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All told, there were 40 ballots placed, but as usual, a chunk (about one-third seems to be standard - here, it was 30%) had to be discarded. That left us with 28 valid submissions, meaning that 21 votes were needed to make it in. Six men reached that level, as follows:
- Mike Piazza, 96.4% - That’s a huge leap-up for Piazza, who was named on only 56.8% last year, when he made it into the real Hall of Fame. This time, he came within one vote of becoming our first unanimous selection.
- John Smoltz, 92.9% - Smoltz had been turned away by the SnakePit in both 2015 and 2016, despite going to Cooperstown two years ago. But he came close last season, with 64.9%, and easily entered it here.
- Jeff Bagwell, 82.1% - The SnakePit was in agreement with the BBWAA, electing Bagwell in his first year of eligibility, and with a not dissimilar approval rating (the BBWAA gave him 86.2%).
- Craig Biggio, 82.1% - Like Smoltz, Biggio had been weighed and found wanting on the SnakePit the first two ballots, and also got 64.9% in 2016. His improvement this year was not quite as dramatic, but was still enough.
- Vlad Guerrero, 75.0% - Squeaking in, with absolutely the minimum necessary was Guerrero, who becomes the first player elected to the SnakePit Hall before Cooperstown. But at 71.7% from the BBWAA, they’ll catch up soon enough.
- Curt Schilling, 75.0% - It may be a tougher furrow for Curt Schilling, who saw his percentage go back this year. But the SnakePit apparently decided his performances (and AZ ties?) outweighed his, ah, “controversial” views.
Interestingly, neither Ivan Rodriguez nor Tim Raines, both elected by the BBWAA this year, made in to the SnakePit. Pudge ended up a vote short, at 71.4%, while Raines was further back, at 60.7%. As in the real election, both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens did see an increase, but are still short of qualification for now.
Here are the full results, with the percentages both in raw votes, and after non-member votes had been discarded [though in the end, it didn’t make any difference, with the same six players reaching the 75% level, both before and after verification].
2017 SnakePit Hall of Fame Voting
| Player | Raw | Valid |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Raw | Valid |
| Mike Piazza | 90.0% | 96.4% |
| John Smoltz | 92.5% | 92.9% |
| Jeff Bagwell | 80.0% | 82.1% |
| Craig Biggio | 77.5% | 82.1% |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 72.5% | 75.0% |
| Curt Schilling | 75.0% | 75.0% |
| Ivan Rodriguez | 67.5% | 71.4% |
| Barry Bonds | 60.0% | 64.3% |
| Trevor Hoffman | 70.0% | 64.3% |
| Tim Raines | 55.0% | 60.7% |
| Roger Clemens | 57.5% | 57.1% |
| Mike Mussina | 55.0% | 57.1% |
| Larry Walker | 50.0% | 53.6% |
| Edgar Martinez | 40.0% | 46.4% |
| Manny Ramirez | 42.5% | 46.4% |
| Fred McGriff | 37.5% | 42.9% |
| Jeff Kent | 30.0% | 32.1% |
| Gary Sheffield | 35.0% | 32.1% |
| Jorge Posada | 27.5% | 25.0% |
| Edgar Renteria | 15.0% | 14.3% |
| Melvin Mora | 7.5% | 10.7% |
| Magglio Ordonez | 10.0% | 10.7% |
| Jason Varitek | 5.0% | 7.1% |
| Tim Wakefield | 10.0% | 7.1% |
| Mike Cameron | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| J.D. Drew | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| Matt Stairs | 2.5% | 3.6% |
| Casey Blake | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pat Burrell | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Orlando Cabrera | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Carlos Guillen | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Derrek Lee | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Arthur Rhodes | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Freddy Sanchez | 0.0% | 0.0% |
SnakePit Hall of Fame
- 2015 - Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez
- 2016 - Ken Griffey Jr.
- 2017 - Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Vlad Guerrero, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, John Smoltz
Half of this year’s class (Biggio, Piazza and Smoltz) has previously gone to Cooperstown, and that means the SnakePit Hall is now in line with the 2015 and 2016 BBWAA inductees, and overall has elected the same number (9) in our three years of existence. Seven of the nine are common - we have also added Guerrero and Schilling, while Rodriguez and Raines are still outside. The former will get another shot next year, but with 2016 being Raines’s last year of eligibility, he becomes the first man certain to be in Cooperstown, but not the SnakePit Hall of Fame.