The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will welcome just one new member elected by the BBWAA: David Ortiz, who earned 77.9 percent of the vote to become a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and the fourth Dominican-born player in the Hall.
Ortiz earned 307 of 394 votes from the electorate, and will join six others who were selected by various Eras Committees – Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Bud Fowler, and Buck O'Neil – in the Class of 2022 when they are enshrined in Cooperstown this July.
Candidates needed 296 votes to earn induction (six of the 394 ballots cast were blanks), so the vote means that Barry Bonds (66 percent), Roger Clemens (65.2), Curt Schilling (58.6), and Sammy Sosa (18.5) all fell short in their tenth and final years on the ballot, meaning they will drop off and have to leave their eventual HOF fates in the hands of the Eras Committees.
Schilling had been the highest-vote getter in 2021, when no one was elected, but dropped from 71.1 percent (285 of 401 ballots) to 58.6 (231 of 394) in his final year.
Among other notables, fellow first-timer Scott Rolen (63.2 percent) was the fourth-highest vote getter, with Todd Helton (52) and Billy Wagner (51) the only other players to receive 50 percent or better.
Alex Rodriguez, meanwhile, earned 34.3 percent of the vote, tenth-highest among the 30 nominees, while Manny Ramirez was 12th with 28.9 percent.
Among other New York notables: Andruw Jones (41.4) and Gary Sheffield (34.3) finished eighth and ninth just ahead of A-Rod; Jeff Kent (32.7) was 11th; and Andy Pettitte (10.8) and Bobby Abreu (8.6) finished well down the ballot but earned enough votes to return on next year's slate.
Mark Teixeira, however, was among 10 players who did not receive at least five percent of the vote, and will not return to the ballot. Tex was sixth to last with just 1.5 percent, joining Joe Nathan (4.3), Tim Hudson (3), Tim Lincecum (2.3), Ryan Howard (2), Justin Morneau (1.3), Prince Fielder (0.5), A.J Pierzynski (0.5), Carl Crawford (no votes received) and Jake Peavy (no votes received).
Thanks to Papi's election and the 15 drop-offs from those timing out or not receiving enough votes, there will be 14 holdovers on the 2023 ballot, with Jeff Kent the only one in their 10th and final year.
First-time eligible players next year include several players who had stints in New York, including these four notables: Carlos Beltran, Francisco Rodriguez, Jacoby Ellsbury, and R.A. Dickey.
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