Nineteen first-timers make Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

NEW YORK — Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Omar Vizquel are among 19 first-time candidates on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot for baseball’s Hall of Fame.

They are joined by Johan Santana and Chris Carpenter. Also among the newcomers to the 33man ballot announced Monday are Jamie Moyer, Andruw Jones, Carlos Lee, Kevin Millwood, Carlos Zambrano and Johnny Damon.

Trevor Hoffman, who fell five votes short last year, leads holdovers that include Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling.

Roy Halladay will not appear on the ballot for another year. The retired pitcher died Nov. 7 at age 40 when a plane he was piloting crashed off Florida.

A player who dies less than five full years after retiring is eligible in the next election six months after his death or at the end of the five-year wait after his retirement, whichever comes first. Halladay had been set to be eligible in the ballot sent to voters in late 2018.

About 430 ballots are being sent to eligible voters from the BBWAA, and a player must receive at least 75 per cent for election.

Ballots are due by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 24. Ballots of individual voters will be made public for the first time, but not until Jan. 31. Voters, who must have been members of the BBWAA for 10 straight years, had been free to announce their votes on their own and about half chose to do so.

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez were elected last year, when Hoffman drew 74 per cent. Guerrero had 71.7 per cent, followed by Edgar Martinez (58.6), Roger Clemens (54.1), Barry Bonds (53.8), Mike Mussina (51.8) and Curt Schilling (45).

Since a change in eligibility requirements eliminated some older voters, Clemens and Bonds received a majority of the vote for the first time last year, the fifth appearance on the ballot for each. Clemens rose from 37.5 per cent in 2015 to 45.2 per cent in ’16, while Bonds climbed from 36.8 per cent in ’15 to 44.3 per cent in ’16.

Players remain on the ballot for up to 10 years, provided they receive at least five per cent of the vote annually.