Baseball Figures in the Spotlight for the Hall of Fame
A committee from the contemporary era, composed of prominent baseball personalities, will meet to evaluate the candidates for the Hall of Fame. Among the members are renowned figures such as Ferguson Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Pérez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell, and Robin Yount.
The committee, which will meet in Orlando, Florida, during the winter meetings, will also be attended by owners Mark Attanasio of the Milwaukee Brewers and Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels.
In addition, former MLB general managers Kim Ng, Doug Melvin, Tony Reagins, and Terry Ryan will join the committee, along with journalists Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark from The Athletic, and historian Steve Hirdt.
Jane Forbes Clark, Hall of Fame president, will chair the non-voting committee. The committee will consider a ballot that includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela.
The contemporary era committee focuses on players who made their greatest contributions to the sport from 1980 onwards.
Each voter can select up to three candidates, and 75% or more of the votes are required for election. Those elected will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26, along with the players voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), whose results will be announced on January 20.
According to a change announced by the Salon last March, any candidate on the ballot who receives less than five votes will not be eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is eliminated, reappears on a ballot, and again receives less than five votes will be excluded from future ballot appearances.
Bonds and Clemens failed to garner the necessary support in 2022 in their tenth and final appearances on the BBWAA ballot. Sheffield received 63.9% of the vote in his final BBWAA vote in 2024.
Bonds denied knowing about the use of drugs to enhance performance, while Clemens maintains that he never used PEDs. Sheffield claimed not to know that the substances he used during the 2002 pre-season training contained steroids.
Bonds, a seven-time National League MVP and 14-time All-Star, set the career home run record with 762 and the single-season record with 73 in 2001.
Clemens, seven-time Cy Young Award winner, had a record of 354-184 with an ERA of 3.12 and 4,672 strikeouts.
Sheffield, a nine-time All-Star and National League batting champion in 1992, batted .292 with 509 home runs, 1,676 RBIs, and 253 stolen bases.
Murphy, a seven-time All-Star outfielder, batted .265 with 398 home runs, 1,266 RBIs, and 161 stolen bases.
Mattingly received a maximum of 145 votes (28.2%) in the first of 15 appearances on the BBWAA ballot in 2001.
