Path to Coopertown: Who Will Be Inducted to the Hall in 2021?

By Will Lanigan

According to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and Major League Baseball, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, has released its ballot for induction the 2021 class.  

Mark Buehrle, A.J. Burnett, Michael Cuddyer, Dan Haren, LaTroy Hawkins, Tim Hudson, Torii Hunter, Aramis Ramirez, Nick Swisher, Shane Victorino, and Barry Zito all make their debut on this year’s ballot.  

75% of the vote is needed for a spot in Cooperstown.  Pending their election to the Hall of Fame, players’ names are listed on the ballot for 10 years as long as they receive 5% of the votes each year.

  Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa return to the ballot for the 9^th year, meaning if they are not elected, they each have one more year to hope and pray they make it.  

Schilling received 70% of the required 75% in 2020.  Clemens and Bonds follow not too far behind with 61% and 60.7%, respectively.  

Sammy Sosa is a long-shot candidate, having received 13.9% last time.  Jeff Kent appears for his 8^th time, having received 27.5% in 2020. 

 Remaining candidates are Gary Sheffield (7^th year, 30.5% in 2020), Billy Wagner (6^th, 31.7%), Manny Ramirez (5^th, 28.2%), Omar Vizquel (4^th, 52.6%), Scott Rolen (4^th, 35.3%), Andruw Jones (4^th, 19.4%), Todd Helton (3^rd, 29.2%), Andy Pettitte (3^rd, 11.3%), and Bobby Abreu (2^nd, 5.5%).  

None of this year’s newcomers seem likely to enter the Hall on their first ballot, which, in theory, could pave the way for Schilling, Clemens, Bonds, or Vizquel to be elected. 

 Schilling would likely already have been enshrined, except for the fact that he is known to make controversial posts and statements on his social media pages.  Still, he only needs 5% more of the votes in order to be enshrined this year.  

Bonds and Clemens have simply been kept out of the Hall thanks to suspicions that they used performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.  

Bonds’ 762 home runs and 7 Most Valuable Player Awards in a 22-year career are both all-time records. 

Clemens, on the other hand, won 354 ballgames, struck out 4,672, and won a record 7 Cy Young Awards in a 24-year career. 

 Some of the HOF voters have kept from voting for these two men, even though it has never been proven that either of them used steroids, and neither man has ever admitted to cheating. 

Schilling, Clemens, Bonds, and Vizquel collectively have the best chance of being elected and inducted into the Hall of Fame in July 2021.  Votes must be submitted by the Baseball Writers by the end of December, and the results will be announced on January 26 on the MLB Network.