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Old 07-28-2019, 12:16 AM   #185
Dukie98
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Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 902
2039 Hall of Fame Voting

Although the Hall of Fame was dominated by pitchers in the early years, the 2039 ballot was dominated by position players. For the first time in HRDL history, four position players were elected to the Hall -- and no pitchers finished in the top ten of the balloting. Outfielders Reggie Smith and Heinie Manush were elected on their first time on the ballot with 97.8% and 85.1%, respectively, as was second baseman DJ LeMahieu, with 87.3%. Center fielder George Altman earned election with 82.3% on his third time on the ballot. All four players were members of the increasingly-crowded 3000-hit club.

Smith, a three-time MVP, was drafted third overall by the Birmingham Steelers following the 2017 season. After a strong rookie season, when Smith hit .309 with 17 homers, 87 RBI's, and 16 steals, he had a breakout campaign in 2019, hitting .350 and slugging .629, with 46 doubles, 39 homers, 105 RBI's, and a league-high 140 runs scored while finishing third in the MVP voting. After three more good-to-excellent seasons, he won his first MVP award in 2023, winning the batting title while hitting .364 with 42 doubles, 38 homers, 119 RBI's, and 30 steals. After signing as a free agent with Detroit in the offseason, he duplicated the feat, becoming the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues. In 2024, Smith hit .353 with 30 homers, 106 RBI's, and 105 runs scored, earning his second MVP trophy. Smith earned the trifecta in 2027, winning his second batting title by hitting .333, leading the league with 38 homers, driving in 121 runs, and scoring 131 runs. After a rare off-season, he rebounded with a vengeance in 2029, hitting .350 with 42 homers and a league-high 132 RBI's, finishing second in the MVP voting. After hitting .320 with 28 homers the following season, Smith signed with the London Werewolves in free agency, where he slugged over .500 three years in a row, including a 41-homer, 112 RBI season in 2033. Smith spent the last three years of his career with the Las Vegas Aces, sporting matching .533 slugging percentages in his first two seasons, while hitting 27 homers and driving in 107 runs in his age-38 farewell season. Over his 19-year career, he hit .313 with a .397 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage, with 3332 hits (9th all-time), 651 doubles (10th all-time), 513 homers, 1820 RBI's (10th all-time), 1919 runs (6th all-time), 302 steals, and 113.5 WAR (10th all-time). In addition to winning 3 MVP awards, Smith made seven All-Star teams and won six Silver Slugger awards. He had a relatively sparse postseason career, hitting .273 and slugging .431 with 8 homers in 64 games spread out over six postseasons.

Seven-time All-Star LeMahieu was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Pilots after the 2018 season. He started with a bang, winning the 2019 Frontier League Rookie of the Year award, after leading the league with 222 hits while hitting .334 with 38 doubles, 6 homers, 81 RBI's, and 27 steals while earning a Gold Glove. The following year, he won the batting title, hitting .348 and leading the league again with 216 hits, while ripping 34 doubles and 15 triples, while stealing 53 base. LeMahieu topped .300 in each of his first four seasons, clearing 200 hits each year while winning four consecutive Gold Gloves. In 2024, LeMahieu set a career-high with 226 hits, as he hit .334 and slugged .442 while swiping 25 bags. The following year, he led the league in hits again with 211, while batting .323 and scoring 99 runs. In 2026, he hit .322 with 208 hits and a career-high 121 runs scored. Following an injury-riddled 2028 campaign, he signed with the Calgary Cattle Rustlers in free agency, where he topped 200 hits three times in four years. In 2032, LeMahieu set career highs by hitting .369 and slugging .512, with 18 homers and 84 RBI's, while scoring 111 runs. He then signed with El Paso in the offseason, where he spent three years, hitting between .291 and .308 each year, and spent a final season with the Detroit Purple Gang. Over his storied career, LeMahieu hit .317 with a .380 on-base percentage and a .419 slugging percentage, including 3356 hits (7th all-time), 462 doubles, 133 homers, 1071 RBI's, 1587 runs scored, 360 steals, and 91.9 WAR. LeMahieu made six All-Star teams, won four Silver Sluggers and four Gold Gloves. Remarkably, he never made it out of the first round of the playoffs, losing six straight times in the first round, despite hitting .375 in both 2025 and 2026. LeMahieu hit .282 and scored 19 runs in 32 career playoff games.

Lett fielder Heinie Manush was drafted 13th overall by the Seattle Whales following the 2018 season. Manush broke out with a bang, winning the Frontier League Rookie of the Year award in 2019 after hitting .309 with 21 homers, 83 RBIs, and 33 steals, and he won both the League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP awards. After a solid sophomore campaign, where he hit .335 and slugged .516, Manush broke into stardom in 2022, winning the batting title by hitting .369, with 223 hits, 42 doubles, 25 homers, 104 RBI's, 114 runs scored, and 39 steals. He followed up with another strong season, hitting .359 with 56 doubles, 26 homers, 94 RBI's, and 112 runs scored in 2023. While Manush took a step back during the 2024 regular season, declining to .308 with 15 homers, he led the Whales to their second world championship, earning MVP honors once again for both the League Championship Series and the World Series, hitting over .450 in each series. The next year, Manush finished second in the MVP voting after hitting .344 with a league-high 47 doubles, along with 17 homers, 89 RBI's, 105 runs scored, and 31 steals. In the offseason, Manush signed with Virginia Beach as a free agent, and he immediately lived up to his contract: in his first season in the green and gold, he won his second batting title, hitting .355 and slugging .556, with 45 doubles, 23 homers, and 111 RBI's, while finishing fifth in the MVP balloting. He spent seven seasons in Virginia Beach, hitting over .315 with at least 30 steals every season, and he slugged over .500 five times. Perhaps his finest season for the Admirals was 2030, when he hit .345 with 48 doubles, 26 homers, a career-high 116 RBI's, and 37 steals. He followed that up with consecutive seasons batting .347 and .349, including 50 doubles, 23 homers, 106 RBI's, and 41 steals in 2032. Manush closed out his career by spending four seasons with the San Antonio Marksmen, and he hit .322 with 15 homers and 39 steals in 2033, his first season with the club. He retired with a career .328 average (14th all-time), a .402 on-base percentage, and a .513 slugging percentage, with 3044 hits, 640 doubles (11th all-time), 313 homers, 1447 RBI's, 1531 runs scored, 541 steals, and 81.9 WAR. He made six All-Star teams and won three Silver Slugger awards. Manush was a terrific postseason hitter, winning two World Series MVP awards, and posting a career, 323 average with 45 runs scored and 19 steals in 68 career games.

Altman, a five-time All-Star vastly exceeded the modest expectations that arrived when he was drafted 73rd overall by the Washington Ambassadors after the 2015 season. After a solid rookie season, where he hit .270 with 19 homers and 96 RBI's, Altman had a br.eakout sophomore campaign, hitting .340 and slugging .556 with 68 extra-base hits, including 24 homers and 104 RBI's. The next three years, he hit either 33 or 34 homers and topped 100 RBI's each season, peaking with a .335 average, a league-high 54 doubles, and 33 homers in 2019, when he finished fourth in the league in MVP voting. Altman continued to be a prodigious hitter, and in 2024, he hit .323 with 27 homers, and a league-leading 148 RBI's. He led the league in RBI's again the following year, hitting .324 with 21 round-trippers and plated 126 runs. Following the 2025 season, he joined the Toronto Predators as a free agent where he spent four solid seasons, including a 30-homer, 106 RBI campaign in 2027. Altman continued to rake after joining the Chicago Mules as a free agent, hitting over .300 and slugging at least .499 all four seasons. Most notably, he hit .307 with 49 doubles, 32 longballs, and 120 RBI's in 2031, when he also earned the MVP of the Wild Card round of the playoffs in a losing effort -- at age 40, no less. The ageless Altman hit .341 and slugged .594, with 33 extra-base hits in 229 at-bats at age 42. He retired with a career batting average of .303, an on-base percentage of .371, and a .505 slugging percentage. Altman rapped 3062 hits, 561 doubles, and 440 homers, while driving in 1748 runs and scoring 1506, while garnering 66.5 WAR. He made five All-Star teams and earned one Silver Slugger award. Surprisingly, Altman never made it out of the first round of the playoffs in five tries, but he hit .327 and slugged .500 with 4 homers and 20 RBI's in 29 postseason games.

The leading vote recipients are as follows:
Reggie Smith, RF, BIR/ DET/ LON/ LV: 97.8%
DJ LeMahieu, 2B, STL/ CAL/ ELP/ DET: 87.3%
Heinie Manush, LF, SEA/ VB/ SA: 85.1%
George Altman, CF, WAS/ TOR/ CHI/ KC: 82.3%
Kirby Puckett, CF, HOU/ CAL/ PHI: 65.8%
Larry Parrish, 3B, ANA/ CHA: 60.8%
Elston Howard, C, MON/ LA: 57.0%
Trevor Story, SS, LA/ CHA/ ATL/ MIL: 50.3%
Bernie Friberg, 2B, OKC/ DEN/ WAS: 49.7%
High Pockets Kelly, 1B, TOR/ JAX: 46.2%
Aroldis Chapman, RHP, OTT/ WAS/ POR: 44.6%
Gil Hodges, 1B, VAN/ ELP/ OMA: 43.7%

Noteworthy players who fell off the ballot include 533-homer slugger Norm Cash, 229-game winner Steve Hargan (whose eligibility expired in his tenth season), slugging centerfielder Larry Doby, and righthander Bob Osborn, who won 216 games and posted a career 2.98 ERA.

Here's a look at the newest Hall of Famers:
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