I've submitted our first set of recommendations. Really appreciate everyone pitching in. It'll get easier once we clear the board a little bit. This approach should get at least two guys in this year, which I would consider a win. And good chance we get at least one more from the strongly suggested.

Locks: Alcantara and Hechavarria
Strongly Suggested: Cavan, Wilson and Langford

That would be a big win! Well done stephennesbi and HOF committee!

Opening the forum again for our S75 Hall of Fame committee recommendations conversation. Tomorrow I will update the spreadsheet that makes it easier to sort through awards, stats, positions, etc. In the meantime, feel free to throw your thoughts in here about candidates to lock/strongly recommend.

Willis Freeman - Lock - primary position 2B, slugged .508 for his career topping 1500 runs scored, 589 HR, 1682 RBI. Well rounded offensive contributor also stole 333 bags and got on base at a .331 clip.

Joaquin Cora - RP - over 1298 innings pitched he limited opponents to a remarkable .204 average against while limiting traffic and it’s a 1.04 career Season WHIP. 6 time World Series winner, 5 time me all-star and fireman of the year. 1299 Ks and 295 saves point to his steady excellence. Strongly recommend

The spreadsheet has been updated for this year's class.

I think I'm in on Willis Freeman because of the rarity of his profile at that position, though longevity is doing heavy lifting in his case. He benefitted from playing in friendly hitting environments throughout his career, and by the end his rate stats were low compared to this crop of candidates. Still, a true 2B smacking almost 600 HRs and stealing 300+ bags ...

As for the rest, last year we *strongly recommended* these two ...

• CF Steve Cavan: Premium defender (91 range, 93 glove, 87 arm strength) who won four Gold Gloves, three in CF (where he had 103 plus plays), two Silver Sluggers and an MVP. Can't imagine we've seen a ton of GG CF with 400+ HR. Had a relatively short career, so counting stats aren't as high as they would be otherwise.

• LF Cutter Langford: The only multiple-time MVP on this list, he didn't have the longest career yet slugged 556 homers and had a .884 despite playing this last four years in homer-suppressing San Francisco and Honolulu. Capable LF and plus 1B. Over 500 homers and 1,500 RBI.

It would be good to lock at least one of them this year.

Other candidates who intrigue me:

• RF Raimel Herrera: I dismissed our OPS leader last year because he stunk in right field and didn't play that long. But if Iset defense aside — he would have been a great 1B! — then I'm looking at an MVP and 7-time All-Star who hit almost 500 HR and stole 200 bases while slashing .292/.392/.571 (.962 OPS). He did spend the last 1/3 of his career in a very nice park (Texas).

• CF Yorvit Rodriguez: A 450-HR, 350-SB hitter who played premium positions — won a Gold Glove at 3B and got Silver Sluggers at SS and CF — while posting a nearly .900 OPS.

• 2B Eswalin Ontiveros: An MVP who won five World Series while manning up-the-middle positions (though not the world's greatest defender) and hit 464 HR, batting close to .300 and nearly a .900 OPS.

The returning pitchers (none are new to the ballot this year) aren't slam dunks to me, but if we want to consider a couple then Joaquin Cora was a great reliever whose numbers — 2.61 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .204 OAV — are boosted by playing in pitcher-friendly parks throughout his careers. Starter David Gwynn is another strong candidate (ahead of Miguel Frieri for me because, again, IA was a killer pitcher's park), with a 3.07 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and .206 ERA.

Let's get a couple more voices in here, then we can whittle down our scattered thoughts into 1-3 locks and a couple suggestions. I appreciate everyone pitching in! I think there are a number of worthy candidates on the ballot, and we're still in the stage of thinning a crowded list of candidates.

I agree with Cavan and Langford. Other than that, I think everyone else is a bit of a reach to recommend. People may want to pick them because of how they look at numbers, but I don't look at anyone else and say "he needs to be in". That being said, Herrera is probably my favorite of the rest.