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Once again, the Hall of Fame voting was dominated by newcomers to the ballot, as three players were inducted -- all on their maiden appearance on the ballot. Don Drysdale narrowly missed setting a record, getting 99.0% of the vote. First baseman Jeff Bagwell was tabbed on 96.5% of the ballots, while right fielder Cliff Heathcote drew 88.8% of the vote.

Drysdale was, by many measures, the most dominant pitcher in HDRL history. He was selected second overall by the Cincinnati Spiders in the 2015 draft. He posted a strong rookie season in 2016, finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting, going 14-12 with a 2.50 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. After his sophomore season was marred by a hamstring injury, Drysdale rebounded in 2018 to go 21-7 with a 2.37 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP, making the first of his 13 All-Star teams. The following season, he posted an 18-8 mark with a 2.47 ERA and a league-leading 0.91 WHIP, allowing just 24 walks in 218 innings. He posted a hard-luck 12-8 record in 2021 despite a stellar 2.33 ERA and a microscopic 0.85 WHIP, fanning 232 hitters, while finishing third in the Cy Young voting.. After posting a 1.64 ERA in 18 starts the following year -- Drysdale suffered a career-threatening UCL tear, but he returned as strong as ever. In 2024, Drysdale posted a 1.96 ERA, a league-best 0.88 WHIP, fanned 249 hitters, and led the league with 9.4 WAR -- yet somehow went just 9-12 for the offensively-challenged Spiders, as he finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. The following year, he led the Frontier League with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP, posting a 10-5 record, and again finishing fourth in the Cy Young voting. In both 2026 and 2027, Drysdale again led the league in WHIP, despite modest won-lost records, and in 2028, he posted a 1.75 ERA with a 12-6 record, yielding just five homers in 180 innings. Drysdale finally got some offensive support in 2029, as he went 21-5 with a 2.02 ERA and a league-best 0.90 WHIP, fanning 247 hitters, as he finished second in the Cy Young voting and third in the MVP voting. In 2030, he posted an 18-8 record, and led the Spiders to their only world championship, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.55 ERA in their postseason run. Following that season, he decamped to San Antonio, and he won his first Cy Young Award in 2031, going 16-5 with a 2.75 ERA, a league-best 0.92 WHIP, and 230 strikeouts. He won a second Cy Young Award the following season, going 12-10 despite a league-best 2.29 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and 222 strikeouts. He nearly made it a trifecta in 2033, coming in third in the voting after going 19-5 with a league-best 1.72 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. After two off-seasons, he signed with the Kansas City Mad Hatters in free agency, where he posted a 24-14 mark in two seasons. He signed with the Vancouver Viceroys, as he tried to make a run for 300 victories, but suffered a career-ending elbow injury after seven starts. Overall, Drysdale posted a 283-165 career record, despite several seasons of subpar offensive support. He posted a career ERA of 2.48 (fourth best among starting pitchers), leading the league three times and posting three qualifying seasons with ERA's below 2.00. Remarkably, he led the league in WHIP 9 times, with a career 0.96 mark, ranking third all-time - including thirteen straight seasons with a WHIP at or below 1.00. Drysdale is the all-time HRDL leader with 4157 strikeouts and 159.3 WAR. He won two Cy Young Awards and made 13 All-Star teams. He posted a solid postseason record, going 10-8 with a 2.92 ERA, and a 1.05 WHIP.

Bagwell was drafted third overall by the Portland Skunks following the 2019 season. He was the runner-up for the 2020 Rookie of the Year award, hitting .284 with 22 homers, 76 RBI's, and 89 runs scored. He had a breakout season in 2022, hitting .319 and slugging .531, popping 30 homers and driving in 114 runs. The following year, he hit .348, led the league with a .458 on-base percentage, while popping 38 homers and plating 118 runs, while finishing second in the MVP voting. Bagwell led the league in on-base percentage again in 2026, posting a .429 mark while hitting .299 with 33 homers and driving in 95 runs. After hitting 91 homers over the next three seasons, he took another step forward in 2030, as he hit .311 and slugged .603, blasting 43 longballs and driving in 136 runs while scoring 131, as he finished second in the MVP voting. He turned in another second-place finish in 2031, as he hit .341, with a league-leading .459 on-base percentage and a .705 slugging percentage, as he popped 55 homers and drove in 143 runs, leading Portland to its lone World Series title. Bagwell also led Portland to a World Series title that season, scoring 22 runs in 23 games as he blasted 7 postseason homers. He remained an elite power hitter well into his mid-30's, averaging 40 homers per year over the next four seasons, while driving in 120 runs in 2033 and 129 more the following year. At age 38, he remained productive, posting a .397 on-base percentage and a .488 slugging percentage, but he played only sparingly the next two years. A lifelong Portland Skunk, Bagwell retired with a slash line of .295/ .417/ .542, notching 2834 hits, with 529 doubles, 574 homers, 1749 RBI's, 1836 runs scored, and 119.7 WAR. At the time of his induction, he was tied for 8th all-time in homers, tied for 14th all-time in runs scored, 18th in RBI's, and 9th in WAR. He made eight All-Star teams and won two Silver Slugger awards. Bagwell also blasted 23 round-trippers in 106 postseason games, scoring 77 runs and driving in 61, including a 7-homer, 17 RBI performance as he lead Portland to the 2031 title.

Heathcote, a right fielder, was drafted 53rd overall by the Charlotte Aviators in the supplemental round of the 2016 draft. Heathcote held his own as a 19-year-old rookie, hitting .281 and slugging .440, with 16 homers, 61 RBI's, 87 runs scored, and 44 steals. In his 2018 sophomore campaign, he hit .308 and led the league with a .568 slugging percentage, with 41 doubles, 32 homers, 120 RBI's, and 43 steals. After two more seasons topping .300 with at least 20 homers and 50 steals, Heathcote popped 30 homers and swiped 75 bases in 2021 while scoring 122 runs, and drilled 30 more the following year, to go with 48 doubles, 64 steals and 127 steals. In 2023, Heathcote had a career year, and finished third in the MVP voting after hitting .309 and slugging .618, with 48 doubles, 47 homers, 143 RBI's, 139 runs, and a league-leading 88 steals. Following the season, he signed with the Dallas Wildcatters as a free agent. After two off seasons, he rebounded in 2026 to hit .313, blasting 31 homers with 107 RBI's, 113 runs scored, and swipe 55 bags. He smacked 25 homers and drove in 93 runs in 2027, stealing 70 bases, and followed it up the next year by hitting 29 homers, driving in 105 runs, and stealing 76 bases. He hit .311 and slugged .496 in 2029, ripping 50 doubles, 21 homers, and driving in 97 runs with 68 steals, but missed most of the following season with a broken foot. Heathcote then signed with the Phoenix Lizards in free agency, and returned with a vengeance, hitting a career-high .329 and slugging .588 with 46 doubles, 33 homers, 117 RBI's, 114 runs scored, and 50 steals. He followed it up with a 30-homer, 112-RBI campaign, stealing an additional 30 bases. In 2033, Heathcote hit .325 with 29 homers, 80 RBI's, and 31 steals. After another solid season, he signed with the Omaha Falcons, where he had two straight seasons over .290 with at least 20 homers and 100 RBI's each year, before wrapping up his career with spot duty with the St. Louis Pilots. Over his storied career, Heathcote posted a .291 / .362/ .501 slash line, ripping 3347 hits (11th all-time), including 741 doubles (4th all-time), 521 homers, driving in 1946 runs (8th all-time), scoring 1978 runs (4th all-time), and stealing 1002 bases (4th all-time), while generating 75.9 WAR. In 64 postseason games, he popped 13 doubles and 8 homers, scoring 33 runs while driving in 34 runs, and stealing a tremendous 27-of-31 bases. Heathcote made four all-star teams and won one Silver Slugger award.

Leading vote recipients include:

Don Drysdale, RHP, CIN/ SA/ LA/ KC/ VAN: 99.0%
Jeff Bagwell, 1B, POR: 96.5%
Cliff Heathcote, RF, CHA/ DAL/ PHO/ OMA/ STL: 88.8%
Gorman Thomas, CF, HAR/ ELP/ OMA/ CHI/ CHA : 73.5%
Larry Parrish, 3B, ANA/ CHA: 66.1%
Gary Sanchez, C, BAL: 61.0%
Jack Clark, RF, STL/ TOR/ ELP/ LON/ LA: 57.5%
Elston Howard, C, MTL/ LA: 56.5%
Trevor Story, SS, LA/ CHA/ ATL/ MIL: 51.5%
High Pockets Kelly, RF, TOR/ JAX/ AUS/ DAL/ CHI: 49.8%
Aroldis Chapman, LHP, OTT/ WAS/ POR: 45.4%
Bernie Friberg, 2B, OKC/ DEN/ WAS: 44.4%

In one of the smallest Hall of Fame ballots since the early years of the league, only 42 players were eligible. 9 players received at least 50% of the vote, and 6 more topped 30%. 27 players drew at least 10% of the vote. Notable players who dropped off the ballot included rightfielder Pat Duncan, who tallied 2934 career hits, 6-time Gold Glove centerfielder Chet Lemon, 11-time Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Arcia, 5-ti All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter, and slugging right fielder Tommy Henrich.

Here's a look at the newest Hall of Famers: