For the first time since 2013 and ninth time since the BBWAA began voting, no one has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the BBWAA ballot.
Due to the former Veterans Committee’s annual voting also being pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is also the first time since 1960 that the entire Hall of Fame class is empty.
None of the 25 players on the BBWAA ballot reached the 75 percent vote threshold to be elected to the Class of 2021, with Curt Schilling coming closest with 71.1 percent. Barry Bonds (61.8 percent), Roger Clemens (61.6), and Scott Rolen (52.9) were the only other players to receive at least 50 percent.
A player would have needed votes on 301 out of 401 ballots submitted to reach the 75 percent threshold, but the BBWAA announced that a record 14 blank ballots were among that 401.
Five players out of 25 received no votes, including two ex-Yankees in Nick Swisher and A.J. Burnett and former Met Michael Cuddyer. Dan Haren and Shane Victorino were also shut out, and those five, along with Barry Zito (one vote), ex-Yankee and Met LaTroy Hawkins (two votes), and Aramis Ramirez (four votes), will be dropped from the ballot for failing to receive five percent of the vote.
All eight of those players were first-time eligible players, and they will be the only removals from the 2022 ballot. Schilling, Bonds, Clemens, and Sammy Sosa (17 percent) would be the only four players in their 10th and final year of eligibility next season, but Schilling has apparently opted out:
Meanwhile, notable first-time eligibles for the Class of 2022 include Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Mark Teixeira.
Of the other ex-New Yorkers on the 2021 ballot, Billy Wagner received 186 votes for 46.4 percent, the sixth-highest total behind the four mentioned above and Omar Vizquel. Gary Sheffield received 40.6 percent, Andruw Jones 33.9 percent, Jeff Kent 32.5 percent, Andy Pettitte 13.7 percent, and Bobby Abreu 8.7 percent.
There will still be a Hall of Fame Induction this July, as the Class of 2020 – Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, and Modern Era Committee selections Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller – will be inducted after last year’s ceremonies were postponed due to COVID-19.
That group of honorees will be joined by the last two Ford C. Frick Award winners for broadcasting, Ken Harrelson (2020) and Al Michaels (2021), as well as the last two J.G. Taylor Spink Award winners for writing: the late Nick Cafardo (2020) and Dick Kaegel (2021).
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