Earlier this week, the BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2021. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 26th, with induction hopefully taking place July 25th. After Derek Jeter and Larry Walker were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 11 newcomers, which may potentially continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.
Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.
Bobby Abreu
Years on ballot: 1
2020 Percentage: 5.5
After just barely surviving for a second time through the process, I wouldn’t be making any travel plans to Cooperstown if I were Abreu.
Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 8
2020 Percentage: 60.7
The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the sixth straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be slightly subsiding. But, with only 2 more shots with the writers, it would take a huge mindset change for him to get up to 75%.
Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 8
2020 Percentage: 61.0
Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a another slight bump rise after his eighth run through the voting process. For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.
Todd Helton
Years on ballot: 2
2020 Percentage: 29.2
A nice increase in his second showing, but it looks like Helton’s going to suffer from the same Colorado bias as Larry Walker, who needed all 10 of his chances to get elected.
Andruw Jones
Years on ballot: 3
2020 Percentage: 19.4
If voters were to stick to his first 11 seasons, Jones looks like a shoe-in for the Hall. His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him. Despite more than doubling his vote percentage, those final seasons seem to be holding sway.
Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 7
2020 Percentage: 27.5
With only 3 go-arounds left for the 2000 NL MVP, things do not look promising.
Andy Pettitte
Years on ballot: 2
2020 Percentage: 11.3
The stain of PEDs looks to be keeping Andy Pettitte closer to the Sammy Sosas of the world than the Roger Clemenses of the world.
Manny Ramirez
Years on ballot: 4
2020 Percentage: 28.2
The numerous PED suspensions at the end of Ramirez’s career look to be holding him back, though his vote percentage did increase slightly in his fourth go-around on the ballot.
Scott Rolen
Years on ballot: 3
2020 Percentage: 35.3
It’s not a good sign that he has been missing from this write-up the last few years and I didn’t notice until now.
Curt Schilling
Years on ballot: 8
2020 Percentage: 70.0
Schilling doesn’t have far to go, and nobody who has gotten this high of a percentage did not eventually make it, but with only two shots left and his numerous bigoted screeds on social media, it is still a bit of a tossup.
Gary Sheffield
Years on ballot: 6
2020 Percentage: 30.5
Another case of PED use derailing what would otherwise be considered a sure-fire HOF career.
Sammy Sosa
Years on ballot: 8
2020 Percentage: 13.9
With only 2 years left on the ballot, Sosa seems destined to be left on the outside looking in.
Omar Vizquel
Years on ballot: 3
2020 Percentage: 52.6
I would assume that he will eventually make it in, but may have to wait a while.
Billy Wagner
Years on ballot: 5
2020 Percentage: 31.7
The former Astro and Phillie closer saw a big increase last year, though he still has a long way to go if he’s going to make it.