Bagwell, Raines, and Rodriguez Enter the Hall

The 2017 Hall of Fame class is a party of three, and voting totals suggest the electorate is becoming more accepting and forgiving.

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were inducted into The National Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, as results of the Baseball Writers Association of America’s voting were revealed on MLB Network.

Raines appeared on 86.0% of ballots in his last year of eligibility. His candidacy was promoted passionately by many, including former FanGraphs contributor Jonah Keri.

With Rodriguez’ induction to the Hall on his first ballot appearance — and the appearance both of Barry Bonds (53.8%) and Roger Clemens (51.8%) on more than 50% of ballots for the first time — voters appear to be softening against those suspected of and tied to PED use.

In 2016, Bonds appeared on 44.3% of ballots, Clemens 45.2%.

Yahoo’s Jeff Passan noted only three players who’ve appeared on 50% of ballots at one point have failed, later, to enter the Hall.

As for those honored Wednesday, Raines posted a .385 career OBP mark and ranks fifth all-time in steals (808). His stolen-base success rate is best among all players who recorded at least 400 attempts.

Bagwell was the 1994 NL MVP and hit 449 career homers. His 149 wRC+ ranks 20th among all hitters since 1901 to accumulate at least 8,000 plate appearances.

Rodriguez, known for his cannon of a throwing arm, won 13 straight Gold Gloves and was the 1999 AL MVP.

The following are the complete voting results:

2017 Hall of Fame Results
Player Voting % Year on Ballot
Jeff Bagwell 86.2 7
Tim Raines 86.0 10
Ivan Rodriguez 76.0 1
Trevor Hoffman 74.0 2
Vladimir Guerrero 71.7 1
Edgar Martinez 58.6 8
Roger Clemens 54.1 5
Barry Bonds 53.8 5
Mike Mussina 51.8 4
Curt Schilling 45.0 5
Lee Smith 34.2 15
Manny Ramirez 24.0 1
Larry Walker 21.9 7
Fred McGriff 21.7 8
Jeff Kent 16.7 4
Gary Sheffield 13.3 3
Billy Wagner 10.2 2
Sammy Sosa 8.6 5
SOURCE: BBWAA voting via MLB Network

Vladimir Guerrero (71.7%) missed by just a few percentage points in his first year on the ballot, and Trevor Hoffman (74.0%) was one point short of induction.

Next year’s class could be a group of four if Guerrero and Hoffman gain a few more votes, as both Chipper Jones and Jim Thome are regarded as having an excellent chance of earning first-ballot admittance to the Hall.

In addition to Jones and Thome, other 2018 first-ballot appearance notables include Andruw Jones, Scott Rolen, and Omar Vizquel.

As noted by Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci during the telecast, the total of 12 players to be inducted over the last four years represents a Hall of Fame record for a four-year period under the current voting rules.

The biggest gainer in 2017 was Edgar Martinez, who improved from 43.4% last year to 58.6% this cycle. But Martinez has a lot of ground to make up in the last two years he has remaining on the ballot. Next year will mark his ninth year of eligibility.

The biggest decline among vote-getters from last year was experienced by Curt Schilling, who dropped from 52.3% to 45.0% his year. While the ballot was crowded, and the 10-name limit has been met with plenty of criticism, Schilling could have also been hurt by his political commentary.





A Cleveland native, FanGraphs writer Travis Sawchik is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Big Data Baseball. He also contributes to The Athletic Cleveland, and has written for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, among other outlets. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Sawchik.

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JimmieFoXX
7 years ago

Google: Jeff Bagwell PEDS

Google: Ivan Rodriguez PEDS

Bonds and Clemens are scumbags in addition to being PED abusers.

Perhaps President Trump will award Curt Schilling the Presidential Medal of Freedom?

Psychic... Powerless...
7 years ago
Reply to  JimmieFoXX

Google: Elvis Presley from outer space

DSCeee
7 years ago
Reply to  JimmieFoXX

Yes, steroid users got paid millions for cheating, won awards for cheating, now will likely be honoured for cheating. With recent news of young athletes dying from using PEDs and thinking it can’t hurt, condoning PED cheaters looks even worse.

Monsignor Martinez
7 years ago
Reply to  JimmieFoXX

Maybe he will grant Roger Clemency.

LHPSU
7 years ago

Or Bond with Barry.

Bipmember
7 years ago
Reply to  LHPSU

Buy Barry Bonds