Since 2021, the number of retired players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (Cooperstown, for short) thanks to journalists/descriptors/analysts is not very significant.
The last two elected are David Ortiz with 77.9% and Scott Rolen with 76.3%. The latter had to wait until his sixth attempt to finally reach Cooperstown.
The year 2024 could, however, reverse the trend. As of the morning of January 19, a total of 181 votes were counted by Ryan Thibodaux and his team, or half of the ballots needed. (Editor's note: you can also follow the vote on the hyperlink above)
To put it very simply, this team is the one that records the votes of the people who can cast their votes for the next players admitted to the Hall of Fame.
Adrian Beltré (1st attempt)
So far, Adrian Beltré is almost unanimous in his desire to reach Cooperstown. At the time of writing, he was at 98.6% support. It must be said that he is on his first attempt to become a member of the Hall of Fame.
With over 3,000 hits and 450 home runs, his candidacy seems pretty compelling. Not forgetting his golden gloves, silver bats and his approximately 3,000 games in 21 seasons in major baseball.
As they say in good Quebec, “it’s looking good” for Beltré.
Joe Mauer (1st attempt)
There are very few receivers who have the chance to be in the Hall of Fame. We're talking about ten.
Imagine when a receiver gets the opportunity to break into Cooperstown on his first attempt.
This is what could happen to Joe Mauer, who maintains an 84 percentage so far.
The summary of his career is enough to impress. Fifteen seasons in major league baseball, several appearances at the All-Star Game, three batting championships (final average of .309) and more. Her Win Above Replacement is 55.9.
Succeeding in doing what he did as a receiver (and a bit on the first cushion) is no small feat. Added to this is the mental load and all the stress of being a receiver. He had what it took to lead pitchers well.
Voters shouldn't have too much trouble admitting this, even if it's not in the first year. However, this is not going to cause him to miss the boat.
Only catchers Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez reached the Hall of Fame in their first season. Will Joe Mauer join these two legends?
Others…
2024 could finally be the year of Todd Helton. On his sixth attempt, the Colorado Rockies first baseman maintains his eligibility. He holds 83.4% as of January 19 in the morning.
Left-handed pitcher Billy Wagner could also be admitted in 2024. He hangs on with 79.6% support from journalists.
An interesting case is that of Gary Sheffield. The outfielder and third baseman has 74.6% of the vote, but he obviously needs 75%. However, this is his last chance to be inducted.
Some players could also simply be ousted from the votes since they did not obtain the 5% necessary to remain on the table. We will see if the trend will continue by the end.
- Torii Hunter (4.5%)
- Jose Bautista (1.1%)
- Bartolo Colon (0.6%)
- Matt Holliday (0.6%)
- Victor Martinez (0.6%)
- Adrian Gonzalez (0%)
- Brandon Phillips (0%)
- Jose Reyes (0%)
- James Shields (0%)
Here is the list of those who could remain on the nerd next year, even if they do not have the required 75%.
- Andrew Jones (71.2%)
- Carlos Beltran (66.7%)
- Chase Utley (43.5%)
- Alex Rodriguez (39.5%)
- Manny Ramirez (35.6%)
- Bobby Abreu (19.8%)
- Andy Pettitte (15.8%)
- Jimmy Rollins (14.1%)
- Omar Vizquel (10.2%)
- Mark Buehrle (7.9%)
- Francisco Rodriguez (7.3%)
- David Wright (7.3%)
