Buehrle, Hudson and Hunter join ballot for ’21

After back-to-back years with a slam-dunk nominee, the 2021 debutants on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot are unlikely to draw much support.

Mark Buehrle, Tim Hudson and Torii Hunter are among the top players who will debut on the ballot next year and, despite excellent careers, it’s hard to imagine anybody from this group will ever receive the 75% of the vote necessary to get in.

Holdovers include Curt Schilling (70%), Roger Clemens (61%) and Barry Bonds (60.7%), all of whom will be making their ninth, and penultimate, appearances on the ballot in 2021. Omar Vizquel (52.6%), Scott Rolen (35.3%) and Billy Wagner (31.7%) are among the other 2020 top vote-getters who will return to the ballot.

Here are the top newcomers on next year’s ballot ranked by career Wins Against Replacement:

Mark Buehrle (59.2 WAR) – 214 wins, 5-time All-Star, 4-time Gold Glove winner, career 3.81 ERA

Tim Hudson (58.1 WAR) – 222 wins, 4-time All-Star, career 3.49 ERA

Torii Hunter (50.1 WAR) – 9-time Gold Glove winner, 5-time All-Star, 2time Silver Slugger

Dan Haren (35 WAR) – 3-time AllStar, 4.03 K/BB (15th all-time), career 3.75 ERA

Aramis Ramirez (32.6 WAR) – 3time All-Star, 7 100+ RBI seasons

Barry Zito (31.9 WAR) – 2002 AL Cy Young winner, 3-time All-Star

Shane Victorino (31.6 WAR) – 4time Gold Glove winner, 2-time All-Star

A.J. Burnett (29.1 WAR) – career 3.99 ERA

Alex Rios (27.4 WAR) – 2-time AllStar

Grady Sizemore (27.3 WAR) – 3time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger