On Monday the 2015 MLB Hall of Fame ballot was announced. The Baseball Writers' Association of America added 17 newcomers to join the 17 returnees. It's Don Mattingly's final year on the ballot while Alan Trammel has two years left.
Those added to the 2015 ballot are as follows:
Randy Johnson, SP: The left-hander played 22 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros. He compiled a 303-166 record with a 3.29 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 4,875 strikeouts. He won five total Cy Young awards, including four consecutive from 1999-2002 and was MVP of the 2001 World Series.
Pedro Martinez, SP: The right-hander played 18 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. He retired in 2009 and finished his career with a 219-100 record to go along with a 2.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, three Cy Young awards and a World Series championship.
John Smoltz, SP/RP: The longtime Atlanta Brave won a Cy Young as a 29-year-old in 1996, but was converted to a closer in 2001 after he missed the entire 2000 season because of an injury. He spent four seasons as a closer (154 saves with a 2.65 ERA) and amassed a career 213-155 record with a 3.33 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. The eight-time All-Star won a World Series with the Braves in 1995 and owned a 15-4 postseason record.
Nomar Garciaparra, INF: Garciaparra played 14 MLB seasons but only eight could be considered full seasons because he played 81 or fewer games in the other six. He maintained a .313 batting average throughout his career and added 229 home runs and 936 RBIs. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 1997, batting titles in 1999 and 2000, and was a six-time All-Star.
Gary Sheffield, OF: When Sheff retired in 2009 as a 40-year-old, he was still capable of playing. In 22 MLB seasons, the outfielder smacked 509 home runs (25th all-time) and 1,676 RBIs all the while slashing .292/.393/.514/.907. He won a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997, a batting title with the Padres in 1992, and was a nine-time All-Star.
The other newcomers include:
Rich Aurilia, INF
Aaron Boone, 3B
Tony Clark, 1B
Carlos Delgado, 1B
Jermaine Dye, OF
Darin Erstad, OF
Cliff Floyd, OF
Brian Giles, OF
Tom Gordon, RP
Eddie Guardado, RP
Troy Percival, RP
Jason Schmidt, SP
Here are the returnees, with the number of years they've been on the ballot in parentheses:
Jeff Bagwell, 1B (4)
Craig Biggio, 2B/OF (2)
Barry Bonds, OF (2)
Roger Clemens, SP (2)
Jeff Kent, 2B (1)
Edgar Martinez, 3B/DH (5)
Don Mattingly, 1B (14)
Fred McGriff, 1B (5)
Mark McGwire, 1B (8)
Mike Mussina, SP (1)
Mike Piazza, C (2)
Tim Raines, OF (7)
Curt Schilling, SP (2)
Lee Smith, SP (12)
Sammy Sosa, OF (2)
Alan Trammell, SS (13)
Larry Walker, OF (4)
The results will be announced on January 6, 2015.
