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Baseball Hall of Fame 2017 ballot: Who’s in and who’s out?

By Joshua Sadlock

Jul 26, 2015; Cooperstown, NY, USA; The 4 Hall of Fame plagues of Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz installed and available for viewing in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 26, 2015; Cooperstown, NY, USA; The 4 Hall of Fame plagues of Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz installed and available for viewing in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 21: Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs looks on from the field during a Major League Baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 21, 2003 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 21: Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs looks on from the field during a Major League Baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 21, 2003 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

The Best of the Rest

Outside of the players mentioned on the previous slides, no one else on the ballot has a legitimate shot at making the Hall. That being said, there are still a handful of interesting candidates to touch on.

Larry Walker and Fred McGriff both had very productive MLB careers, but Walker is hurt by playing his prime years in Coors Field. McGriff fell just short of 500 home runs, and was never one of the most dominant hitters in the league. In a different time, McGriff’s 492 home runs and stellar defense would have gotten him into the Hall of Fame, but the bloated numbers of the steroid era make it harder. Sammy Sosa has never come close to matching the support of fellow steroid users Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Sosa really only did one thing well in his career, namely hit home runs. Without the juice, Sosa may have made a few All-Star teams, but would never have produced multiple 60-homer seasons.

Next: Derek Jeter and MLB's 20 Richest Players

Among the other first timers on the ballot, Jorge Posada, Edgar Renteria, Jason Varitek, Mike Cameron, and Magglio Ordonez all stand a chance to top five percent and stay on the ballot for at least one more year. None are first-ballot Hall of Famers.

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