Angels Hall of Fame News: Abreu & K-Rod improve, Torii survives, Kinsler's out

Torii Hunter clings to life, while Ian Kinsler and Fernando Rodney drop out

Torii Hunter is still alive. Unfortunately his voting dropped from 7.3% to 5.1% and was the 18th of 18 players who stayed on the ballot. Hunter, who appeared on the ballot for the fifth time, was eclipsed in voting by first and second time position player members of the ballot like Dustin Pedroia and David Wright. He is far lower than Abreu's total when he was on the ballot for his fifth time last year.

Why do baseball writers hate outfielders like Abreu and Hunter so much? Torii Hunter is one of the best defensive outfielders of all time, and yet he gets continually overlooked. The 9x Gold Glover is one of the most iconic outfielders of all time, a steward of the game, a beloved teammate and baseball personality, and eclipsed 50 bWAR for his career. While he is more known as a Minnesota Twins player, Torii Hunter provided far more value and bang-for-your-buck as a Halo. His two best seasons as a pro occurred in 2009 and 2012 for the Angels. He played 12 years in Minnesota and 5 in Anaheim, yet his bWAR in LA only trailed his Minny bWAR by 5.7 points.

It stinks to see Ian Kinsler drop off the ballot, as he was seemingly just as good as his contemporaries in the moment. He played at the same time as Chase Utley and Pedroia, and it feels like they ate into his vote. Kinsler actually has a higher career bWAR than Pedroia, and he has more career hits and stolen bases than both Utley and Pedroia. Kinsler played a half a season for the Angels in 2018, and was a solid contributor. He was traded for Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez.

Fernando Rodney did not receive a single vote. He pitched 100.0 innings for the Angels across the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and played for 11 teams during his 17 year career.