5 pitchers who dropped off Hall ballot too soon

MLB.com has already taken a look at some of the more surprising position players to go one-and-done in Hall of Fame balloting. Next up are the pitchers.

Players eligible for election to the Hall of Fame need 75 percent of votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to be enshrined in Cooperstown; they only need 5 percent to reserve a spot on the ballot for the following year. But not all candidates hit that mark, and many have dropped off the ballot after only one year. Many more will do so again in the future.

Here are some of the pitchers who, since the rule’s institution in 1979, surprisingly didn’t get the 5 percent they needed for a second year on the ballot. Although, maybe they should have, because they compare favorably to some of their compatriots in the Hall of Fame.

Kevin Brown, RHP, 1986-2005Career stats: 211-144, 3.28 ERA, 3,256 1/3 IP, 2,397 K, 17 SHO, 68.5 WAR (Baseball-Reference)HOF voting: 2.1 percent of ballots in 2011

At his peak, Brown was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. In a five-year run from 1996-2000, he had a 2.51 ERA, averaged 242 innings and 212 strikeouts a season and threw 10 shutouts. He led the league in ERA and WHIP twice — including a Major League-best 1.89 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 1996 — finished in the top six of Cy Young voting four times, threw a no-hitter and helped the Marlins win their first World Series in 1997.

Of all starting pitchers, Brown’s 2.51 ERA and 36.9 WAR across those five seasons were second only to Pedro Martinez. He didn’t hit the 300-win or 3,000-strikeout milestones, but Brown’s traditional stats are more than respectable, as is his career WAR of nearly 70.

Compares favorably to: John Smoltz. Smoltz had the saves (154) and the strikeouts (3,084), but Brown’s WAR just beats Smoltz’s, 68.5 to 66.5, and his best seasons stack up well. Brown had two eight-WAR seasons; Smoltz had none. Brown had a six-plus WAR five times; Smoltz did only once. In Brown’s five best years, he totaled 36.9 WAR; Smoltz totaled 28.3.

David Cone, RHP, 1986-2003Career stats: 194-126, 3.46 ERA, 2,898 2/3 IP, 2,668 K, 22 SHO, 61.7 WARHOF voting: 3.9 percent in 2009

Cone, like Brown, didn’t collect the wins and strikeouts of some other Hall of Famers. But in his best years, he too was matched by few pitchers in the game. Between 1988 and ’99, Cone was an All-Star five times, won 20 games twice, led the Majors in strikeouts twice and, most importantly, won the AL Cy Young award in 1994.

Only Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux had a higher WAR than Cone’s 59.9 in that 12-year span, and only Randy Johnson and Clemens had more strikeouts than Cone’s 2,331. Cone also threw a perfect game on …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com