The National Baseball Hall of Fame has released the names of the eight former players who comprise the ballot for the Contemporary Baseball Era.
Among the names are Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two legends of the game who have heavy clouds over their names due to alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. Both Bonds and Clemens spent the maximum 10 years on the Baseball Writers ballot but did not achieve election.
The other six names on the ballot are Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela. Four players, Bonds, Clemens, Mattingly, and Murphy, appeared on teh Contemporary Era ballot during its last cycle, in 2023.
The ballot is a mix of players who were considered by the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) thoroughly, and a few who did not get much consideration at all.
Delgado, who has statistics that are similar to Hall of Famer David Ortiz, was on the BBWAA ballot just once, getting 21 votes (3.8%). Players who fall below 5% are removed from the BBWAA ballot.
Valenzuela, who was at the heart of a Dodgers world championship in 1981 as their ace, spent two years on the BBWAA ballot, topping out at 6.2% before falling off.
Mattingly, Murphy, Kent, and Sheffield spent the maximum number of years on the ballot. Several of those players earned lofty vote totals:
BBWAA Election Data for Candidates on Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era Ballot
| PLAYER | YEARS/ELIGIBLE | HIGHEST PCT |
| Barry Bonds | 10/10 | 66.0 |
| Roger Clemens | 10/10 | 65.2 |
| Carlos Delgado | 1/10 | 3.8 |
| Jeff Kent | 10/10 | 46.5 |
| Don Mattingly | 15/15 | 28.2 |
| Dale Murphy | 15/15 | 23.2 |
| Gary Sheffield | 10/10 | 63.9 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | 2/15 | 6.2 |
A player must get 75% of the vote to be elected via the BBWAA. He must also get that same percentage from the Era Committee, which consists of 16 voters.
In the last cycle of the Contemporary Era voting, Fred McGriff was the only player elected. Bonds and Clemens received fewer than four votes in that election. Mattingly got eight votes, and Murphy received six votes, or half the number needed for election.
How the Hall of Fame Eras Committees Work
The rules for the era committees process have (apparently) been formalized. The Hall of Fame has historically altered the eras committee voting (formerly known as veterans committees) many times. From the Hall of Fame website, here are the current rules (emphasis is mine):
[A candidate who] appears on a ballot and does not receive votes from at least five of the 16 voters will not be eligible to be placed on the ballot within its next three-year cycle. Any such candidates would remain eligible to return to an Era Committee ballot in the following election cycle. Any Era Committee voting results prior to December 2025 do not apply to this rule.
The Hall of Fame also lists this rule:
Additionally, any candidate that does not receive at least five of 16 votes in multiple appearances on Era Committee ballots will not be eligible for future ballot consideration.
Interestingly, Bonds and Clemens are on this current ballot, despite receiving fewer than four votes, according to the Hall of Fame. The rules barring players from appearing when they receive fewer than five were implemented earlier in 2025, and will be implemented for the first time following this election.
My suspicion is that the Hall of Fame implemented the rules for two reasons: (1) to clear up a logjam of potential candidates; and (2) to get Bonds and Clemens out of the process.
Make no mistake, the Baseball Hall of Fame wants to avoid the debate about steroids. Most of the Hall of Fame members want the issue to be muted. Many of the Hall of Famers do not want Bonds and Clemens to join their ranks.
The results of the HOF’s Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be revealed on December 7.
Players snubbed by nominating process?
Notably absent from this ballot are Dwight Evans, Steve Garvey, Curt Schilling, and Lou Whitaker. Schilling received seven votes in the last cycle, the third-highest total on the ballot behind McGriff and Mattingly.
Garvey has received as many as six votes in Eras committee balloting in the past. He is arguably the most decorated and well-known of the players who have been considered by the post-BBWAA process. Garvey won a Most Valuable Player award, played on five pennant-winning teams, was an All-Star ten times, and won the NL Championship Series MVP twice. He was also the MVP of the All-Star Game two times.
Whitaker received six votes in the Contemporary Era balloting in 2020. Yet his name has been absent from the last two ballots, as steroid users have crowded their way onto the list of candidates. Many experts believe Whitaker is the biggest snub. He is one of only three players with 70+ Wins Above Replacement (post-1900) and is not attached to steroids or gambling, who is not in the Hall of Fame.
In his one appearance on the Contemporary Era ballot, in 2020, Evans received six votes. But like Whitaker, the underrated outfielder has not gotten another chance on the ballot. Evans accumulated 67.2 WAR, won eight Gold Gloves, and hit 385 home runs.
