I'd argue you shouldn't fire off before reading, but I totally get it.

He said in his section of the article that he refuses to vote for him due to the 2012 domestic assault incident.

Exactly, you invited discourse hence "you asking", and I said being a shitbird towards someone you don't know on the internet isn't actually constructive towards the conversation.

I have the right to my opinion and you're posting on a public forum. The ballot overall is fine your "this is trash" attitude was the thing worth commenting on.

And he can still clown on you for saying "bad ballot" which doesn't contribute to the conversation. Tbh, I think the best part of the HoF process is that there's a lot of nuance. Well, until someone leaves Ichiro off, then we can have a discussion about "bad ballot"

I see it more of as an indication of someone's feeling towards their credentials in the HOF. If you're truly undecided and want to see how your colleagues feel over time about someone and then reevalutate, it's a perfectly acceptable strategy. Plus, you get the claim that you helped them in.