New Hall of Fame inductees
Carlos Beltran, John Lackey and Jered Weaver are among 14 new names on the ballot of Hall of Fame candidates, in what could be a consultation on the effect of the Houston Astros cheating scandal on the Baseball Writers Association of North America (BBWAA) vote.
R.A. Dickey, Huston Street, Venezuela’s Francisco Rodriguez, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Cain are also on the ballot, along with Jacoby Ellsbury, Jayson Werth, Mike Napoli, J.J. Hardy, Dominican Republic’s Jhonny Peralta and Andre Ethier, the Hall of Fame and BBWAA reported Monday.
Among the candidates who have already appeared on previous ballots are Scott Rolen, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner. Rolen received 249 of 394 votes last year (63.2%), when Dominican David Ortiz was elected with 307 votes (77.9%), 11 more than the required 75%.
Helton was left with 205 votes (52%) and Wagner with 201 (51%).
Voters snubbed several stars whose careers were marked by steroids and other scandals.
Barry Bonds (260 votes, 66%), Roger Clemens (257, 65.2%) and Curt Schilling (231, 58.6%) were removed from the ballot, one year after completing 10 appearances. Instead, they will appear on the Contemporary Era Baseball Committee’s list, which meets Dec. 4 in San Diego, prior to the Major League Baseball winter meetings.
Others remaining on the BBWAA ballot include Andruw Jones (163 votes or 41.1% last year), Gary Sheffield (160, 40.6%), Alex Rodriguez (135, 34.3%), Jeff Kent (129, 32, 7%), Manny Ramirez (114, 28.9%), Omar Vizquel (94, 23.9%), Andy Pettitte (42, 10.7%), Jimmy Rollins (37, 9.4%), Bobby Abreu (34, 8.6%), Mark Buehrle (23, 5.8%) and Torii Hunter (21, 5.3%).
Kent, who received his highest percentage of support last year, will appear on the BBWAA ballot for the tenth and final time.
BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be submitted no later than December 31 and results will be announced on January 24.
Any player elected will be inducted into Cooperstown on June 23, along with those voted by the contemporary era committee.
The Puerto Rican-born Beltran, a nine-time All-Star Game selection, had a .279 batting average with 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 steals for the Kansas City Royals, Houston, the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers.
On Nov. 1, 2019, he was hired as manager of the Mets, who fired him on Jan. 16 without managing a single game, three days after he was the only Astros player mentioned by name in a Major League Baseball report on the misuse of electronics to steal signs during Houston’s 2017 World Series-winning campaign.
Alex Rodriguez, a three-time MVP and 14-time All-Star Game selection, totaled 696 home runs. He was suspended during the 2014 season for violating the majors’ anti-drug policy and collective bargaining agreement.
Meanwhile, Ortiz’s name reportedly appeared on a list of players who tested positive during a drug test in 2003.
Lackey won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for the Los Angeles Angels as a rookie. He won the Fall Classic also in 2013, with the Boston Red Sox, and in 2016, with the Chicago Cubs.
He had a 188-147 record with a 3.92 ERA in 15 campaigns, and an 8-6 record with a 3.44 ERA in the playoffs.
Weaver, a three-time All-Star Game selection, had a 150-98 record and a 3.63 ERA.
