Rivera, Halladay among 20 new candidates on Hall of Fame ballot
Career saves NEW YORK — leader Mariano Rivera and late pitcher Roy Halladay are among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joined by 15 holdovers headed by Edgar Martinez.
Left-hander Andy Pettitte and infielders Todd Helton, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada also are among the newcomers on the ballot announced Monday. Steroid-era stars Roger Clem- ens and Barry Bonds each appear on the ballot for the seventh time. Clemens rose to 57.3 percent in the 2018 ballot but fell 75 votes short of the 75 percent needed, and Bonds was 79 votes shy at 56.4 per- cent. Martinez was 20 votes short at 70.4 percent, Mike Mussina at 63.5 percent and Curt Schilling at 51.2 percent.
Rivera had 652 regular-season saves and 42 in the post- season during 19 seasons with the New York Yankees that included five World Series titles. He was 8-1 with a 0.70 ERA in 32 postseason series.
Halladay won Cy Young Awards with Toronto in 2003 and Philadelphia in 2010 and was 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA in 16 seasons. He pitched a per- fect game against Florida in 2010 and a no-hitter that fall versus Cincinnati in the NL Championship Series opener — only the second postseason no-hitter after Dan Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Halladay died piloting a plane in 2017.
Pettitte was 256-153 with a 3.85 ERA in 15 seasons with the Yankees and three with Houston and went 19-11 record with a 3.81 ERA in 44 postseason starts.
Helton hit .316 in 15 seasons for Colorado with 369 homers, 1,406 RBIs and 1,401 runs, and Young hit .300 in 14 seasons, all but the last with Texas. Tejada batted .285 with 307 homers and 1,302 RBIs in 16 seasons.
More than 400 ballots are being sent to eligible voters from the BBWAA, and a player needs at least 75 percent for election. Ballots are due by Dec. 31, with results announced Jan. 22. Voters must have been BBWAA mem- bers for 10 consecutive years.
Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrer and Jim Thome were elected last year.
Players stay on the ballot up to 10 years if they get at least 5 percent of the vote annually. Martinez and first baseman Fred McGriff (23.2 percent last year) are on the BBWAA ballot for the final time.
Additional newcomers on this year’s ballot include infielder Placido Polanco and outfielder Juan Pierre. Holdovers include reliever Billy Wagner, second baseman Jeff Kent, shortstop Omar Vizquel, third baseman Scott Rolen and outfielders Andruw Jones, Manny Ramirez, Gary Shef- field, Sammy Sosa and Larry Walker.