On November 3 the MLB Hall of Fame announced the names of the Contemporary Baseball Era finalists for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The newest class of Hall of Fame inductees will be revealed on December 7.
The Contemporary Era focuses on players since 1980.
In order to become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame a player must earn at least 75% of the possible votes from the 16 member committee.
Steroid era players Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are joined by Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela are the finalists for the Hall of Fame.
Meet the 2026 Modern Era Hall of Fame nominees:
Home run champion Barry Bonds played outfield set the record for most homers in a single season with 73 and the all-time home run record at 762. He also holds the record for most walks with 2,558 and has seven MVP trophies. A two time batting champion and 14 time All Star, Bonds led the on-base percentage 10 times and the slugging percentage seven times with 514 stolen bases. His trophy room includes 12 Silver Slugger and 12 Golden Glove Awards.
“The Rocket”, seven time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens. A two time World Series winner, Clemens is an eleven time All Star, has led the league five times in strikeouts, has seven ERA titles, and is a Triple Crown winner. When he retired after 24 seasons, he had amassed 4,672 K’s with two 20 strikeout games.
Roberto Clemente Award winner Carlos Delgado spent 17 seasons in the MLB and hit 473 home runs. He had nine seasons where he topped the 100 RBI mark.
Second baseman Jeff Kent is a five time All Star and the National League MVP in 2000. With over 1,500 RBI’s, he has six seasons with over 100 RBI’s and has earned four Silver Slugger Awards.
Spending his entire 14 year career with the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly is a six time All Star, earned a batting title, three Silver Slugger Awards, an MVP, and a total of eight Gold Gloves. After his playing days were over, Mattingly spent the next 12 years coaching; earning him a Manager of the Year Award in 2020 while with the Miami Marlins.
Spending a majority of his career as a member of the Atlanta Braves, Dale Murphy is a seven time All Star, a five time Gold Glove Award winner, a four time Silver Slugger Award winner, and a Roberto Clementa Award winner.
Outfielder Gary Sheffield spent 22 years in the MLB and during that time he hit 509 home runs and had 1,676 RBI’s. In 1992 as a member of the San Diego Padres, he had a record setting 323 total bases. He had eight seasons with at least 30 homers and 100 RBI’s. His is also a batting title winner and a member of the Miam Marlins World Series winning team.
Still in his teens, Fernando Valenzuela took Major League Baseball by storm in 1980 and very quickly became a phenomenon. The Mexican born player left hander spent 17 seasons in the MLB where he racked up a Rookie of the Year, a Cy Young Award, two Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove Award. He is also a two time World Series winning pitcher.