theScore's users elect Jeter to Cooperstown
Adam Hunger / USA TODAY Sports
Derek Jeter's going to Cooperstown.
You knew that already, but it's unofficially unofficial now after theScore's users were asked to fill out their own mock Hall of Fame ballots on Jan. 10.
The results are below. All told, 23,313 ballots that kept within the 10-man maximum - about 95% of votes - were cast, with 9,348 ballots naming a full 10 players.
A friendly reminder: Unofficial enshrinement is for those who get at least 75% of the vote:
| Player | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|
| Derek Jeter | 21127 | 86.2 |
| Larry Walker | 15500 | 63.2 |
| Roger Clemens | 14673 | 59.9 |
| Barry Bonds | 14029 | 57.2 |
| Curt Schilling | 13125 | 53.6 |
| Andy Pettitte | 10722 | 43.7 |
| Manny Ramírez | 9819 | 40.1 |
| Gary Sheffield | 8953 | 36.5 |
| Sammy Sosa | 7610 | 31.1 |
| Omar Vizquel | 7339 | 29.9 |
| Andruw Jones | 7003 | 28.6 |
| Todd Helton | 6817 | 27.8 |
| Jeff Kent | 6365 | 26.0 |
| Billy Wagner | 5588 | 22.8 |
| Cliff Lee | 5248 | 21.4 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 4406 | 18 |
| Scott Rolen | 4063 | 16.6 |
| Paul Konerko | 3573 | 14.6 |
| Jason Giambi | 3057 | 12.5 |
| Bobby Abreu | 2517 | 10.3 |
| Josh Beckett | 2379 | 9.7 |
| Adam Dunn | 1555 | 6.3 |
| Carlos Pena | 1029 | 4.2 |
| Raul Ibanez | 938 | 3.8 |
| Rafael Furcal | 771 | 3.1 |
| Eric Chavez | 580 | 2.4 |
| Heath Bell | 405 | 1.7 |
| Brian Roberts | 351 | 1.4 |
| Jose Valverde | 345 | 1.4 |
| Chone Figgins | 283 | 1.2 |
| Brad Penny | 278 | 1.1 |
| J.J. Putz | 254 | 1.0 |
Some takeaways:
- Jeter was always going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and he's going in alone. Prepare for Yankees fans to rule Cooperstown this summer.
- Bonds officially earned 56.4% of the vote on his seventh year on the ballot, and theScore's users are giving him a slight bump.
- Clemens was at 57.3% last year and is up to 60.1% on our ballot. Like Bonds, he's running out of time.
- Larry Walker is coming off the ballot in 2020, and while a 10th-year bump was expected, he exploded from an official 34.1% to 64.1% from our users. However, he still falls short in this fictional scenario, meaning the Modern Era Committee must decide his (fictional) fate.
- theScore's users love Sammy Sosa a lot more than the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Sosa was at 7.8% officially in 2019, but he earned 31.6% of our vote.
- Omar Vizquel's candidacy is polarizing. He was at 37% officially during his second year on the ballot, but theScore's users clearly don't value defense as much as the BBWAA, as Vizquel comes in at only 30.5% on our end.