Reinaldo Oliveros – @Reioliveros
This Monday they announced the candidates for the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, which will have 28 nominees. There are six new players who will receive the first opportunity to be immortal.
Candidates must be listed on 75 percent of ballots cast by select BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of MLB coverage.
These are the nominees: Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, Mark Buehrle, Carlos González, Curtis Granderson, Félix Hernández, Torii Hunter, Adam Jones, Andruw Jones, Ian Kinsler, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Dustin Pedroia, Andy Pettitte, Hanley Ramírez, Manny Ramírez, Fernando Rodney, Álex Rodríguez, Francisco Rodríguez, Jimmy Rollins, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Tulowitzki, Chase Utley, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, David Wright, Ben Zobrist.
Who was close to entering the Hall of Fame in 2023?
Billy Wagner is one of the players who came closest to being immortal. The legendary closer was just five votes away from entering the Hall of Fame and finished with 73.8%.
This year will be the last chance to enter Cooperstown after 10 years on the ballot.
Two players who were also close were Carlos Beltrán (57.1%) and Andruw Jones (61.6%).
Who has a great chance of making the Hall of Fame?
In addition to Billy Wagner, one of the players who seems destined to enter his first year will be Ichiro Suzuki.
Suzuki played 19 seasons for the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins. He had a .311 batting average, 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 780 runs batted in and 1,420 runs scored.
He won 10 Gold Glove awards, 1 Most Valuable Player award, Rookie of the Year award and 3 Silver Bat awards.
Suzuki could become the second player to reach the Hall of Fame unanimously. He could also be the first Japanese to join Cooperstown.
CC Sabathia is also one of the great candidates to enter. The pitcher is one of two left-handers with more than 3,000 strikeouts in the Major Leagues.
Sabathia played 19 seasons for the Yankees, Guardians and Brewers. He had 251 wins, 161 losses, a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts.
He won 1 Cy Young Award, 1 League Championship Most Valuable Player Award, and 1 World Series.
As another of the possible candidates, Dustin Pedroia will be on the ballot for the first time.
Pedroia played 14 seasons with the Red Sox. He had a .299 batting average, 1,805 hits, 140 home runs, 725 runs batted in and 922 runs scored.
He won 4 Gold Glove awards, 1 Most Valuable Player award, Rookie of the Year award, 1 Silver Slugger award and 2 World Series.
The results of the voting will be published on January 21.
