After a decade of "ballot logjam," has voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame finally returned to normal? We will know when results from the ballots cast by the qualified members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA, or "the writers") are announced on January 21, 2025, although based on voting trends over the last decade, the bulk of the results are predictable and, by now, unsurprising.

What does a "return to normal" mean? Of the 14 first-time candidates on the BBWAA 2025 ballot, only two, CC Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki, stand out as likely Hall of Famers, and neither are a lock for first-ballot induction. Of the 14 returning candidates, none of the "normal" candidates are automatic Hall of Famers, else they would have been elected already. Thus, there is no "ballot logjam," meaning that there are not more than ten sure-fire Hall of Famers who exceed the maximum of ten votes allowed per ballot.

Carlos Gonzalez played ten of his twelve seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2009-18), where the Outfielder was a three-time All-Star.

Gonzalez had his best year in 2010, when he led the National League in Hits (197) and won the Batting Title (.336), and would have five other seasons where he eclipsed the 20 Home Run mark.  Gonzalez was also a three-time Gold Glove winner and won one Silver Slugger.

The Venezuelan also had brief stops in Oakland, Cleveland, and Chicago (NL) and retired with 1,432 Hits and 234 Home Runs.

The landscape of Colorado baseball shifted in late 2008 when the Rockies acquired Carlos González from Oakland, but it was the 2010 campaign where he matured into a legitimate superstar. That year, "CarGo" authored one of the most complete individual seasons in franchise history, capturing the National League batting title with a .336 average while leading the league in hits (197) and total bases (351). He arrived as a raw, talented outfielder and instantly became an elite force, securing his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards while finishing third in a crowded MVP race.

The height of his brilliance was marked by a rare combination of power and speed. From 2010 to 2013, González was a model of dynamic productivity, rattling off four consecutive "20/20" seasons, a feat of consistency that underscored his value on both sides of the ball. He possessed a beautiful, left-handed stroke that seemed perfectly tailored for the gaps of Coors Field, culminating in a massive 40-home run season in 2015 that earned him his second Silver Slugger. He was a three-time All-Star for the club, providing a high-leverage presence in the heart of a lineup that consistently challenged the best rotations in the game.

Defensive excellence remained a constant throughout his tenure, regardless of which outfield spot he occupied. A three-time Gold Glove winner, González possessed the range and instincts to shrink the outfield, eventually earning the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2012. He was a volume-dense producer who surpassed the 1,000-hit milestone in purple pinstripes, finishing his stay with the club with 227 home runs and a robust .516 slugging percentage. He proved that you could be a home run threat and a defensive anchor simultaneously, a balance that made him one of the most valuable players of his generation.

The chapter eventually reached its conclusion following the 2018 season. After returning to the Rockies on a one-year deal that spring, he entered free agency and signed with the Cleveland Indians in early 2019.