Baseball Hall Of Fame roster ready for upcoming multiplayer classes

The Baseball Hall of Fame roster is likely to enjoy a large increase after the two-member class of 2023. This will increase membership to 342 with more arriving as soon as later this year and more when the class of 2024 is complete. completed next January.

In addition to Todd Helton, who missed the 75% required for election this year, there are two very good first-time electors in Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer, as well as non-player contenders like former coaches Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella and Dave Johnson.

The “regular” vote, conducted annually by the Baseball Writers Association of America, this year elected only former third baseman Scott Rolen, while the Contemporary Baseball Eras Committee chose Fred McGriff, first baseman with 493 home runs, in a unanimous vote in San diego winter dating in december.

The second half of that committee, an offshoot of the old Veterans Committee, will consider managers, executives and umpires who have distinguished themselves since 1980 when it meets in Nashville at the upcoming Winter Meetings.

When his 10-man ballot is chosen by a special Hall of Fame judging panel, it could include the late George Steinbrenner, longtime owner of the New York Yankees; former television mogul Ted Turner, whose Atlanta Braves won a record 14 consecutive division titles; and Joe West, who has officiated more years (43) and more games (5,460) than anyone else.

Leyland, Piniella and Johnson each won world championships during their long tenures, with the Florida (now Miami) Marlins, Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets, respectively. Piniella and Leyland were Managers of the Year three times, an award Johnson has won twice.

When the writers vote for the class of 2024, they will consider several important holdovers from the last ballot.

Five players, including Helton, received at least 55% of the vote, and all have increased their percentages from a year ago.

Billy Wagner got 68.1%, Andruw Jones 58.1% and Gary Sheffield 55%. Carlos Beltran, eligible for the first time, closed at 46.5%.

They will all appear on the ballot for the class of 2024, but it will be Sheffield’s 10th and final year on the writers ballot. Subsequently, his nomination will revert to the Contemporary Baseball Players’ Eras Committee, which will meet to consider players for the Class of 10.

Several strong first-year candidates may be elected soon.

A four-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glover, Beltre played 2,759 games at third base, second on the lifetime list. He is the only player in big league history with at least 450 home runs and 3,000 hits.

Mauer, the only catcher to ever win three batting titles, also won three Gold Gloves. The 2009 American League MVP spent his entire 15-year tenure with the Minnesota Twins, ending up at first base after injuries forced him to switch positions. In six of his ten seasons behind the plate, he posted an on-base percentage of .400, an accomplishment matched by only four other backstops.

There’s also a third possible first round in the class of 2024. Chase Utley, a second baseman who made six All-Star teams and hit 100 runs batted in four times, not only helped lead the Phillies to the championship 2008 world championship, but hit a career-high five home runs in the World Series a year later.

In the class of 2005, the dunk among the rookies is Ichiro Suzuki, a .311 lifetime hitter who led the American League seven times, batting twice and stealing bases once. He and Fred Lynn remain the only players to be Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.

Another strong candidate in that election will be CC Sabathia, one of five pitchers with at least 250 wins, 3,000 strikeouts and a 600 hitting percentage. The MVP of the 2009 American League Championship Series, he also won the Cy Young Award a month later.

The class of 2027 is virtually certain to have a first-time elect in former catcher Buster Posey, while the class of 2028 is expected to have two St. Louis Cardinals favorites in three-time MVP Albert Pujols, who hit 703 home runs, and Yadier Molina, a catcher who won nine Gold Gloves and made 10 trips to the All-Star Game.

Pujols showed immediate promise, winning NL Rookie of the Year honors and finished with 3,384 hits, 10th on the lifetime list.

The results of the Eras Committee vote will be known more than a month before the next BBWAA decision is revealed in late January.

The Class of 2023 will be inducted at the Clark Sports Center, less than a mile from the Hall of Fame itself, in Cooperstown, NY.