Five Marlins Connected Players Make Hall of Fame Ballot Debut

The Baseball Hall of Fame announced today 18 newcomers to the 2020 HOF ballot, including five Marlins.

Josh Beckett

14-season major league starting pitcher Josh Beckett spent his first five seasons as a member of the Florida Marlins. While with the team, he went 41-34 with a 3.46 ERA over 106 appearances, including 103 starts.

Over the course of his career, Beckett posted a 138-106 record and a 3.88 ERA with 1901 total strikeouts. He’s a two-time World Champion, three time all star, and 2007’s runner up in the American League Cy Young Award vote (to C.C. Sabathia).

Beckett’s chances of making it are nonexistent, despite a solid and better than average career. Baseball Reference’s benchmarks – Black Ink, Gray Ink, Hall of Fame Monitor, Hall of Fame Standards, and JAWS – all have him will short of the “average” HOF standard.

MIAMI – SEPTEMBER 23: Pitcher Josh Beckett #21 of the Florida Marlins throws against the Philadelphia Phillies September 23, 2004 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images) /

Heath Bell

Heath Bell pitched in relief 590 times over an 11-season major league career, going 38-32 with a 3.49 ERA and 168 saves. He struck out 637 in 628 2/3 innings of work.

In his lone season with the Marlins, Bell saved 19 games and posted a 5.09 ERA, with a 1.555 WHIP and a WAR below replacement level.

Bell’s chances of election are even slimmer than Beckett’s. Although he was a three time all-star, he only led the league in saves once, with 42 in 2009 with the San Diego Padres.

Rafael Furcal

Rafael Furcal hit .281/.346/.402 over a 14-season major league career, mostly with the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2014, he went six-for-35 in nine games for the Marlins to close out his career.

A three-time all star and the 2000 N.L. Rookie of the Year, Furcal’s case doesn’t look very good.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is a slam dunk first ballot electee. A 20-year starter at shortstop for the New York Yankees, he’s a 14-time all-star selection, a five-time Gold Glove awardee, a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and the 1995 A.L. Rookie of the Year. Jeter also finished in the 10 top vote-getters in eight different seasons for A.L. MVP.

Jeter slashed .310/.377/.440 with 260 career homers and 1311 RBI. He also stole 358 bases with a success rate of 79 percent. Although he never played a game in any uniform other than the pinstripes, he’s a Marlin now.

Brad Penny

Like Beckett, two-time All Star Brad Penny spent five of his first 14 major league seasons with the Florida Marlins. He ended with a 50-43 record with the club, along with a 4.12 ERA and 583 K’s in 807 2/3 innings pitched.

Penny totaled 1925 innings in total going 121-101 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.376 career WHIP. He was also part of the 2003 Marlins helping them to their second World Series title. Like Bell and Beckett, he’s not likely to gain very many votes.

The five join Gary Sheffield on the ballot for selection. I covered Sheffield’s case in some length earlier today.

Next. The Case for Gary Sheffield. dark

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Five Marlins Make Hall of Fame Ballot Debut

By Kevin Kraczkowski | Nov 18, 2019