Post by Admin on Jan 23, 2019 17:42:15 GMT -4
Baseball Hall of Fame: Who will be the next unanimous selection after Mariano Rivera?
The next unanimous Hall of Famer may not be as far away as you might think
There are four new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Tuesday night it was announced Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and the late Roy Halladay have been voted into Cooperstown. They'll be joined be Harold Baines and Lee Smith on induction weekend in July. Baines and Smith were voted in by the Today's Game committee earlier this winter.
Rivera's selection is historic. He became the first player ever voted into the Hall of Fame unanimously. All 425 voters named Rivera on their ballot. Here are the highest voting percentages in Hall of Fame history:
Mariano Rivera: 100.0 percent
Ken Griffey Jr.: 99.3 percent
Tom Seaver: 98.8 percent
Nolan Ryan: 98.8 percent
Cal Ripken Jr.: 98.5 percent
Ty Cobb: 98.2 percent
George Brett: 98.2 percent
No other player appeared on at least 98 percent of Hall of Fame ballots. Not Hank Aaron (97.8 percent), not Babe Ruth (95.1 percent), not Willie Mays (94.7 percent), and not Ted Williams (93.4 percent). I can't imagine the mental gymnastics that went into not voting for those four inner-circle greats.
Now that there's been a breakthrough and we have our first unanimous Hall of Famer, I think it's only a matter of time until we see another one. It won't be an annual occurrence, of course, but the BBWAA voting body is getting younger and the idea that if so and so was not a unanimous Hall of Famer, no one should be a unanimous Hall of Famer, is fading away.
With Rivera gaining unanimous induction, this is as good a time as any to look ahead and figure out who could be the next unanimous Hall of Famer. I suspect it'll happen sooner than many baseball fans may think. Let's look at upcoming Hall of Fame classes and then active players.
Best closer ever
The next unanimous Hall of Famer may not be as far away as you might think
There are four new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Tuesday night it was announced Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and the late Roy Halladay have been voted into Cooperstown. They'll be joined be Harold Baines and Lee Smith on induction weekend in July. Baines and Smith were voted in by the Today's Game committee earlier this winter.
Rivera's selection is historic. He became the first player ever voted into the Hall of Fame unanimously. All 425 voters named Rivera on their ballot. Here are the highest voting percentages in Hall of Fame history:
Mariano Rivera: 100.0 percent
Ken Griffey Jr.: 99.3 percent
Tom Seaver: 98.8 percent
Nolan Ryan: 98.8 percent
Cal Ripken Jr.: 98.5 percent
Ty Cobb: 98.2 percent
George Brett: 98.2 percent
No other player appeared on at least 98 percent of Hall of Fame ballots. Not Hank Aaron (97.8 percent), not Babe Ruth (95.1 percent), not Willie Mays (94.7 percent), and not Ted Williams (93.4 percent). I can't imagine the mental gymnastics that went into not voting for those four inner-circle greats.
Now that there's been a breakthrough and we have our first unanimous Hall of Famer, I think it's only a matter of time until we see another one. It won't be an annual occurrence, of course, but the BBWAA voting body is getting younger and the idea that if so and so was not a unanimous Hall of Famer, no one should be a unanimous Hall of Famer, is fading away.
With Rivera gaining unanimous induction, this is as good a time as any to look ahead and figure out who could be the next unanimous Hall of Famer. I suspect it'll happen sooner than many baseball fans may think. Let's look at upcoming Hall of Fame classes and then active players.
Best closer ever