.

Jordan in MLB had 2403 games, 2734 hits, 1338 runs, 535 doubles, 404 homers, 1446 RBI, .307/.356/.511 slash, 138 wRC+, and 75.2 WAR. First base has tough competition though and expects big time slugging stats. Had Jordan not left for his final four years, he might have gotten the benchmarks required. Adding his ALB years, he had 3285 hits, 1642 runs, 642 doubles, 543 homers, 1831 RBI, and 90.0 WAR; tallies that probably get you in. Jordan remains popular in Nashville for his role in their title, but is a Hall of Pretty Good type.

CF Damien Yang also fell off after ten failed ballots, peaking at 40.9% in 2021 and ending at a low of 14.6%. The Hong Kong native had an 18-year career between Phoenix and Quebec City and won 11 Gold Gloves, tied for the MLB position record. Yang won two World Series rings with the Firebirds and one Silver Slugger. Defensively, Yang ranks fourth among all MLB CFs in accumulated zone rating at 268.7.

Yang’s overall stats had 2627 games, 2694 hits, 1516 runs, 303 doubles, 89 triples, 123 homers, 721 RBI, 1282 walks, 746 stolen bases, .272/.357/.357 slash, 108 wRC+, and 95.9 WAR. Yang’s incredible defensive value got him to 66^th on the position player WAR list as of 2037 and tenth in WAR at CF. His bat was simply too weak though to resonate with most Hall of Fame voters, although he does deserve mention whenever you discuss MLB’s best-ever glovemen.

Jeanpaul Vick – Third Base – Seattle Grizzlies – 73.3% Tenth Ballot

Jeanpaul Vick was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed corner infielder from Breckenridge, Colorado; a town of around 5,000 people. Vick had a well-rounded bat with good to occasionally great contact and power against both sides. He had a solid eye for drawing walks and was decent at avoiding strikeouts. Vick wasn’t going to provide overwhelming power, but his 162 game average still got you a respectable 25 home runs, 23 doubles, and 5 triples.

Vick’s speed and baserunning ability graded as delightfully average. He made around 80% of his starts at third base with consistently average to above average defensive production. Vick spent some time in his final years at first base and was rock solid there, even winning a Gold Glove in 2011 at age 39.

His durability was excellent in his 20s and mostly good in his 30s apart from a few small things here and there. Vick wasn’t disruptive by any means, but he was considered a bit of a loner. He just wanted to clock in, collect his paycheck, and clock out. Still, Vick’s remarkably steady and consistent production made him a popular and reliable player throughout a 21-year career.

Despite being the model of steady consistency in the end, Vick was a very highly touted prospect after four years at Alabama. He played 189 games with 212 hits, 158 runs, 33 doubles, 42 homers, 117 RBI, 143 walks, .313/.438/.551 slash, 182 wRC+, and 11.4 WAR. As of 2037, Vick is the all-time NCAA leader in runs scored and ranks third in walks. He won a Silver Slugger in 1991, helping the Crimson Tide to their first College World Series win against Illinois.

In the 1991 MLB Draft, Vick was the #1 overall pick by Salt Lake City. However, he couldn’t come to terms with the Loons and returned for his senior season. SLC had the #2 pick in the 1992 MLB Draft because Vick didn’t sign and chose him again. This time, they came to terms with a five-year, $10,850,000 deal to make Vick far richer than your typical entry level players.

Vick was a high level starter right away, taking second in 1993 Rookie of the Year voting. His two Silver Sluggers came with the Loons in 1994 and 1996. In 1996, Vick had his career bests in runs (110), hits (191), homers (36), RBI (116), batting average (.319), slugging (.569), OPS (.966), wRC+ (156), and WAR (9.1). All eight of his SLC seasons were worth 4.5+ WAR with five seasons above 6+ WAR. However, he was never a league leader or MVP candidate.

Salt Lake City was a 1982 expansion team and took a while to find success. With Vick, they started to hover more around .500 after being well below generally in the 1980s. In 2000, the Loons had their first-ever wild card, but went one-and-done. Vick was 0-9 in his lone playoff starts with Salt Lake City. They would see more regular contention in the 2000s, but Vick was gone after the 2000 campaign to seek out free agent money.

For the Loons, Vick had 1247 games, 1370 hits, 743 runs, 197 doubles, 40 triples, 220 home runs, 785 RBI, 542 walks, .292/.368/.492 slash, 133 wRC+, and 51.3 WAR. It was his most statistically impressive run, but Vick would become better known for his Seattle tenure. He played slightly more games with the Grizzlies and opted to be inducted in the green and gold despite having better metrics as a Loon.

The 29-year old Vick signed a five-year, $47 million deal with Seattle, who was coming off their first-ever American Association pennant. The Grizzlies hoped Vick could solidify their depth and deliver that first World Series ring. His first two years were his best with 7.0 WAR and 6.1 WAR. Vick was never above 5 WAR after that, but was usually around 3-4 WAR most seasons. You knew what you were going to get with him and could focus on plugging other holes in the lineup.

Seattle had the top seed from 2001-03, but couldn’t get over the hump despite winning 108, 104, and 113 games. The Grizzlies fell in the AACS in 2001 and 2003 with a second round exit in the middle. Vick’s playoff numbers were solid though as he handled his business as expected. Seattle fell two games short of the wild card in 2004, ending a six-year playoff streak.

In 2005, Seattle bounced back with the top seed at 105-57 and finally broke through, winning their first-ever World Series title over Philadelphia. Vick was MVP of the second round and over 15 playoff starts had 19 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 4 home runs, 13 RBI, 10 walks, 1.122 OPS, and 0.7 WAR. This was the last year of his deal and the now 34-year old opted to try his hand again at free agency.

After testing the market for a month, Vick returned to the Grizzlies on a four-year, $38,400,000 deal. Seattle got the top seed in 2007 at 102-60, but was upset by San Diego in the AACS. They were out of the playoffs and mid for the other years of Vick’s deal. In total for the Grizzlies, Vick had 1312 games, 1314 hits, 717 runs, 189 doubles, 192 home runs, 690 RBI, 590 walks, .280/.364/.459 slash, 124 wRC+, and 38.4 WAR.

Vick was now 38 and a free agent again, signing a two-year, $23,100,000 deal with Los Angeles. He still provided positive value, but his bat had regressed to average at best marks by this point with 102 wRC+ and .700 OPS over 260 games with 3.6 WAR. Vick did win his lone Gold Glove in 2011 when moved to first base and passed the 1500 run and 1500 RBI milestones.

LA made the playoffs both years he was there, but fell in the first round both times. Vick’s playoff career stats were actually more statistically impressive than his regular season tallies with 53 games, 46 starts, 53 hits, 25 runs, 8 doubles, 10 home runs, 33 RBI, .325/.407/.558 slash, 154 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. He was now 40-years old and signed a one-year deal for 2012 with Louisville.

A strained abdominal cost him close to two months, but Vick still had 1.8 WAR and .694 OPS over 112 games for the Lynx. He joined Boston in 2013 and again lost time to a strained abdominal. Vick had 111 games, .640 OPS, and 0.8 WAR for the Red Sox, but notably joined the 3000 hit club while there. Vick still wanted to play in 2014 but had limited utility at that point. He had a brief tryout in August 2014 with Las Vegas, but was cut after going 0-5 in two games. Vick retired that winter at age 43.

In total, Vick had 3044 games, 3071 hits, 1658 runs, 435 doubles, 89 triples, 470 home runs, 1666 RBI, 1321 walks, 1720 strikeouts, 178 steals, .277/.357/.460 slash, 125 wRC+, and 95.7 WAR. As of 2037, Vick ranks 16^th in games played and is one of only 20 guy with 3000+ MLB games. He’s also 59^th in hits, 65^th in runs, 69^th in RBI, 76^th in total bases (5094), 35^th in walks, and 68^th in WAR among position players.

Vick’s resume was a tough one for many Hall of Fame voters. Those who valued longevity and consistency felt he was an obvious pick, but many put far more emphasis on peaks. Vick didn’t have black ink and his awards were quite limited. Detractors felt he merely sustained above average-ness for 20 years and thus wasn’t at the Hall of Fame level.

Supporters noted his tenure and consistency, along with good playoff numbers and a key role in Seattle’s first World Series win. Detractors countered that a guy with 3000+ games should’ve finished with higher tallies. 3000+ hits, 1500+ runs, and 1500+ RBI were usually pretty strong benchmarks though. Vick also ranked 10^th in WAR specifically at third base despite having a lacking trophy shelf compared to those in similar company.

Vick debuted at a rock solid 57.3%, but hardly any voters changed their opinion over the coming years. From 2020-26, Vick was always between 54-60%. He finally cracked the 60% mark in 2027 at 63.2%, but fell back to 59.8% in 2028. 2029 was his tenth and final chance and Vick had the benefit of not having any slam dunk debutants to compete with. Some of the detractors finally budged and Vick got 73.3%, making him the lone inductee into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2029. Vick became the fifth to make MLB’s HOF on their tenth and final ballot.

04-06-2025, 06:18 AM	#2192
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,575	2029 MLB Hall of Fame Major League Baseball’s 2029 Hall of Fame ballot nearly ended up empty, but one player got across the 66% requirement. That was 3B Jeanpaul Vick at 73.3%, finally making it on his tenth and final ballot. Two debuts came very close with closer Tyler Sattler at 63.5% and C Dominick Hennessy at 63.2%. Also above 60% was CL Etzel Urban with 62.3% on his second ballot and 3B Kieran Wilson at 60.2% in his tenth and last chance. Four other players were above 50%, but below 60%. LF Lorenzen Campbell was at 56.5% in his debut, while CL Jeremy Dau had the same on his eighth go. CL Sebastian Gomez received 55.3% for his sixth ballot and 1B Colin Jordan had 53.5% on his tenth try. For Kieran Wilson, his 60.2% was his peak ballot and he was never below 40%. He had a 20-year career with one MVP, three Silver Sluggers, and two World Series wins with San Diego. Wilson’s longest tenure was 12 years with Las Vegas, who later retired his #39 uniform. Injuries did limit his final tallies despite the length of his run. Wilson played 2325 games with 2463 hits, 1223 runs, 425 doubles, 405 home runs, 1346 RBI, .291/.336/.498 slash, 131 wRC+, and 82.5 WAR. His resume was somewhat similar to 2029 inductee Jeanpaul Vick, but Vick had 700+ more games to raise his accumulations. Wilson ranks 17^th in WAR at 3B as of 2037, but he didn’t have prolific power and didn’t quite get to the benchmarks many voters wanted. For Colin Jordan, he had a 19-year MLB run, then spent his final four seasons in the Arab League. He lacked big awards and black ink with only one Silver Slugger, but was a nine-time All-Star. Jordan was most notable as the 2001 World Series MVP with Nashville, where he spent his first nine seasons. His 53.5% mark in 2029 was his peak with a low of 34.9% in 2022. Jordan in MLB had 2403 games, 2734 hits, 1338 runs, 535 doubles, 404 homers, 1446 RBI, .307/.356/.511 slash, 138 wRC+, and 75.2 WAR. First base has tough competition though and expects big time slugging stats. Had Jordan not left for his final four years, he might have gotten the benchmarks required. Adding his ALB years, he had 3285 hits, 1642 runs, 642 doubles, 543 homers, 1831 RBI, and 90.0 WAR; tallies that probably get you in. Jordan remains popular in Nashville for his role in their title, but is a Hall of Pretty Good type. CF Damien Yang also fell off after ten failed ballots, peaking at 40.9% in 2021 and ending at a low of 14.6%. The Hong Kong native had an 18-year career between Phoenix and Quebec City and won 11 Gold Gloves, tied for the MLB position record. Yang won two World Series rings with the Firebirds and one Silver Slugger. Defensively, Yang ranks fourth among all MLB CFs in accumulated zone rating at 268.7. Yang’s overall stats had 2627 games, 2694 hits, 1516 runs, 303 doubles, 89 triples, 123 homers, 721 RBI, 1282 walks, 746 stolen bases, .272/.357/.357 slash, 108 wRC+, and 95.9 WAR. Yang’s incredible defensive value got him to 66^th on the position player WAR list as of 2037 and tenth in WAR at CF. His bat was simply too weak though to resonate with most Hall of Fame voters, although he does deserve mention whenever you discuss MLB’s best-ever glovemen. Jeanpaul Vick – Third Base – Seattle Grizzlies – 73.3% Tenth Ballot Jeanpaul Vick was a 6’4’’, 200 pound right-handed corner infielder from Breckenridge, Colorado; a town of around 5,000 people. Vick had a well-rounded bat with good to occasionally great contact and power against both sides. He had a solid eye for drawing walks and was decent at avoiding strikeouts. Vick wasn’t going to provide overwhelming power, but his 162 game average still got you a respectable 25 home runs, 23 doubles, and 5 triples. Vick’s speed and baserunning ability graded as delightfully average. He made around 80% of his starts at third base with consistently average to above average defensive production. Vick spent some time in his final years at first base and was rock solid there, even winning a Gold Glove in 2011 at age 39. His durability was excellent in his 20s and mostly good in his 30s apart from a few small things here and there. Vick wasn’t disruptive by any means, but he was considered a bit of a loner. He just wanted to clock in, collect his paycheck, and clock out. Still, Vick’s remarkably steady and consistent production made him a popular and reliable player throughout a 21-year career. Despite being the model of steady consistency in the end, Vick was a very highly touted prospect after four years at Alabama. He played 189 games with 212 hits, 158 runs, 33 doubles, 42 homers, 117 RBI, 143 walks, .313/.438/.551 slash, 182 wRC+, and 11.4 WAR. As of 2037, Vick is the all-time NCAA leader in runs scored and ranks third in walks. He won a Silver Slugger in 1991, helping the Crimson Tide to their first College World Series win against Illinois. In the 1991 MLB Draft, Vick was the #1 overall pick by Salt Lake City. However, he couldn’t come to terms with the Loons and returned for his senior season. SLC had the #2 pick in the 1992 MLB Draft because Vick didn’t sign and chose him again. This time, they came to terms with a five-year, $10,850,000 deal to make Vick far richer than your typical entry level players. Vick was a high level starter right away, taking second in 1993 Rookie of the Year voting. His two Silver Sluggers came with the Loons in 1994 and 1996. In 1996, Vick had his career bests in runs (110), hits (191), homers (36), RBI (116), batting average (.319), slugging (.569), OPS (.966), wRC+ (156), and WAR (9.1). All eight of his SLC seasons were worth 4.5+ WAR with five seasons above 6+ WAR. However, he was never a league leader or MVP candidate. Salt Lake City was a 1982 expansion team and took a while to find success. With Vick, they started to hover more around .500 after being well below generally in the 1980s. In 2000, the Loons had their first-ever wild card, but went one-and-done. Vick was 0-9 in his lone playoff starts with Salt Lake City. They would see more regular contention in the 2000s, but Vick was gone after the 2000 campaign to seek out free agent money. For the Loons, Vick had 1247 games, 1370 hits, 743 runs, 197 doubles, 40 triples, 220 home runs, 785 RBI, 542 walks, .292/.368/.492 slash, 133 wRC+, and 51.3 WAR. It was his most statistically impressive run, but Vick would become better known for his Seattle tenure. He played slightly more games with the Grizzlies and opted to be inducted in the green and gold despite having better metrics as a Loon. The 29-year old Vick signed a five-year, $47 million deal with Seattle, who was coming off their first-ever American Association pennant. The Grizzlies hoped Vick could solidify their depth and deliver that first World Series ring. His first two years were his best with 7.0 WAR and 6.1 WAR. Vick was never above 5 WAR after that, but was usually around 3-4 WAR most seasons. You knew what you were going to get with him and could focus on plugging other holes in the lineup. Seattle had the top seed from 2001-03, but couldn’t get over the hump despite winning 108, 104, and 113 games. The Grizzlies fell in the AACS in 2001 and 2003 with a second round exit in the middle. Vick’s playoff numbers were solid though as he handled his business as expected. Seattle fell two games short of the wild card in 2004, ending a six-year playoff streak. In 2005, Seattle bounced back with the top seed at 105-57 and finally broke through, winning their first-ever World Series title over Philadelphia. Vick was MVP of the second round and over 15 playoff starts had 19 hits, 8 runs, 2 doubles, 4 home runs, 13 RBI, 10 walks, 1.122 OPS, and 0.7 WAR. This was the last year of his deal and the now 34-year old opted to try his hand again at free agency. After testing the market for a month, Vick returned to the Grizzlies on a four-year, $38,400,000 deal. Seattle got the top seed in 2007 at 102-60, but was upset by San Diego in the AACS. They were out of the playoffs and mid for the other years of Vick’s deal. In total for the Grizzlies, Vick had 1312 games, 1314 hits, 717 runs, 189 doubles, 192 home runs, 690 RBI, 590 walks, .280/.364/.459 slash, 124 wRC+, and 38.4 WAR. Vick was now 38 and a free agent again, signing a two-year, $23,100,000 deal with Los Angeles. He still provided positive value, but his bat had regressed to average at best marks by this point with 102 wRC+ and .700 OPS over 260 games with 3.6 WAR. Vick did win his lone Gold Glove in 2011 when moved to first base and passed the 1500 run and 1500 RBI milestones. LA made the playoffs both years he was there, but fell in the first round both times. Vick’s playoff career stats were actually more statistically impressive than his regular season tallies with 53 games, 46 starts, 53 hits, 25 runs, 8 doubles, 10 home runs, 33 RBI, .325/.407/.558 slash, 154 wRC+, and 1.8 WAR. He was now 40-years old and signed a one-year deal for 2012 with Louisville. A strained abdominal cost him close to two months, but Vick still had 1.8 WAR and .694 OPS over 112 games for the Lynx. He joined Boston in 2013 and again lost time to a strained abdominal. Vick had 111 games, .640 OPS, and 0.8 WAR for the Red Sox, but notably joined the 3000 hit club while there. Vick still wanted to play in 2014 but had limited utility at that point. He had a brief tryout in August 2014 with Las Vegas, but was cut after going 0-5 in two games. Vick retired that winter at age 43. In total, Vick had 3044 games, 3071 hits, 1658 runs, 435 doubles, 89 triples, 470 home runs, 1666 RBI, 1321 walks, 1720 strikeouts, 178 steals, .277/.357/.460 slash, 125 wRC+, and 95.7 WAR. As of 2037, Vick ranks 16^th in games played and is one of only 20 guy with 3000+ MLB games. He’s also 59^th in hits, 65^th in runs, 69^th in RBI, 76^th in total bases (5094), 35^th in walks, and 68^th in WAR among position players. Vick’s resume was a tough one for many Hall of Fame voters. Those who valued longevity and consistency felt he was an obvious pick, but many put far more emphasis on peaks. Vick didn’t have black ink and his awards were quite limited. Detractors felt he merely sustained above average-ness for 20 years and thus wasn’t at the Hall of Fame level. Supporters noted his tenure and consistency, along with good playoff numbers and a key role in Seattle’s first World Series win. Detractors countered that a guy with 3000+ games should’ve finished with higher tallies. 3000+ hits, 1500+ runs, and 1500+ RBI were usually pretty strong benchmarks though. Vick also ranked 10^th in WAR specifically at third base despite having a lacking trophy shelf compared to those in similar company. Vick debuted at a rock solid 57.3%, but hardly any voters changed their opinion over the coming years. From 2020-26, Vick was always between 54-60%. He finally cracked the 60% mark in 2027 at 63.2%, but fell back to 59.8% in 2028. 2029 was his tenth and final chance and Vick had the benefit of not having any slam dunk debutants to compete with. Some of the detractors finally budged and Vick got 73.3%, making him the lone inductee into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2029. Vick became the fifth to make MLB’s HOF on their tenth and final ballot. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)