Clemens, Bonds, Schilling Headline 2023 Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame Ballot
Monday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame released its eight-player ballot that will receive consideration from the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee for election on Dec. 4 at the Winter Meetings in San Diego, California.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling will all get another crack at election, less than a year after all three failed to receive 75% of the baseball writers' vote to reach the Hall of Fame.
Schilling received 71% of the vote in his ninth year on the ballot, and seems to have the best chance among the three to be voted in by the Contemporary Era Committee.
Bonds received 66% and Clemens received 65.2% in their final year on the writers' ballot, in 2022.
In addition to Bonds, Clemens and Schilling, Albert Belle, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy and Rafael Palmeiro will also receive consideration for the Hall of Fame.
The Contemporary Era Committee is made up of 16 members and considers candidates whose primary contribution to baseball came in 1980 or later.
In order for a player to be elected to the Hall of Fame, they must receive 75% of the vote. Committee members may only vote for three players. Any players that are voted in will become members of the Hall of Fame class of 2023.
Here is a look at the eight players on the ballot:
Albert Belle (1989-2000) — 5x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles.
Barry Bonds (1986-2007) — 7x MVP, 14x All-Star, 8x Gold Glover, 12x Silver Slugger, 2x Batting Title winner for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants.
Roger Clemens (1984-2007) — MVP, 7x Cy Young, 2x Triple Crown winner, 11x All-Star, 2x World Series champion, 7x ERA title winner, All-Star Game MVP for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros.
Don Mattingly (1982-1995) — MVP, 6x All-Star, 9x Gold Glover, 3x Silver Slugger, Batting Title winner for the New York Yankees.
Fred McGriff (1986-2004) — 5x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, World Series champion for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Dale Murphy (1976-1993) — 2x MVP, 7x All-Star, 5x Gold Glover, 4x Silver Slugger for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies.
Rafael Palmeiro (1986-2005) — 4x All-Star, 3x Gold Glover, 2x Silver Slugger for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles.
Curt Schilling (1988-2007) — 6x All-Star, 3x World Series champion, World Series MVP, NLCS MVP for the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox.
Per the Hall of Fame,
"Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of the ballots cast by the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee will earn election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 23, 2023, along with any electees who emerge from the 2023 Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 24, 2023.
The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee is one of three groups eligible for consideration as part of the Era Committee process, which provides an avenue for Hall of Fame consideration to managers, umpires and executives, as well as players retired for more than 15 seasons. The Contemporary Baseball Era features two distinct ballots: One for players (considered this fall) and one for managers, executives and umpires (considered in the fall of 2023).
Following the restructuring of the Era Committee process in the spring of 2022, the two Contemporary Baseball Era ballots were instituted, along with the Classic Baseball Era, which includes all candidates whose primary contribution to the game came prior to 1980. The Classic Baseball Era Committee will meet for the first time in the fall of 2024."
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