Ben Roethlisberger retired after he 2021 season, meaning he will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2027. Especially in light of changes to the Hall of Fame voting procedure, however, real questions persist about when he’s inducted. After two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP Eli Manning failed to secure he necessary votes as a first-ballot member last year, some wonder about the Steelers’ own champion.
Not his longtime backup Charlie Batch, however. “He absolutely is” a first-ballot Hall of Famer, he told Kay Adams on Up & Adams yesterday. He said that Roethlisberger’s resume is just as good if not better than Manning’s, which is true. “I think when you look at the numbers, depending on what you’re looking for, they definitely are better for him”.
Ben Roethlisberger has about 7,000 more passing yards, 52 more touchdowns, and many more wins. Manning only had seven winning seasons, and two seasons in which he won at least one playoff game. Granted, he led the Giants to Super Bowl titles in both of those seasons.
In contrast, Ben Roethlisberger retired with a 13-10 postseason record, with six seasons with a playoff win. He did finish his career on a four-game playoff losing streak, his last win coming in 2016. But by then, he already had two Super Bowl rings. He also threw nearly 6,000 yards in the playoffs with 36 touchdowns, though also with 28 interceptions. He had at least four interceptions in four different postseason runs, including one of just one game.
But Roethlisberger and everyone else will have a harder time qualifying for the Hall of Fame unless they change the voting procedures again. Last round, the first time under the new rules, they voted in a class of just four members, leaving out some eyebrow-raising names like Luke Kuechly and Reggie Wayne.
Under the new voting rules, instead of voting on a group of 15 finalists, voters trim the list to seven. Voters then select five of the seven, and only those who receive 80 percent of the votes make it. Under those rules, frankly, I don’t know if Ben Roethlisberger is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Roethlisberger undoubtedly will make the Hall of Fame at some point, though, and when he does, Charlie Batch will be there. And he’ll bring a group of kids he takes to trips to the Hall of Fame as part of his charity work.
“I don’t care if you brush it off or not”, he said to Roethlisberger, who downplayed his odds. “We’re gonna be there to celebrate you because I was there for 9 of your 18 years and I saw the work that you put into it behind the scenes when nobody gave you credit. It wasn’t until you threw for 4,952 yards that people on the outside would say, ‘Man, this guy would really throw the football’”.
Charlie Batch served as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup from 2004 through 2012. Batch missed a couple of those years due to injury, including Roethlisberger’s rookie season of 2004. But he was always a core influence in the young quarterback’s maturation on and off the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if Roethlisberger were to ask him to introduce him.
“I’m just proud of him”, Batch added of Roethlisberger. “He’s like a little brother to me, and I’m just proud of him for all the work that he actually has put in to create this opportunity for himself”.
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