MLB Twitter stunned by controversial Hall of Fame ballot - "This is an embarrassment", "What a joke"

Major League Baseball fans are up in arms after seeing another controversial ballot for the Hall of Fame. The ballot was submitted by Art Davidson, Chairman of the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), who named just one player - former closer Francisco Rodriguez.

The singular vote, for a player that was dominant for a short stretch but hardly "Hall" worthy, had fans on Twitter once again bemoaning the process that MLB uses to enshrine its former greats.

Rodriguez was a dominant closer at the start of his career. He registered 194 saves over a four-year stretch with the Los Angeles Angels in the early 2000s and won a World Series championship with the team in 2002.

However, Rodriguez's career quickly tailed off after he joined the New York Mets in 2008. While he remained a mostly effective reliever until his retirement with the Detroit Tigers in 2017, he fell far off his initial career trajectory.

Many MLB fans would like to see Davidson's ability to vote taken away after seeing his ballot.

Yet, as other MLB fans have pointed out, it's not all Davidson's fault. The writer at the MetroWest Daily News, a newspaper covering suburban Boston, didn't really have anyone great to vote for this time.

However, at least one MLB fan had no problem with Davidson's vote. It's not like he was a bad pitcher, right?

Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees flips his bat after striking out

It takes a 75 percent vote to get into the MLB Hall of Fame

There is one glaring superstar on the 2023 MLB Hall of Fame ballot -- Alex Rodriguez. With 696 lifetime home runs, "A-Rod" would certainly merit enshrinement.

But as with several superstars of his era, Rodriguez remains on the outside looking in due to an admission of using performance enhancing substances during his career. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Roger Clemens -- to name a few -- are in the same boat.

Per the Hall of Fame induction guidelines: "Each voting cycle, qualified members of the BBWAA name no more than 10 eligible players whom they consider worthy of Hall of Fame honors. To be enshrined, a player must be named on at least 75 percent of the voters' ballots. Currently, players are removed from the ballot if they are named on fewer than 5 percent of ballots or have been on the ballot 10 times without election."

Players no longer eligible to be enshrined via the BBWAA ballot can be enshrined by a passing vote of the Hall of Fame "Eras Committee."