Bagwell gets my vote for Hall of Fame

Now about my other six picks for Cooperstown …

I won’t bury the lead.

Jeff Bagwell.

For the first time as a Baseball Hall of Fame voter, I’ve convinced myself to check the box next to this former Astros slugger, and he joins those “other” folks I picked on my 2017 ballot: Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Ivan Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Lee Smith.

I voted for eight players overall. We’re allowed to choose 10, but I don’t see that many Hall of Famers on this year’s ballot.

During the past couple of weeks, I’ve already told you I’m continuing my yearly tradition of voting for Tim Raines and Fred McGriff, both frequently ignored by many of my colleagues.

This is the 10th and final time on the Hall of Fame ballot for Raines, and here’s one of the best reasons yet for his induction into Cooperstown alongside other basestealers/line-drive specialists such as Rickey Henderson, Lou Brock and Ty Cobb: Statistical analyst Ryan Spaeder determined Raines is the only player in Major League Baseball history with at least 100 triples, 150 home runs and 600 stolen bases.

• Time has come to put Raines in Hall of Fame

As for McGriff, it’s simple. If Tony “Doggie” Perez is in the Hall of Fame, then Crime Dog also belongs. Just compare their offensive numbers. I did the same regarding Bagwell and McGriff, and that pushed me over the edge toward helping Bagwell go from 71.6 percent of the Hall of Fame votes casted last year toward the required 75 percent for entry.

• Understated McGriff deserves Hall call

About Bagwell and McGriff: While McGriff finished with 493 career home runs, Bagwell had 449. Pretty close, and consider this: Bagwell ripped a bunch of his shots at the Astrodome, which strangled fly balls.

Then there was the RBI thing. Perez reached Cooperstown mostly for his clutch hitting, and that was exemplified by his 12 seasons with 90 …

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