The good news? Bonds, Clemens, Schilling, and Sosa are all off the ballot, each having failed last year in his 10th try on the BBWA ballot.
No, the debate this time will be over Carlos Beltrán.
Quote:
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In 2017, Beltrán closed his career by winning the World Series with the Houston Astros — but he was later found to be instrumental in devising their notorious electronic sign-stealing scheme. The scandal cost Beltrán his job as the Mets’ manager before his first game in their dugout. Now, it complicates his candidacy for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Maybe there are some other names on this list that you are eager to talk about. (I would have made it a poll, but it's limited to only 15 choices and there are 28 candidates. Last year, we split it into two polls but that didn't work out very well.)
The talk: Rolen has the best shot at election but, after five years, he may have peaked. Sheffield, Rodriguez, Kent, and Ramirez would need a substantial influx of support to contend this year. Of the newcomers, only Beltrán has a chance but that depends on the baseball writers' opinion of his role in the Astros cheating scandal.
Otherwise, "There’s a decent chance that nobody on the writers’ ballot will gain the required 75 percent; the induction class for July in Cooperstown, N.Y., would then consist only of candidates selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee, which meets next month at the winter meetings in San Diego."
More statistics, plus explanations of the column headings, here:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/a...hof_2023.shtml