2012 Baseball Hall of Fame Class: Sure Signs MLB Voters Are Clueless

The 2012 MLB Hall of Fame class was announced today, as longtime Reds' shortstop Barry Larkin was the only player to received the necessary 75-plus percent of the vote to gain induction.

It was Larkin's second year on the ballot, and he received 495 votes, good for 86.4 percent of the total vote.

A 12-time All-Star, Larkin put together a career line of .295/.371/.444, 2,340 hits, 198 HR, 960 RBI, 1,329 R, 379 SB, and there is little doubt he was a deserving inductee as the voters made the right choice.

While voting in Larkin was a good call, there were more than a few head scratchers when the full balloting results were released, and here is a look at a few of them.

Bill Mueller Received Four Votes

While four votes is an insignificant amount, accounting for under one percent of the voting, the fact that there were four people who could legitimately say they think Mueller is a Hall of Famer makes the entire voting committee look bad.

Best known for his three seasons with the Red Sox, as he won the AL batting title in 2003 (.326) and helped the team to the World Series in 2004, his overall numbers were average at best.

Never an All-Star, Mueller had a total WAR of 22.6 (compare that to Mike Schmidt at 108.3), and a career line of .291 BA, 85 HR, 493 RBI over his 11-year playing career.

Perhaps the most alarming stat of all though was the simple fact that he only topped the 500 at-bat mark in three of those 11 seasons.

According to Baseball Reference, his career most closely mirrored that of utility man Scott Hatteberg, and for four voters to honesty say they think he is Hall of Fame worthy is laughable.

Jack Morris Continues His Monumental Climb Towards Induction

There are two clear sides to the argument over whether or not Morris belongs in the Hall of Fame and having spent 13 years on the ballot they have been brought up time and again.

Those against his induction point to a 3.90 career ERA and just 254 career wins, while those for his induction recall his postseason heroics and the fact that he had the most wins of any pitcher in the 1980s.

The two sides are very clear cut, yet Morris has risen from as low as 19.6 percent of the vote in his second year on the ballot to his highest total this year at 66.7 percent.

Morris has not pitched any more games between 2001 and 2012, yet there are 260 voters who did not think he was a Hall of Famer in 2001 and he is now. 

How does a player go from ballot after thought to nearly gaining induction? What is the voters rational in saying he is not a Hall of Famer for years and then all of a sudden deeming him worthy?

Tim Raines Has Yet to Receive Even 50 Percent of the Vote

One of the best leadoff hitters of all time, Raines took the league by storm as a rookie in 1981, stealing 71 bases in just 88 games to lead the league.

He went on to lead the league in thefts four straight seasons and stole 808 total bases over his 23-year career, good for fifth on the all-time list.

He was more than just a speedster though, as he won the batting title in 1986 (.334) and had terrific on-base skills in posting a .385 on-base percentage for his career.

While he lacks any of the "sure thing" milestone numbers, his 2,605 hits and 1,571 runs scored are impressive and coupled with his OBP and speed numbers make him a legitimate candidate to say the least.

However, he spent much of his career in relative obscurity playing in Montreal and may not be viewed in the best light due to a cocaine problem during his playing days. In the end, he will likely have to approach the full 15 years on the ballot if he is inducted at all.

Jeff Bagwell Is Still Not Elected

An offensive force at the height of the Steroid Era, Bagwell has never admitted to using PEDs nor has he ever been proven otherwise.

However, he has his doubters and because of that he received only 56 percent (321 votes) this year, although that is up from 41.7 percent last year.

His resume is certainly Hall of Fame worthy, and while he did not reach the 500-HR plateau, he was a phenomenal run producer ranking 46th all-time with 1,529 RBI.

He won the 1994 NL MVP, was a four-time All-Star, and his 79.9 WAR for his career ranks 57th all-time as he is among the most productive hitters in the history of the game.

Holding Bagwell out of the Hall of Fame based on an assumption is wrong, and more so even than Larkin, he deserves to be enshrined. Snubbing him was the voting committees biggest mistake once again this year.

Those are just what I feel to be the biggest examples of cluelessness on the part of the voting committee this year, and it will be interesting to see how they handle next year's ballot as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa will be among the first-time candidates along with potential first-ballot selections Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling and Craig Biggio.