Could this be the year that Rich “Goose” Gossage and/or Jim Rice get into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Only time will tell.
The Hall of Fame Ballot was released and 575 members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will be receiving their ballots in the mail very shortly. There are 11 newcomers to the ballot and 14 returnees.
| Brady Anderson* | Don Mattingly |
| Harold Baines | Mark McGwire |
| Rod Beck* | Jack Morris |
| Bert Blyleven | Dale Murphy |
| Dave Concepcion | Robb Nen* |
| Andre Dawson | Dave Parker |
| Shawon Dunston* | Tim Raines* |
| Chuck Finley* | Jim Rice |
| Travis Fryman* | Jose Rijo* |
| Rich Gossage | Lee Smith |
| Tommy John | Todd Stottlemyre* |
| David Justice* | Alan Trammell |
| Chuck Knoblauch* |
*newcomer to the 2008 ballot, must receive 5% (29) of the 575 votes to stay on it for 2009.
To be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, any of the eligible players must receive 75% (431 votes). If they don’t receive the required amount of votes, they must receive at least the 5% to stay on the ballot. If they don’t they are no longer eligible for the Hall of Fame. A player can stay on the ballot for 15 years if they receive the required amount of votes. Those players can still be elected to the Hall of Fame if the Veterans Committee decides they are Hall worthy.The Goose has the best chance of making the Hall as he got 71.1% of the vote last year. He still has 6 years left on the ballot so he should make it to the Hall shortly.
Rice on the other hand, faces a tougher challenge. He is in his 14th year on the ballot and has a lot of ground to make up as he received 63.5% of the votes last year.
Dave Concepcion is on his 15th and last ballot this year. Odds are he won’t be elected as he only received 13.6% of the votes last year.
Mark McGwire faces possible scrutiny again this year especially with the Mitchell Report looming. In his first year last year, he received 23.5% of the votes last year.
All of this bodes well for the Goose and maybe even Rice with no real star power on the ballot. The writers must postmark their ballots by December 31st and the results will be announced on January 8th, 2008.
