Angels News: Five Former Halos Debut on Hall of Fame Ballot

Five former Angels are new on the Hall of Fame ballot for 2023, along with two former Halos who are returning and hoping to make big gains in the voting.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame released their ballot for the 2023 election on Monday. In total, there are 14 returning players and 14 new players on the ballot. Five former Angels are among the newcomers, with two Halos among the returners.

The 2023 Hall of Fame ballot is out! Who gets the call and will be inducted into Cooperstown? pic.twitter.com/2m7FewuwjO

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 21, 2022

The five new Angels on the ballot are:

John Lackey. Lackey was a key member of the Halos' 2002 World Series championship team as a rookie, posting a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 innings that postseason. He won 102 games in eight seasons in Anaheim before bouncing from Boston to St. Louis to Chicago over his final seven seasons.

Mike Napoli. Napoli spent the first five years of his career with the Angels, mostly platooning with Jeff Mathis at catcher. After his time with L.A., he won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2013 and lost the WS with the Rangers in 2011 and Cleveland in 2016. Napoli spent a total of 12 years in the big leagues and made one All-Star team.

Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod holds the record for most saves in a single season, set in 2008 when he locked down 62 games for the Angels. That was his seventh and final year with the Halos, after which he pitched nine more seasons with the Mets, Brewers, Orioles, and Tigers. Rodriguez had 208 saves with the Angels and 437 total in his 17-year career.

Huston Street. Speaking of Angels closers, Street spent the final four seasons of his career in that role. Street saved 315 games in his first 11 seasons with Oakland, Colorado, San Diego, and the Angels, but his decline was steep and fast. He was ineffective in 2016 before suffering a season-ending knee injury, and he pitched just four innings in 2017, his final season in the big leagues.

Jered Weaver. Weaver was a big star with the Angels, making three straight All-Star teams from 2010-12 and finishing in the top five in Cy Young voting all three years. His velocity was already starting to decline in 2012, though, and by the end of his career he was a soft-tossing innings eater. After 11 years with the Angels, he went to the Padres in 2017 and pitched the last nine seasons of his career in San Diego. Overall, Weaver was 150-98 in his 12-year career.

The two returning Angels on the ballot are:

Bobby Abreu. Abreu spent four years with the Halos near the end of his career. He posted a 114 OPS+ in those four seasons before being released early in 2012. Abreu is in his fourth year on the ballot, topping out at 8.1% of the vote in 2021.

Torii Hunter. Hunter was a huge free-agent acquisition for the Angels after the 2007 season after spending 11 seasons with the Twins. He spent five seasons with the Halos with a 122 OPS+ and two Gold Gloves before two years in Detroit and one back in Minnesota finished his career. Hunter got 9.5% of the Hall of Fame vote in 2021 before dropping to 5.3% last year.