My Hall of Fame ballot arrived the day before Thanksgiving and, thus, began my annual process.
The ballot must be submitted by Dec. 31, and I wait until near the deadline. The ballot sits on my desk, and over the five weeks I make a file for each candidate — 35 this year — and go over their candidacy. I don’t mind doing the work on players such as Darren Oliver or Juan Pierre, though I know they will not get my vote nor even receive the 5 percent to stay on the ballot a second year.
I like sizing up those careers, remembering that those players had to be major leaguers at least 10 years with some heft to just get on the ballot.