The 2021 National Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced during a live broadcast from the MLB Network on Tuesday. The broadcast will begin at 6 pm Eastern time, with the announcement shortly thereafter. About 400 long-term members of the Baseball Writers Association of America are expected to vote this year. Here are the stories you need to know.
Players must appear on 75 percent of the ballots submitted to be voted on in the Hall of Fame and there is a chance that no player will be voted on this year. On Tuesday afternoon, Curt Schilling appeared on 74.9 percent of public ballots, which currently cover about half of the total ballots sent. Schilling currently has the highest percentage of votes among eligible players this year.
Historically, non-public ballots have reduced a player’s final percentage of votes. This was certainly true with Schilling. Last year, it appeared with 73.7 percent on public ballots and ended with a final percentage of 70 percent. It was 64.7% and 60.9% in the previous year, and 57.5% and 51.2% in the previous year. And so on.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, arguably the greatest hitter and pitcher of their generation, have seen their support stagnate in the 50-60 percent range in recent years and are unlikely to be introduced to Cooperstown due to their ties to performance-enhancing drugs. Schilling’s support is increasing and he has a good chance of being voted on at some point.
Of course, this is the penultimate year in the vote for Bonds, Clemens and Schilling. If they are not voted on this year, the three will appear on the ballot for the tenth and last time next year. If they are not voted on, their fates in the Hall of Fame will be passed on to the Age Committees, which meet every few years to consider players not voted on my BBWAA.
Other notables on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot include Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, Scott Rolen, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa, Omar Vizquel and Billy Wagner. This is Sosa’s ninth year on the ballots and Kent’s eighth year on the ballots. All other ballot participants have at least three years of remaining eligibility.
If no player is voted this year, it will be the eighth time that BBWAA will not vote for a player in the Hall of Fame. It also happened in 1945, 1950, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1971, 1996 and 2013. Although no player was elected to Cooperstown in 2013, eight players on that year’s ballot were eventually elected by BBWAA.
Even if no players are voted on this year, there will be an inauguration ceremony in Cooperstown in July. Last year’s ceremony was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Hall of Fame class will be honored this summer. Derek Jeter, Ted Simmons, Larry Walker and the late Marvin Miller were elected last year.
Follow the news and analysis below before, during and after this year’s Hall of Fame announcement.