MLB Hall of Fame: Update on Class of 2024 voting, led by Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Joe Mauer
The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2024 has been decided. All ballots from Baseball Writers Association of America voters, of which there are estimated to be 384, have been collected. (They had to be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2023.)
The public won't know the results until Jan. 23, so until then, we can use the incredibly useful Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker, created by Ryan Thibodaux and managed by Adam Dore and Anthony Calamis, to see which players the 109 voters who made their ballots public have voted for. We can also come to a few conclusions based on the data available so far.
Here are the top 10 vote-getters, with those over 75% (the induction threshold) in bold:
1. Adrian Beltre, 98.2%, 107 votes
2. Todd Helton, 83.5%, 91 votes
3. Joe Mauer, 82.6%, 90 votes
4. Billy Wagner, 80.7%, 88 votes
5. Gary Sheffield, 74.3%, 81 votes
T6. Carlos Beltran, 65.1%, 71 votes
T6. Andruw Jones, 65.1%, 71 votes
8. Chase Utley, 45.0%, 49 votes
9. Alex Rodriguez, 43.1%, 47 votes
10. Manny Ramirez, 40.4%, 44 votes
Joe Mauer's 90 votes are a big surprise
The voters' response to Mauer was one of the biggest questions leading into this voting cycle. How would they treat an MVP player at the most difficult and punishing position who eventually had to move on from that position because it's so punishing. We don't know the full story yet, but 90 votes from 109 ballots show that Mauer's stats and reputation are standing on their own. Not many predicted him to make the Hall in his debut year, so if voting continues at this rate, his election would be a great and unexpected surprise.
Adrian Beltre won't be a unanimous inductee
It shouldn't be a surprise to any baseball fan that Beltre is on his way to becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But there was some thinking that he could be just the second unanimous inductee in the history of the Hall. He could've been, but two voters apparently left Beltre off their ballots.
One of those voters is Bill Ballou, a Red Sox beat writer in Worcester, Massachusetts. Ballou submitted a ballot with just Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez checked off. The other is current sports radio host and former sportswriter Tony Massarotti, who also voted for only Manny and A-Rod.
Too close to call for Todd Helton, Billy Wagner and Gary Sheffield
Helton, Wagner and Sheffield have been gaining momentum the past few years. But with players limited to 10 years on the ballot, time is running out for Sheffield and Wagner. This is Sheffield's 10th and final year on the ballot, and it's Wagner's ninth.
Sheffield is just below the enshrinement threshold on the publicly revealed ballots but has already gained seven votes from last year. Still, he needs a lot more than that to finish with 75%. Wagner currently sits above the threshold, and he has one more year of eligibility if his phone doesn't ring on Jan. 23. Helton is in his sixth year on the ballot, so he has some time if his support drops this year. So far, he has gained one vote overall.
At least eight first-year candidates are in danger of falling off the ballot
It happens every year. While some players fall off after 10 years of trying, countless others fail to get 5% of the vote and disappear after their first year. With 109 ballots known, eight of the 12 first-year candidates have not yet received 5%: Jose Bautista, Bartolo Colon, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes and James Shields. They each need 20 votes to get the 5% required to remain on the ballot for another year.
