The 2016 MLB Hall of Fame ballot was announced on Monday. There are 15 newcomers on this year's ballot, including Ken Griffey Jr., Trevor Hoffman and Mike Hampton. The results of this year's HOF class will be announced in Jan. 6.
A number of other longtime MLB veterans will join Griffey, Hoffmann and Hampton, including David Eckstein, Troy Glaus, Mike Lowell, Billy Wagner, Brad Ausmus, Jim Edmonds, Jason Kendall, Luis Castillo, Randy Winn, Garret Anderson, Mark Grudzielanek and Mike Sweeney.
Those first-year balloters will join Mike Piazza, Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Lee Smith, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Alan Trammell, Jeff Kent, Fred McGriff, Larry Walker, Gary Sheffield, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Nomar Garciaparra.
The Baseball Writers Association of America elected three first-ballot Hall of Famers (Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Randy Johnson) in 2015 and it was the first time since 1955 the BBWAA selected four players (Craig Biggio as well) in the same year.
It's possible Griffey ('97 AL MVP, 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner) and Hoffman (second all-time with 601 career saves) could be first-balloters in 2016.
However, now that 150 writers were stripped of their eligibility to vote after the BBWAA changed the voting requirements this past July, it's possible the landscape shifts for those who played during the steroid era: Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Piazza and Bagwell.
McGwire is in his final year of HOF eligibility and Sosa could fall off the ballot if he gets less than five percent of the votes (he received 6.6% last year). Piazza received 69.9% of the votes last year and fell just short of the 75% requirement for induction. Many expect him to be voted in this time around.
The BBWAA will submit their votes by Dec. 21 and those elected will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 24.
Click here to check out further descriptions of the new names on this year's ballot.
