The Baseball Writers Association of America has released the 2023 Hall of Fame ballot. 28 former players are on the ballot this season: 14 newcomers and 14 players who have previously been on the ballot. Among those making a return on the ballot is formers Brewers shortstop Gary Sheffield. Of course, Sheffield is not remembered fondly for his time in Milwaukee. This is his ninth year on ballot, having received just over 40% of votes last year. Other returners include Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, Scotten Rolen, Todd Helton, and Billy Wagner. Of the newcomers on the ballot, former Brewers JJ Hardy and Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez are included.
JJ Hardy
Shortstop JJ Hardy is on the Hall of Fame ballot following a 13-year career spent with the Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. He finished his career with a slash line of .256/.305/.406 with 1,488 hits, 188 home runs and 688 RBI. Hardy spent the first five seasons of his career with the Brewers. His best season during that time was in 2007. That year, he hit .277/.323/.463 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI. Hardy also scored 89 runs that season, and was named to his first All-Star team.
After being traded to the Minnesota Twins for Carlos Gomez, Hardy went on to make another All-Star team (with the Orioles) in 2013. In that season, Hardy won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger after hitting ..263/.306/.433 with 25 home runs and 76 RBI. All told, Hardy is a three-time AL Gold Glove winner (2012-2014), two-time All-Star, and one-time Silver Slugger.
Francisco Rodriguez
Former Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) is also on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Rodriguez ranks fourth all-time with 437 career saves. The other three players ahead of him, Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman (former Brewer), and Lee Smith are all in the Hall of Fame. In 2008, while with the Los Angeles Angels franchise, Rodriguez set the Major League record for saves in a season with 62.
K-Rod was a player who ended up spending two different stints with the Milwaukee Brewers. Prior to coming to Milwaukee, he was already a borderline Hall of Famer after pitching for the Angels and Mets. The Brewers first acquired him in 2011 as they were making a push for their first ever NL Central Division title. In 31 games with the Brewers that year, he was 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA in a setup role. After a down year in 2012, Rodriguez was back to his dominant self in 2013, posing a 1-1 record, 1.09 ERA, and 10 saves for the Brewers. However, Milwaukee traded him to Baltimore at the deadline for Nicky Delmonico.
The very next season, however, K-Rod signed with the Brewers as a free agent. The move ended up being great for both parties, as K-Rod went onto make two consecutive NL All-Star teams. In 2014, he was 5-5 with a 3.04 ERA and 44 saves. K-Rod also led the NL with 66 games finished. The next season, he went 1-3 with a 2.21 ERA and 38 saves. After the 2015 season, the Brewers trade K-Rod once again, this time to the Detroit Tigers. In return, the Brewers received Javier Betancourt and a player to be named later. That player ended up being fan-favorite Manny Pina.
Rodriguez had a solid season for the Tigers in 2016, posting a 3-4 record, 3.24 ERA, and 44 saves for the club. He retired following the 2017 season.
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