Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, and Dale Murphy remain on the contemporary baseball era committee ballot for the Hall of Fame. They will be joined by former Toronto Blue Jays players Carlos Delgado and Jeff Kent, along with Gary Sheffield and the late Fernando Valenzuela. The committee will convene on December 7 during the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida, where a 75 percent vote is required for induction. The elected candidates will be honored on July 26, alongside those chosen in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote scheduled for January 20.
Albert Belle, Rafael Palmeiro, and Curt Schilling have been removed from the ballot after the previous contemporary era selection in December 2022, which saw Fred McGriff unanimously elected with 16 votes. Mattingly received eight votes, Schilling seven, Murphy six, and Belle, Bonds, Clemens, and Palmeiro each received less than four votes, the Hall disclosed at that time.
In 2022, the Hall reorganized its veterans’ committees, establishing panels to evaluate the contemporary era from 1980 onwards, as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era features separate ballots for players and for managers, executives, and umpires.
Each committee convenes every three years, with contemporary managers, executives, and umpires set for consideration in December 2026, classic era candidates in December 2027, and contemporary era players once more in December 2028.
The December 2027 ballot marks the first opportunity for Pete Rose to be included on a Hall ballot following Commissioner Rob Manfred’s ruling in May that Rose’s lifetime ban concluded upon his demise in September 2024. The Hall prohibits individuals on the permanent ineligibility list from appearing on a ballot.
As per a modification announced by the Hall in March, candidates who receive fewer than five votes on the ballot will not be eligible for the committee’s subsequent ballot within the next three-year cycle. Candidates who are removed from the ballot, then reappear and receive fewer than five votes will be prohibited from future ballot considerations.
Bonds and Clemens fell short in 2022 during their final appearances on the BBWAA ballot, with Bonds garnering 260 out of 394 votes (66 percent). Sheffield, in his last BBWAA vote in 2024, received 63.9 percent, garnering 246 votes and falling short by 43.
Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs, while Clemens maintains he never used PEDs. Sheffield claimed he was unaware that the substances he used during training before the 2002 season contained steroids.
Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, achieved a remarkable career record, going 354-184 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts, placing him third behind Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson in career strikeouts.
Sheffield, a nine-time all-star and the 1992 NL batting champion, recorded impressive career statistics, including 509 home runs, 1,676 RBIs, and 253 stolen bases.
Murphy, a seven-time all-star outfielder, compiled a career batting average of .265 with 398 home runs, 1,266 RBIs, and 161 stolen bases. Mattingly, a six-time all-star first baseman, maintained a .307 batting average with 222 home runs and 1,099 RBIs over 14 seasons.
Delgado received 3.8 percent of the 2015 BBWAA vote before being removed from future ballots. The outfielder boasted a career batting average of .280 with 473 home runs and 1,512 RBIs.
Kent peaked with 46.5 percent in his final BBWAA ballot appearances in 2023. A five-time all-star second baseman, he posted a .290 batting average with 377 home runs and 1,518 RBIs.
Valenzuela, the 1981 NL Cy Young Award winner who passed away in October 2024, received 6.2 percent support from the BBWAA in 2003 and 3.8 percent in 2004 before being eliminated from future consideration. Over 17 seasons, he amassed a record of 173-153 with a 3.54 ERA and 2,074 strikeouts.
The BBWAA’s historical overview committee determined the ballot, comprising members such as Adrian Burgos, Bob Elliott, Steve Hirdt, La Velle Neal, David O’Brien, Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Jack O’Connell, Jim Reeves, Glenn Schwarz, Susan Slusser, and Mark Whicker.