On November 7, the 16 member contemporary baseball era committee for the Baseball Hall of Fame released their list of former baseball player who are no longer eligible to be included in the lest of candidates voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Included on the list are player embroiled in the steroids scandal and players who were low vote getters by members of the BWAA.
The list of players are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Belle, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy and Curt Schilling. The committee will meet on December 4 in San Diego to determine who if any of the players will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Contemporary Era player – one whose career runs from 1980 on.
The player(s) will join those selected by the BWAA in January for the July 23 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. A player must receive at least 75 percent of the vote in order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The 2022 ballot was Barry Bonds final year of eligibility and continued to fall short of the 75 percent minimum due to suspicion that he knowingly used performance enhancing drugs; despite him passing Hank Aaron for the most home runs with 762 and a seven time National League MVP. Bonds continues to insist that he never knowingly took any PED’s.
Meet the candidates…
Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) and Chicago White Sox outfielder Albert Bell hit a total of 381 home runs with 1,239 RBI’s over a 12 season career that was cut short by a hip injury.
A 14 time All Star Barry Bonds tops the list in home runs with 762 and has a total of 514 stolen bases during his career. The latter years of his career were marred by injuries and a suspicion that he used banned substances.
Right handed pitcher Roger Clemens was another player marred by the steroid era. He has a career record of 354 wins and 184 losses with an ERA of 3.12. He struck out 4,672 players during his career – third behind Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. His career lasted 24 years; playing for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros. His seven Cy Young Award wins put him at the top of the list of winners.
Player and later manager Don Mattingly was a first baseman who earned an American League MVP, nine Gold Glove Awards, and earned the name Donnie Baseball during the peak of his career. He spent time with the Florida (now Miami) Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
First baseman Fred McGriff spent 19 years on the baseball diamond and earned the nickname of “the crime dog”. McGriff hit at least 30 home runs in 10 different seasons and topped 100 RBI’s eight times. Playing for six different teams, in the words of former broadcaster Skip Carey, he modeled a few uniforms.
Outfielder Dale Murphy spent most of his career as an Atlanta Brave. He is a seven time All Star, has earned five Gold Gloves, and a two time National League MVP.
Rafael Palmeiro was dropped from the list of eligible players after his fourth year for low votes. He was also marred by the steroid scandal and was even suspended 10 games for a positive test in 2005. He had 3,00 hist and 500 homers during his career and was voted to the All Star team four times.
Right Handed Pitcher Curt Schilling has had a controversial career despite a great 20 year career. In 19 years of post season play, Schilling had an ERA of 2.23 and a record of eleven and two; plus three World Series rings. He made headlines during the 2001 World Series for continuing to pitch with an ankle injury.
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