A Hall of Fame vote that could have been II

Were I still an underpaid sports editor, and along with it a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, my Hall of Fame vote would count on Monday. Instead, I pick for the fun of it again this year, just as I did around this time a year ago:

Barry Larkin: Really not question about this other than why he wasn't elected last year. He had the unfortunate timing to enter the league while Ozzie Smith was still doing backflips and leave it as Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra were redefining the position as one where offense, in particular power, was expected not just a bonus. He was one of the best shortstops to ever play the game but it's taken seven years since his retirement for people to realize it.

Jeff Bagwell: It's hard enough to navigate the steroid era numbers when some of the best players ever were implicated. It gets nearly impossible if you try to judge players based on whether you think they should have been implicated. There is an irrational cloud over Bagwell's head. He has never implicated in steroids, yet a large number of writers believe he should be. It's not fair to his career on rumor. He's a clear-cut Hall of Famer.

Alan Trammell: Much like Larkin, Trammell is hurt by the quality of his peers. Smith was better defensively, Larkin was an all-around better player. Cal Ripken was the Ironman. And the class that entered the game as he left it began to dwarf his otherwise solid offensive numbers. He was, for more than a decade, a great shortstop and the heart of a sometimes great Tigers team. He wasn't Ripken, but he's a Hall of Famer.

Lee Smith: 30+ years into the closer era, we still have not yet figured out how to properly assess closers. The role can lead to gaudy save totals for above average pitchers like Jeff Reardon, Todd Jones, Troy Percival, Roberto Hernandez and Jose Mesa — all fine pitchers during their time, but not Hall of Famers despite being in the top 15 all-time in one statistical category that separates closers from all other pitching staff roles. Smith is not obviously as good as Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman or Dennis Eckersley, but was Bruce Sutter really that much better? Smith was the all-time saves leader until being passed up by the arguably the two greatest closers in history. He still ranks third. It must count for something.

Fred McGriff: It's hard to put him on the list and not Don Mattingly, although Mattingly is very close despite a short peak to his career in the mid- to late-80s. But McGriff was among the best at his position for a longer period and his numbers were very good.