They fell short, but these players could be very close to the Hall of Fame

While three baseball greats were elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday, there were a few candidates who, despite falling short of the required 75% of the votes, were positioning themselves well for future induction.

The quartet includes a player who fell short by a few votes in his final year of eligibility, two veteran outfielders whose voting percentage increased and a franchise icon who made a respectable debut on the Baseball Writers’ Association of North America ballot. (BBWAA).

Although their circumstances are different, each of the following four players has reason to think they may eventually get the call.

billy wagner
Vote percentage in 2024**: 73.8%
Increase in votes from 2023**: +5.7%
Years on the ballot: 9

2025 will be Wagner’s final year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot, but he’s still on track. After hovering around 10% his first three years on the ballot (10.5% in 2016, 10.2% in 2017, and 11.1% in 2018), Wagner jumped to 16.7% in 2019.

But that number nearly doubled in 2020, when it rose to 31.7%, and has continued to rise since then, to 46.4% in 2021, 51% in 2022, and 68.1% in 2023. After falling just short of the required 75% this year — with 73.8% of the vote, he was five votes away from being elected — Wagner is knocking on the door of Cooperstown to enter his final year on the ballot.

Andrew Jones
Vote percentage in 2024: 61.6%
Vote growth from 2023: +3.5%

Similar to Wagner, Jones’ chances of being inducted into the Hall have increased significantly in recent years. Not only was Jones nominated on less than 10% of ballots in his first two years of eligibility, but his 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 were barely enough to keep him above the 5% needed to remain. . Ballot paper.

But the Curaçao native, who was called to five All-Star Games and won 10 Gold Gloves, has received much more support in recent years, rising from 19.4% in 2020 to 33.9% in 2021 and 41.4% in 2022 . A big jump to 58.1% in 2023, which puts Jones in position to reach the required 75%. Although his increase in 2024 was small – it increased to only 61.6% – it is another sign that Jones is gaining ground among voters with three years of eligibility remaining.

carlos beltran
Vote percentage in 2024: 57.1%
Increase in votes from 2023: +10.6%

*Years on poll: 2*

After debuting with 45.5% in 2023, Puerto Ricans made a notable jump to 57.1% in just their second year on the ballot. This puts him well above the pace of recent entrants in their first years on the ballot. Scott Rolen, elected in 2023, received only 10.2% of the vote in his first year of eligibility, while Helton received only 16.5% of the vote in his 2019 debut.

That means Beltran was on good pace, with his name appearing on nearly half the ballots last year, but after this year’s jump he’s on even better pace. With the next eight years of eligibility, Beltran has plenty of time to reach 75%.

Chase Utley
Vote percentage in 2024: 28.8%
Increase in votes from 2023: N/A

Utley didn’t get the same support from the other candidates on the ballot in his first year – Beltre (95.1%) and Mauer (76.1%) – but he’s still in a good spot after his first year of eligibility. As we mentioned before, he’s in a better spot than Rolen and Helton, who were recently elected after only one year on the ballot, with Utley potentially getting more votes in the future after some leave after 10 years. There will also be benefit of receiving. Ballot. ballot (or if they don’t vote for Gary Sheffield, who will be in his last year of eligibility).

Plus, we can’t forget that Jones only got 7.3% of the vote in his first year and Wagner only got 10.5% of the vote in his first year of eligibility – and both will enter next year on the verge of being elected.