Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds on the most recent Hall of Fame ballot
Two of MLB’s best players, who were excluded from baseball immortality due to their connections to performance-enhancing substances, are now again in the running to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Eight players are on the ballot for the Contemporary Baseball Era, which was announced Monday by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, including seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens and all-time home run king Barry Bonds.
Players must have made their main contribution to the sport since 1980 in order to be eligible for the ballot. The Historical Overview Committee, which consists of eleven seasoned historians, chose the nominations.
Additionally, on the ballot:
“Carlos Delgado hit 473 home runs, including at least 25 home runs in 11 consecutive seasons.”
–Jeff Kent, a four-time Silver Slugger winner who won the 2000 National League MVP award
–The former captain of the New York Yankees, Don Mattingly, who won the 1985 American League MVP award
–Dale Murphy, the 1982–83 NL MVP who led the league in home runs and RBIs twice
— Nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield, who over 22 seasons amassed 509 home runs and 1,676 RBIs
As a rookie with the Dodgers in 1981, Fernando Valenzuela ignited “Fernandomania” in Los Angeles and went on to become the only pitcher to win both the league Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the same season.
MLB Network will live-stream the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote results on December 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Later this fall, the identities of the 16 voters—who were chosen by the Hall of Fame board—will be revealed.
In the Mitchell Report, an investigative report, Bonds, Clemens, and Sheffield were among 89 Major League Baseball players accused of using steroids or other performance-enhancing substances. The 409-page report was released in December 2007 by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who had been tasked with conducting an impartial investigation.
The report’s conclusions are what have prevented certain Hall of Famers Bonds, 61, and Clemens, 63, from running in Cooperstown.
Bonds and Clemens both fell short of the 75% threshold for induction during their ten years on the conventional ballot.
Bonds, who hit 762 home runs in his career, and Clemens’ eligibility ended in 2022. That year, Bonds received 66% of the vote and Clemens 65.2%, their greatest percentages to date.
The 56-year-old Sheffield achieved 63.9% in 2024, his last year of eligibility.
All of the nominees are still alive, with the exception of Valenzuela. October 2024 saw his death at age 63.
