It is expected that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) will make the announcement on Tuesday regarding the results of the voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024. This topic is always the subject of a heated debate in the baseball community.
On July 21, the players who have been admitted into the Hall of Fame will arrive in Cooperstown. In order to be inducted, athletes must receive 75% of the vote.
Now, let’s take a look at the ballot for this year, beginning with the candidates that are returning.
Helton leads the way
As a result of receiving 72.2% of the votes on ballots cast, Colorado Rockies legend Todd Helton came very close to being selected for the Class of 2023, which also included Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen.
With a maximum of ten times that can be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame, this will be Helton’s sixth appearance on the ballot.
Regarding the tenth year, Gary Sheffield, who received fifty-five percent of the votes in the previous year, will be on his ballot for the tenth and last year. Another candidate who came in close with 68.1% of the vote is Billy Wagner, who is about to enter his tenth year.
The only other returning player who received more than fifty percent of the vote in 2023 was Andruw Jones, who also received 58.1% of the vote.
In addition, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, and Manny Ramirez are among the returning players who got a significant number of votes but still required additional votes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There is no question that each of these three players has their own dark times in the game, which is why they are all considered divisive topics in discussions about the Hall of Fame.
Although Beltran is tied to performance-enhancing drugs, he is not connected to them like the other two are. Due to the fact that he was involved in the cheating incident that occurred with the Houston Astros in 2017, he was mentioned in the report that found the team to be guilty.
He was a coach at the time, and there is little question that he had a resume worthy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. He had nine All-Star seasons, with 435 home runs, 2,725 hits, and a 70.1 WAR as a switch hitter. This was Beltran’s first year in office, and he received 46.5% of the vote in 2023.
New kids on the block
This year, there will be a large number of new players who will be included on the vote. These players will be hoping to remain on the ballot because five percent of all ballots must have their name marked off in order to return if they are not inducted.
The following players are included on the list: Jose Bautista, Adrian Beltre, Bartolo Colon, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes, James Shields, Chase Utley, and David Wright.
Beltre is one of the candidates listed, and the BBWAA has a good chance of electing him as a first-year candidate. He finished his storied career with a 93.5 WAR, which is the third-most among third basemen in the history of the league. He not only finished his career with 3,166 hits and 477 home runs, but he also finished his career with a WAR that is third-most among third basemen.
There is also the possibility that Joe Mauer, a legend associated with the Minnesota Twins, and Chase Utley, an icon associated with the Philadelphia Phillies, could receive a significant amount of votes. What remains to be seen is whether or not they are sufficient to pass the 75% criterion.
In addition, Wright, the renowned third baseman for the New York Mets, will be an intriguing figure to keep an eye on during the voting process. In the event that spinal stenosis had not prevented him from having a shorter career, he might have been a surefire pick. With a career batting average of.296 and 242 home runs, he was selected for the All-Star team seven times, won the Gold Glove award twice, and was a Silver Slugger twice.
