The results for the 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame vote have been revealed and we know that the BBWAA has selected Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, and Todd Helton to be inducted into the Hall this coming summer along with manager Jim Leyland.
The breakdown of the vote has two important numbers every year. Those getting at least 75% of the vote are now Hall of Famers while those getting less than 5% fall off the ballot. The players in between those figures carry over to the next ballot until they've been on for 10 years. Gary Sheffield has lapsed off the ballot, but the rest of the players between 5-75% will be back next year, including Billy Wagner who fell less than two percentage points shy of induction. Those players (2024 vote percentage in parentheses):
- Billy Wagner (73.8%)
- Andruw Jones (61.6)
- Carlos Beltrán (57.1)
- Alex Rodríguez (34.8)
- Manny Ramírez (32.5)
- Chase Utley (28.8)
- Omar Vizquel (17.7)
- Bobby Abreu (14.8)
- Jimmy Rollins (14.8)
- Andy Pettitte (13.5)
- Mark Buehrle (8.3)
- Francisco Rodríguez (7.8)
- Torii Hunter (7.3)
- David Wright (6.2)
Beyond those names, players who have been retired for five years and played for at least 10 in the majors, except for exigent circumstances, are eligible to become first-timers on the ballot. A six-member screening committee made up of baseball writers appointed by the BBWAA determines the final list. Here are the biggest names joining the ballot next year:
Ichiro Suzuki is the sure-thing first-timer next year. The 10-time All-Star and 2001 MVP led the league in hits seven times and won two batting titles. He had 3,089 hits stateside after 1,278 in Japan. He hit .311 in his MLB career while scoring 1,420 runs and stealing 509 bases.
CC Sabathia won a Cy Young and finished in the top five of voting four other times. He finished his career 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA (116 ERA+) and 3,093 strikeouts (18th all time) in 3,577 1/3 innings. He pitched in the playoffs in 10 different seasons, going 10-7 with a 4.28 ERA. He won the 2009 ALCS MVP. Sabathia sits 55th in all-time pitcher WAR, placing him higher than almost a dozen of the current 66 Hall of Fame starting pitchers.
Dustin Pedroia was a four-time All-Star who won three World Series rings (though he was only active for two of the championships). He won both a Rookie of the Year and MVP. In his 14 seasons with the Red Sox, he hit .299/.365/.439 (113 OPS+) with 1,805 hits, 394 doubles, 140 homers, 725 RBI, 922 runs and 138 stolen bases. There are 22 Hall of Fame second basemen currently, and Pedroia ranks 22nd in WAR and 19th in JAWS.
Ian Kinsler is 20th in JAWS and WAR among second basemen. The four-time All-Star won two Gold Gloves and was one of the Red Sox second basemen for the 2018 World Series with Pedroia hurt. In his 14 seasons, Kinsler collected 1,999 hits (seriously!), 416 doubles, 257 homers, 909 RBI, 1,243 runs and 243 steals.
Félix Hernández, known as King Félix, won a Cy Young and finished in the top eight six times with two runners-up. He retired with a 169-136 record and 3.42 ERA (117 ERA+). He struck out 2,524 batters in 2,729 2/3 innings. He sits 96th in starting pitcher JAWS and the most statistically similar pitchers in history were Cole Hamels, Kevin Appier and John Lackey.
Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Zobrist, Curtis Granderson, Hanley Ramírez, Russell Martin, Adam Jones, Brian McCann and Fernando Rodney are among the others who could also be placed on the ballot.
