Roy Halladay leads list of newcomers on Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
The late Phillies ace is joined by Yankees closer Mariano Rivera as near shoo-ins for entry into the Hall.
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Roy Halladay headlines a group of 20 first-time candidates on the 35-player writers' ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Halladay spent the last four of his 16 major-league seasons with the Phillies. The late righthander was a two-time Cy Young Award winner and had a reputation as a workhorse. He racked up three 20-win seasons, eight years with at least 200 innings, and five seasons with 200 or more strikeouts. He pitched 67 complete games, more than any pitcher since 1998, one perfect game and the second no-hitter in postseason history in 2010 for the Phillies.
Of the first-time candidates, Halladay and legendary New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera have the best chance to gain the 75 percent of the vote needed for election by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Rivera had 652 regular-season saves and 42 in the postseason during 19 seasons with the New York Yankees that included five World Series titles. He was 8-1 with a 0.70 ERA in 32 postseason series.
Left-hander Andy Pettitte and infielders Todd Helton, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada also are among the newcomers on the ballot announced Monday.
Steroids-tainted stars Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds each appear on the ballot for the seventh time. Clemens rose to 57.3 percent in the 2018 ballot but fell 75 votes short of the 75 percent needed, and Bonds was 79 votes shy at 56.4 percent. Martinez was 20 votes short at 70.4 percent, Mike Mussina at 63.5 percent and former Phillie Curt Schilling at 51.2 percent.
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Players remain on the ballot for up to 10 years, provided they receive at least 5 percent of the vote annually. Martinez and first baseman Fred McGriff (23.2 percent last year) are on the BBWAA ballot for the final time.
Additional newcomers on this year's ballot include infielder Placido Polanco and outfielder Juan Pierre. Holdovers include reliever Billy Wagner, second baseman Jeff Kent, shortstop Omar Vizquel, third baseman Scott Rolen and outfielders Andruw Jones, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa and Larry Walker.
Results of the balloting will be announced Jan. 22. The induction ceremony will take place on Sunday, July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.