Jones leads HOF ballot newcomers
At least there won’t be a debate over which cap Chipper Jones should wear on his Hall of Fame plaque.
The former Braves third baseman — and Mets nemesis — highlights the new candidates to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, which was released Monday. Other first-timers include Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, Johan Santana and Chris Carpenter.
Returning names to the 33-man ballot include Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero, Edgar Martinez, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling. Hoffman last year fell five votes short of the 75 percent threshold needed for induction.
Roy Halladay, who was killed earlier this month when the plane he was piloting crashed in the Gulf of Mexico, will not appear on the ballot for another year.
BBWAA members who have covered baseball for at least 10 consecutive years are eligible to vote. Roughly 430 ballots will be distributed. Ballots are due by Dec. 31 and the announcement will come Jan. 24. Last year, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez were elected to the Hall of Fame.
Jones spent his entire 19-year career with the Braves, for whom he hit 468 homers and was selected to the National League All-Star team eight times. Among switch hitters, only Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray hit more homers. Jones tormented the Mets, hitting 49 homers against them in his career and driving in 159 runs. He named a son Shea because of his fondness for Shea Stadium.
Thome, a five-time All-Star, hit 612 homers over a career that spanned 22 seasons. Vizquel won 11 Gold Gloves and set a record by playing 2,709 games at shortstop.
Clemens and Bonds, both of whom have been linked to performance enhancing drugs, have seen their candidacies improve in recent years. Clemens received 54.1 percent of the vote last year. Bonds received 53.8 percent.
Players remain eligible on the BBWAA ballot for 10 years, provided they continue to receive at least 5 percent of the vote. Other holdovers on the ballot include Manny Ramirez (23.8 percent), Larry Walker (21.9), Fred McGriff (21.7) and Jeff Kent (16.7).