A vote is a terrible thing to waste. Unfortunately, Steve Marcus of Newsday has made a habit of doing precisely that, turning in a blank Baseball Hall-of-Fame ballot for the second straight year.
Hall-of-Fame ballots are always a divisive subject as baseball writers, at least relative to their NBA and NFL counterparts, tend to be pretty selective, hence why only one player—former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera—has ever received 100 percent of the vote (even Derek Jeter got snubbed by a voter in 2020). Regardless of where you fall on the “Small Hall” or PED debates, we can all agree being an HOF voter is a tremendous honor and a career milestone for all who achieve it. After all, only 397 writers have been granted that privilege.
Being strict in your criteria is one thing, but not voting for ANYONE? Apparently that’s where Twitter draws the line.
Remember when 50 Cent bought out the first four rows of a Ja Rule concert, just so they’d be empty? Marcus is essentially doing the same thing, burying his vote (which most sports writers would kill for) in a forgotten household drawer with all his other junk. In fact, the last time Marcus turned in a ballot with anything other than his name on it was in 2020. He voted for Derek Jeter, leaving the other 31 boxes unchecked (HOF voters can choose up to 10 players, but rarely do).
Whether Marcus is pulling this stunt for attention or truly believes none of the 30 candidates this year or the 25 last year are worthy of Cooperstown enshrinement, he’s chosen quite a hill to die on. No one made the cut in 2021 (Marcus’ throwaway vote along with 13 other blank ballots surely had something to do with that) and, assuming alleged steroid users Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens both fall short of the required 75 percent in their final year of eligibility, the Hall's Class of 2022 may be headed for a similar fate.
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