Bowman: Breaking down my Hall of Fame ballot

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ATLANTA -- Remember a couple months ago, when I wrote about how Andruw Jones has dined at the same Buckhead sushi bar while watching each of the past eight Hall of Fame announcements?

Well, it looks his rolls won’t be the only thing that is dynamite this year.
There’s always a chance for a surprise, but it looks like Jones and Carlos Beltrán will be announced as the 2026 inductees when the Baseball Hall of Fame balloting results are announced on MLB Network on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.

Many of you watched Jones’ entire career, especially those great years spent with the Braves. And many of you have spent the past nine years reading why I and others believe Atlanta’s former center fielder should be enshrined alongside many of his former teammates (Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones) in Cooperstown.

As happy as those guys will be for Jones, I can’t even imagine the joy another Hall of Famer, Bobby Cox, will feel. Jones was like a little brother to the aforementioned players, and he was like a son to Bobby. You’ve heard him say many times that Bobby was like his second father.

Anyhow, enough of the emotional stuff.

This marked the first time I and many of my longtime MLB.com cohorts had a chance to vote for the Hall of Fame. Why? Well, the Baseball Writers' Association of America didn’t include us until 2015, when some of my coworkers and I had already been doing this job for 10-15 years. But instead of allowing us to vote immediately, the BBWAA required 10 years’ worth of annual dues to gain the honor to vote.

So, do we have the most qualified voters? Is this where I can say that every living Hall of Famer should also have a vote? And why is it just the writers? Why can’t some longstanding broadcasters vote?

All right, enough of me complaining.

When I got my ballot this year, I was confident I was going to vote for Jones and Beltrán. I had a pretty good idea that I’d also give Chase Utley a vote. Beyond that, I was thinking I might put a check next to the names of David Wright and Nick Markakis.

Why Markakis? Well, if I was starting a club, I’d like to have about 10 Markakises. Those of you who remember him as a pitcher at Young Harris might argue I could get away with carrying about 20 Markakises.

Markakis was one of the most professional players I’ve ever encountered. He played a significant role in the Braves’ rebuild. But we’re not here to take care of people we liked. We’re here to vote for Hall of Famers.

So why did I end up voting for Jones, Beltrán, Utley and Bobby Abreu?

Well, along with looking at numbers, I talked to players who competed against many of the players on the ballot. One of the responses made me take a closer look at Abreu.

Here’s what led me to vote for him:

• Abreu, Carlos Delgado, Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez were the only players with nine seasons of a 125 OPS+ from 1998-06.
• Abreu is one of seven players in MLB history w/ 400 SBs and an .870 OPS. Barry Bonds, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker are the only ones to do it in the modern era.
• Abreu ranked 10th in fWAR from 1998-12.

A decade of elite production is enough for me. The fact Abreu had just two All-Star selections and no top 10 MVP ballot finishes bothers me. But I’ve got a feeling that wouldn’t have been the case had decision-makers had access to some of the metrics we use today.

Who do I wish I had voted for? My first voter’s remorse is aimed toward Felix Hernández.

Hernández led all AL pitchers (min. 150 starts) with the 127 ERA+ he constructed over a decade from 2006-2015. Justin Verlander, who is a projected first-ballot Hall of Famer because he had the longevity that Hernández’s candidacy lacks, ranked third with a 123 ERA+ during this same span.

This certainly isn’t the only reason to vote for Hernández. But it’s one of the reasons I’ll be taking a longer look at his candidacy next year.

See how other MLB.com reporters voted on this year's ballot here.