The deadline for voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America to submit their 2017 Hall of Fame ballots was Dec. 31. In the interest of keeping us all in suspense, however, the results won't be announced until Jan. 18.
In the meantime, here's a final look at this year's candidates, their HOF cases and the chances they'll punch a ticket to Cooperstown.
We have some data to go on. First, there are past vote totals for players who have been on the ballot before. Second, and even more revealingly, there's the count of public ballots compiled by the indefatigable Ryan Thibodaux.
This year's class is a fascinating one, populated by a number of borderline cases sure to spark debate, two titans of the steroid era who are gaining momentum and one worthy but long-spurned leadoff man on the verge of breaking through.
Note that we're only discussing players who have a statistical shot at reaching the 75 percent threshold needed for induction based on the public count. Here's a list of some notable names who've been eliminated for this year, though all appear likely to get the 5 percent necessary to stay on the ballot with the exception of Lee Smith, who is in his final year of eligibility:
- Jeff Kent, INF
- Fred McGriff, 1B
- Jorge Posada, C
- Manny Ramirez, OF
- Gary Sheffield, OF
- Lee Smith, RHP
- Sammy Sosa, OF
- Billy Wagner, LHP
- Larry Walker, OF
Feel free to cast your votes in the comments and proceed when ready.
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