Baseball’s 2017 Hall of Fame class: Tim Raines (left), Ivan Rodriguez (center), and Jeff Bagwell.Jonathan Daniel /Allsport; G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images; Bob Levey/Getty Images
Baseball’s Hall of Fame has three new members as Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez, and Jeff Bagwell have been elected.
Raines, on the ballot for the tenth and final time, eclipsed the necessary 75% of the votes for the first time by being named on 86.0% of the ballots. Bagwell, in his seventh year on the ballot, received votes from 86.2% of the baseball writers. Rodriguez was eligible for the first time and was named on 76.0% of the ballots.
In addition to the three who were voted in, this year’s vote showed some promise for several other players.
Both Trevor Hoffman (74.0%; second year on the ballot) and Vladimir Guerrero (71.7%; first year on the ballot) appear to be locks to get in eventually.
More notable are the voting results for some players linked to the steroid era.
Roger Clemens was named on 54.1% of the ballots in his fifth year. While he still has a ways to go, this year’s voting was a strong increase over the 45.2% he received last year, suggesting he will get in eventually. Likewise, Barry Bonds was named on 53.8%, up from 44.3% a year ago. On the other hand, Manny Ramirez seems like a long shot, receiving just 23.8% in his first year of eligibility.
Of the players not elected this year, Edgar Martinez received the biggest boost in support. He was named on 58.6% of the ballots this year after receiving 43.4% in 2016. It will be close for Martinez, who only has two years of eligibility left.
Meanwhile, Curt Schilling’s total votes actually fell this year from 52.3% last year to 45.0% this year. He still has five years of eligibility left.
Here are the full results via the Baseball Writers Association of America:
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