NEWSLETTER
It’s official: the 2016 Hall of Fame Class will include 2 new members: Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza. Just about everyone expected Ken Griffey, Jr., but he did fail to reach the elusive unanimous decision (thanks to three voters). Mike Piazza and Trevor Hoffman felt like they had good chances, but the latter came up 8% short. Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines were the two closest misses.
For the rest, only those that received at least 5% of the vote are allowed to remain on the ballot for 2016. That means that 13 players will not be returning next year.* For those that did receive at least 5% of the vote, they may remain on the ballot for a total of 10 years. This is down from the previous rule of 15 years.
Once again, Sammy Sosa did receive more than 5% of the vote – 7% to be exact – and will stay on the ballot for 2017.
The full list of vote tallies and background information from the BBWAA:
Garret Anderson – 1 (0.2%)
Brad Ausmus – 0 (0%)
Jeff Bagwell – 315 (71.6%)
Barry Bonds – 195 (44.3%)
Luis Castillo – 0 (0%)
Roger Clemens – 199 (45.2%)
David Eckstein – 2 (0.5%)
Jim Edmonds – 11 (2.5%)
Nomar Garciaparra – 8 (1.8%)
Troy Glaus – 0 (0%)
Ken Griffey Jr. – 437 (99.32%)
Mark Gruzielanek – 0 (0%)
Mike Hampton – 0 (0%)
Trevor Hoffman – 196 (67.3%)
Jason Kendall – 2 (0.5%)
Jeff Kent – 73 (16.6%)
Mike Lowell – 0 (0%)
Edgar Martinez – 191 (43.4%)
Fred McGriff – 92 (20.9%)
Mark McGwire – 54 (12.3%)
Mike Mussina – 189 (43.0%)
Mike Piazza – 365 (83%)
Tim Raines – 307 (69.8%)
Curt Schilling – 230 (52.3%)
Gary Sheffield – 51 (11.6%)
Lee Smith – 150 (34.1%)
Sammy Sosa – 31 (7.0%)
Mike Sweeny – 3 (0.7%)
Alan Trammell – 180 (40.9%)
Billy Wagner – 46 (10.5%)
Larry Walker – 68 (15.5%)
Randy Winn – 0 (0%)
[adinserter block=”1″]Notable:
*[Brett: Pretty ridiculous that Jim Edmonds is a one-and-done. Give his career a closer look. Voters did not.]
