Tonight they will announce the names of players to be inducted to the HOF
NEW YORK — Scott Rolen could become just the 18th third baseman elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, the fewest for any position.
“It stems from the early bias that third base isn’t that important defensively,” John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, said Monday. “I think Brooks Robinson changed that perception. Just like relievers who were long regarded as failed starting pitchers rather than a new role in a changing game, the third base position was considered for failures.
A seven-time All-Star who retired after the 2012 season, Rolen is among the top candidates on the 28-man ballot considered by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The results of the vote will be announced today, Tuesday, at 6:00 p.m. on the MLB Network broadcast. He received 10.2% in his first appearance in 2018, rising to 52.9% in 2021 and 63.2% last year, when he fell 47 votes short of the required minimum of 75%.
As of Monday evening, the leaders in the voting are first baseman Todd Helton with 79.8%, Rolen with 79.2 and reliever Billy Wagner with 73.2%, according to Ryan Thibodaux’s tally. It included 183 anonymous public votes out of an estimated 396.
When David Ortiz was elected last year, his number dropped to 79.8% from 83.1% of the public ballots before the announcement. Barry Bonds fell from 76.8 to 66% and Roger Clemens from 75.4 to 65.2%. It is possible that no one will be elected for the second time in three years. This could become the first three-year term in which only one player is chosen by the writers since annual voting began in 1966.
Those chosen will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 23, along with Fred McGriff, who was selected last month by the Players of the Contemporary Era of Baseball Committee.
There are 84 players (nine relievers), 27 right fielders, 26 first basemen and shortstops, 24 center fielders, 23 left fielders, 20 second basemen, 19 catchers, and 17 third basemen. There are also three players who were primarily designated hitters, a position that was created in 1973.
Among players since the expansion era in 1961, the only third basemen chosen by writers are Robinson (1983), Mike Schmidt (1995), George Brett (1999), Paul Molitor (2004), Wade Boggs (2005) and Chipper Jones (2018). Ron Santo was inducted after a vote by the veterans’ committee.
Puerto Rican Carlos Beltrán, John Lackey and Jered Weaver are among the 14 players who made their ballot debuts.
On Tuesday morning, Beltrán had 55.9% of the votes collected according to Thibodaux’s count. He is not expected to be selected today, but one never knows until the last vote is counted.
This story appeared in ENDI.com Puerto Rico’s daily newspaper. It was edited and translated for our readers.
