November is election season, even in baseball. Since the last episode of the Reds Beat Podcast, winners for Major League Baseball's postseason awards were announced and this year's Hall of Fame ballot was released.
In the former, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto missed out on his second Most Valuable Player Award by only two points, narrowly coming in second to Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins. For the latter, the Hall of Fame ballot features former Reds third baseman Scott Rolen in his first year of eligibility.
Like Votto with the MVP, Rolen faces an uphill battle to reach the honor for which he's competing, although for different reasons.