Padres Press Clips Thursday, January 19, 2017 Article Source Author Page Happily Trevor after: HOFfman eyes '18 MLB.com Cassavell 2 Hall's bells should ring for Trevor in '18 MLB.com Justice 3 Stash the party favors: Trevor Hoffman's Hall wait temporary UT San Diego Miller 6 Trevor Hoffman narrowly misses election to Hall of Fame UT San Diego Lin 8 Padres roster review: Robbie Erlin UT San Diego Sanders 10 Glenn Hoffman, Clay Kirby Next Additions to Top 100 Padres Padres.com Center 11 1 Happily Trevor after: HOFfman eyes '18 By AJ Cassavell / MLB.com | @AJCassavell | January 18th, 2017 SAN DIEGO -- Trevor Hoffman, one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time, came just shy of closing out his Hall of Fame legacy on Wednesday. In his second year on the ballot, the legendary Padres closer fell a mere five votes short of the 332 required for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Only Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez received the 75 percent needed for enshrinement in Cooperstown on Wednesday. Hoffman ultimately finished at 74, making him only the sixth player in history to fall one percentage point shy of being voted into the Hall. "I first want to send a very heartfelt congratulations to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez. All three men exemplify what it means to be a Hall of Famer in our game," Hoffman said in a statement. "For me, falling short of this class is disappointing, but I don't take being on the ballot lightly. I'm grateful for every vote and I am truly humbled to have come so close. I hope to one day soon share a Hall of Fame celebration with my family, friends, teammates and all of San Diego." Despite Wednesday's disappointment, Hoffman saw a significant uptick in his vote totals after he received 67.3 percent last year. Those numbers seem to indicate that he'll reach the Hall eventually -- possibly as early as next year. (Players are given a maximum of 10 seasons on the ballot.) Since the Hall of Fame changed its voting structure in 1969, 15 players have returned to the ballot after receiving at least 70 percent of the vote. Only Jim Bunning was not elected by the BBWAA -- and he was later voted in by the Veterans Committee. Hoffman joins Craig Biggio, Bert Blyleven, Bunning, Jimmy Williams and Nellie Fox as the only players to fall one percentage point short. The other five are all Hall of Famers. Biggio -- the most recent case -- came the closest at 74.8 percent in 2014, before he was easily elected the following year. Hoffman pitched 18 seasons in the big leagues, 16 of which came in San Diego. During that time, he racked up 601 saves, second only to Mariano Rivera. Among relievers with at least 1,000 innings, Hoffman ranks second in save percentage (88.8), eighth in ERA (2.87), fourth in ERA+ (141), second in opponents' batting average (.211), second in WHIP (1.06) and first in strikeout rate (25.8). Perhaps the two numbers that most harmed Hoffman's case were his 28 wins above replacement and his 1,089 1/3 innings pitched. (Only Bruce Sutter has been enshrined with fewer innings.) Of course, those numbers merely highlight Hoffman's role as a one-inning closer. In recent years, debate has arisen about the importance of the job. But within the constricts of that job, Hoffman is undoubtedly one of the best ever, and the numbers back him up. Now, he'll have to wait -- at least one year, perhaps longer -- to be recognized with baseball's highest honor. 2 Hall's bells should ring for Trevor in '18 By Richard Justice / MLB.com | January 18th, 2017 Hang in there, Trevor Hoffman. You're going to get into the Hall of Fame very soon now. There's pretty much no doubt about that. How about next year? Yes, that sounds about right. You're too close now. Close enough to taste it. In fact, that's the larger message on a bitterly disappointing day. 2017 Hall of Fame election results Votes Player Percentage 381 Jeff Bagwell 86.2% 380 Tim Raines 86.0% 336 Ivan Rodriguez 76.0% 327 Trevor Hoffman 74.0% 317 Vladimir Guerrero 71.7% 259 Edgar Martinez 58.6% 239 Roger Clemens 54.1% 238 Barry Bonds 53.8% 229 Mike Mussina 51.8% 199 Curt Schilling 45.0% Sure, it's stinks to be forced to wait another year. When Craig Biggio missed by three votes three years ago, he got in his pickup and drove from his home in Houston to his ranch in South Texas. "I needed to get away for a couple of days," Biggio said. That's surely how Hoffman is feeling after being named on 327 of 442 Hall of Fame ballots, yet missing the 75 percent induction requirement by five lousy votes. "For me, falling short of this class is disappointing," Hoffman said in a statement that was typically gracious. "But I don't take being on the ballot lightly. I'm grateful for every vote, and I am truly humbled to have come so close. "I hope to one day soon share a Hall of Fame celebration with my family, friends, teammates and all of San Diego." Former Padres teammate Mark Grant spoke for a lot of people when he tweeted: "This one hurts. Absolutely ludicrous that you didn't get in. 1% shy, but 100% HOF'er in my book!" San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer also took to Twitter, writing, "There's no doubt you're a Hall of Famer, @THoffman51. You are a San Diego legend -- and the game's best closer, period." 3 For Hoffman to get 74 percent of the vote -- to become the sixth player to miss by one percentage point -- says plenty about the Baseball Hall of Fame and how difficult it is to get in the door. That's a good thing. That's how it was set up. As Joe Torre memorably said one year when he missed the cut, "It's the Hall of Fame. It's supposed to be tough to get into." In other words, the Hall of Fame isn't a borderline deal. To clear the 75 percent threshold tells every inductee he belongs with the best of the best. In 82 years of voting, the Baseball Writers' Association of America has voted for only 124 players, including this year's trio of Tim Raines, Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez. Various committees have honored another 195, including Negro Leaguers, managers, executives and umpires. By any metric, any club that has admitted 319 members in 82 years is a pretty exclusive little gathering. Some of us think there's a backlog of qualified candidates and that this generation of players is under- represented in the Hall of Fame. But that's a discussion for another day. The point is that the doors of Cooperstown will almost certainly open for Hoffman in 2018. Biggio got in a year after his close call, and the whole waiting thing now seems like a distant memory. "When it happens, you keep pinching yourself," Biggio said. "You look around on that stage and see the club you're now a member of." That's how it'll be for Hoffman, hopefully in the summer of 2018. He'll look around and see Hank Aaron and Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax, the best of the best. At that point, it won't matter that Hoffman had to wait an extra 12 months. He'll grasp the company he's now keeping, and the pain of Wednesday's close call will have given way to a celebration. Here's the bottom line: Trevor Hoffman belongs in the Hall of Fame. No one in history has gotten this close and not ultimately reached the Hall. Besides that, Hoffman has the appropriate credentials. Voters have struggled with whether relievers even belong in the Hall of Fame. Regardless, closers are part of the game, and the best of them should be in the Hall. Hoffman's case is straightforward. His 601 saves are the second most in history, trailing only Mariano Rivera's 652. His 1,035 games are 11th on the all-time list. Among relievers with at least 1,000 innings, Hoffman's save percentage (88.8) is second best all time. He's fourth in ERA+ (141), second in WHIP (1.06) and first in strikeout rate (25.8). Hoffman's signature pitch -- a circle changeup -- was so good that hitters couldn't make contact even when they knew it was coming. 4 "He could tell me he was going to throw it -- and he pretty much did -- and I couldn't hit it," Biggio said. Hoffman was so precise that his arm action was exactly the same for his fastball. His changeup just didn't get to home plate as quickly and tied hitters in knots. Hoffman saved at least 30 games in 14 of his final 16 seasons and made the National League All-Star team seven times in a 12-season stretch between 1998 and 2009. Hoffman placed second in NL Cy Young Award voting in 1998 and 2006, as well as fifth- and sixth-place finishes in 1996 and '99, respectively. Closers have to be evaluated apart from starting pitchers because they don't have the innings to stand out. Hoffman's career Wins Above Replacement of 28.4 is that of an average offensive player.