Baltimore Orioles: Former players on the newest Hall of Fame ballot

The 2018 Hall of Fame ballot was announced on Monday and several former Baltimore Orioles players were on it.

Will these former Baltimore Orioles players make it from the ballot into Cooperstown?

The players on the ballot include Mike Mussina, Vladimir Guerrero, Curt Schilling, Jim Thome, Aubrey Huff, Kevin Millwood, Sammy Sosa and Jamie Moyer. The full ballot is available on Baseball Reference.

The repeats on the ballot

Guerrero played his final season as a designated hitter with the O’s, but his most notable seasons were with the Montreal Expos and the Los Angeles Angels. Many are predicting that he will be voted into the Hall in his second time (this time) on the ballot.

Mussina pitched for the O’s for 10 seasons finishing with an ERA of 3.53 and WAR of 47.6. He earned five visits to the All-Star Game. And, in his career, which include seven seasons with the New York Yankees he won seven Gold Gloves. This is his 5th time on the ballot and most likely will not make it to the Hall. His numbers just aren’t good enough.

Schilling only pitched in five games in three seasons with the O’s. He’s in his sixth round on the ballot. While he was quite a pitcher in his heyday, his controversial reputation should prevent him from being enshrined in Cooperstown. “Integrity” is a part of the Hall of Fame requirements.

Believe it or not, but Sammy Sosa is still on the ballot. Like Guerrero, he played with the O’s as he ended his career. In Baltimore, he hit 14 home runs and batted .221/.295/.376 – nothing special. His history of PED use should keep him out of Cooperstown, too. This is his sixth time on the ballot.

The newest names on the ballot

Baltimore seems to be the ending spot for men who make it to the Hall of Fame ballot. Jim Thome played his final games with the O’s in 2012. He was the designated hitter in 28 games before calling it quits. The former infielder is predicted to make it in the Hall, but not on his first ballot.

Left-handed pitcher Jamie Moyer played for the O’s for three years between 1993 and 1995. In his 25 years of pitching he gave up an MLB leading 522 home runs. As a one-time All-Star, he will most likely not be a future Hall of Famer. He never won a Cy Young award and does not have any other awards to his name.

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Kevin Millwood pitched for the O’s in 2010, where he led the AL with 16 losses. He had one season where he topped the AL with the lowest ERA, but other than that, he only has one All-Star Game. Like Moyer, Millwood just doesn’t have the accolades to make it to the Hall or even the next ballot.

Aubrey Huff played for two and half seasons for the Orioles before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in 2009. Huff was never selected to an All-Star Game, but he did win a Silver Slugger in 2008 when he batted .304/.360/.552 with 32 home runs with the O’s. He most likely will not make it any farther than this ballot, especially with a career WAR of 20.2. For comparison purposes, Mike Mussina has a WAR of 121.

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Of course, it is always nice to just be nominated. Fortunately, the BBWAA voters are rather picky about who they let in as the standards are rather high.