From the Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 2022 Finalized With Election of David Ortiz

From the offices of the Baseball Hall of Fame

With the election of David Ortiz by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, the Class of 2022 is now set at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ortiz will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown along with Golden Days Era Committee electees Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso and Tony Oliva, and Early Baseball Era Committee electees Bud Fowler and Buck O’Neil, who were all elected in December…

Jack Graney, winner of the 2022 Ford C. Frick Award , and 2022 BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner Tim Kurkjian will be honored during Induction Weekend at the Awards Presentation in Cooperstown.

THE 2022 BALLOT

The BBWAA ballot featured 30 players, including 13 new candidates and 17 returnees.

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa each appeared on the ballot for the 10th -and-final time and are no longer eligible for BBWAA consideration.

Bonds, Clemens, Schilling and Sosa will each be eligible for the Today’s Game Era Committee ballot, which will be announced in the days following the conclusion of the 2022 World Series and voted on in December.

Two first-year candidates received the five percent of the vote necessary to remain on the ballot: Álex Rodríguez (34.3%) and Jimmy Rollins (9.4%.

Fourteen players will return for consideration in 2023.

A total of 394 votes were cast, with 296 votes necessary for election and 20 votes necessary to remain on the ballot. Six blank ballots were cast.

The final results, in order of percentage received with number of years on the ballot:

THE VOTING ELECTORATE

Of the 405 Hall of Fame ballots distributed to BBWAA voters for the 2022 election, 394 were returned, a return rate of 97.2 percen. The most ballots ever cast in one BBWAA Hall of Fame election came in 2011 with 581.

Voting privileges are extended to BBWAA members meeting their organization’s Hall of Fame voting qualifications and in good standing with the BBWAA. Voters can select from zero to 10 names on their Hall of Fame ballot. Votes on 75 percent of all ballots cast are necessary for election.

CAREFUL SELECTION

2022 marked the 78th Hall of Fame election held by the BBWAA. Starting in 1936, the BBWAA has elected someone 69 times and on nine occasions it did not elect anyone (1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1960, 1971, 1996, 2013, 2021).

On nine occasions, no election was held (1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965).

The BBWAA membership has elected from zero to five candidates in each of its 78 elections. As quantified in the chart below, the BBWAA has voted in two players more than any other quantity (27 times).

LUCKY SEVEN

The seven-member Class of 2022 marks just the third time in the last 50 years – and the 11th time in Hall of Fame history – that a class of seven-or-more electees has been named.

In 2006, a record 18 candidates were elected by the BBWAA and the Special Committee on Negro Leagues. In 1999, three candidates were elected by the BBWAA and four were named by the Veterans Committee.

Other classes that included seven or more members are: 1972 (8), 1971 (8), 1964 (7), 1953 (8), 1946 (11), 1945 (10), 1939 (10) and 1937 (8). 58

AT FIRST

The election of David Ortiz brings the total of first-year BBWAA inductees to 58 and marks the eight class in nine years with at least one first-ballot inductee. The last stretch of at least eight first ballot electees in nine years was 1986-95 when – in that 10- year period – only the 1987 election did not feature a first-ballot electee.

RED SOX IN COOPERSTOWN

Including players, managers and executives, the Red Sox now have 11 Hall of Famers represented as their primary team in Cooperstown, with David Ortiz the most recent addition to the list.

The Red Sox are tied for ninth among all teams on that list with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies with 11 Hall of Famers.

The Yankees sit atop that list with 30 Hall of Famers.

FOUR DOMINICAN LEGENDS

David Ortiz is the fourth native of the Dominican Republic to earn election to the Hall of Fame, following Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martínez (2015) and Vladimir Guerrero (2018)…Overall, Ortiz is the 16th Latino to earn election.

DESIGNATED THIRD

David Ortiz becomes the third player elected to the Hall of Fame who appeared in at least 60 percent of his games at designated hitter – and the first one to earn election on his first time on the BBWAA ballot.

Edgar Martinez, elected on his 10th time on the BBWAA ballot, and Harold Baines, elected by the Today’s Game Era Committee, became the first two DHs inducted in 2019.

POWER OF 10

David Ortiz is the 340th candidate elected to the Hall of Fame, following a career where he wore No. 34 for 14 seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

ROLEN ALONG

Scott Rolen reached the 60-percent mark in the BBWAA voting for the first time this year. He was named on 63.2 percent of all ballots cast.

Barry Bonds (66.0 percent) and Roger Clemens (65.2 percent) also hit the 60-percent mark this year after having first reached the mark in 2020.

All other candidates who have ever reached the 60-percent mark in any BBWAA election have subsequently been elected to the Hall of Fame by either the BBWAA or a Hall of Fame veterans committee. Bonds and Clemens will have to rely on the veterans committee in light of the fact this was their 10th and final year on the BBWAA ballot.

In addition to Bonds and Clemens, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa also came up short in their 10th year.

FIRST IS ENOUGH

By appearing on 77.9 percent of all ballots cast, David Ortiz becomes the fifth candidate in history to earn election in his first year on the BBWAA ballot while receiving less than 80 percent of the vote.

Jackie Robinson (77.5% in 1962), Lou Brock (79.7%), Robin Yount (77.5% in 1999) and Iván Rodríguez (76.0% in 2017) each earned election in their first year eligible.

KING DAVID

David Ortiz was originally signed as an amateur by Seattle, but never appeared in a big-league game with the Mariners. He, however, played 20 big-league seasons for the Twins and Red Sox.

A 10-time All-Star and eight-time winner of the Edgar Martinez Award presented to the outstanding designated hitter, Ortiz powered a Boston team that won three World Series titles in 10 seasons after the franchise had gone 86 years without a championship.

A seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner who finished in the Top 4 of the AL MVP voting each year from 2004-07, Ortiz led the league in RBI three times and reached the 30-home run mark in 10 seasons, finishing with 541 round-triples..

He retired as one of only four players with at least 500 home runs and 600 doubles and his 1,192 extra base hits are tied for eighth all-time. His 20 walk-off hits in the regular season are the third-most in MLB history, and his 485 home runs as a DH are the most by any player at the position.

Hit .289 with 17 homers and 61 RBI in 85 career postseason games, earning ALCS MVP honors in 2004 and the World Series MVP Award in 2013.

Looking Ahead

A partial list of eligible first-time players for upcoming Hall of Fame elections includes:

2023: Carlos Beltrán, John Lackey, Francisco Rodríguez, Jayson Werth;

2024: Adrían Beltré, Joe Mauer, Chase Utley, David Wright;

2025: Brian McCann, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki, Troy Tulowitzki;

2026: Ryan Braun, Edwin Encarnación, Matt Kemp, Nick Markakis; 2027: Jay Bruce, Jon Lester, Buster Posey, Kyle Seager.

BETWEEN THE LINES

Including Negro League players, the following is a breakdown by position of the 268 Hall of Famers who earned their election on the playing field…Also included is the last major leaguer to be elected at each position…Numbers in parentheses indicate Hall of Famers elected by the BBWAA at each position. .

FIRST THINGS FIRST

With the election of David Ortiz, 58 players have been elected in their first year of eligibility (18 pitchers, seven RF, six 3B, six LF, six SS, five CF, three 2B, three 1B, two catchers and two DHs; position based on where electee played the majority of his big league games).

In 15 of the last 21 elections, at least one player has been elected in his first year of eligibility.

Other than the inaugural Hall of Fame election, 1999, 2014 and 2015 are the only three years where as many as three first-year candidates were elected at once.

Lou Gehrig (who received votes in 1936 while active and then was elected by acclamation in 1939) and Roberto Clemente (by special election in 1973) were each elected through a non-traditional process and are not counted in the 58.