Beltré, Mauer headline star group of 1st-time Baseball HOF candidates

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America revealed its 2024 Hall of Fame ballot Monday, with a star-studded group of 12 first-time candidates up for election.

Former All-Star third baseman Adrián Beltré and longtime Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer headline the debuting players and stand out as potential first-ballot inductees. Beltré, one of the best third basemen of his time, collected 3,166 hits over 21 years with four teams, while Mauer earned the 2009 AL MVP and was the rare backstop to win a batting title and tally over 2,000 career hits.

Also making their first appearances on the ballot are former stars José Bautista, Bartolo Colon, Adrián González, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, José Reyes, James Shields, Chase Utley, and David Wright.

The first-timers are joined by 14 returning candidates in Todd Helton, Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltrán, Álex Rodríguez, Manny Ramírez, Omar Vizquel, Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Mark Buehrle, Francisco Rodríguez, and Torii Hunter. Sheffield is in his 10th and final year of eligibility on the writers’ ballot.

The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 will be announced on Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. ET, with the induction ceremony taking place on July 21 in Cooperstown. Candidates require 75% of the vote to be elected; those who earn less than 5% are dropped from future ballots.

Writers elected one player – Scott Rolen – to the Hall in 2023. Helton came closest to joining Rolen among this year’s returning candidates, earning 72.2% of the vote.