2018 Hall Of Fame Class: Six Players Enter Cooperstown As New Inductees
The 2018 Hall of Fame class for baseball now includes six players. The Cooperstown votes were revealed on Wednesday (January 24) to decide who would join Alan Trammell and Jack Morris at the induction ceremony this summer. Four more players will be giving Cooperstown speeches, with Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, and Trevor Hoffman joining the baseball elite.
A report by MLB Network confirmed the news live on television. Several players, including Edgar Martinez and Mike Mussina, will have to wait until next year, as they just missed the cut this year. Each year, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America cast ballots to decide who will be enshrined in Cooperstown. Each player has to appear on at least 75 percent of the ballots to be inducted and they can appear on the ballot for up to 10 years. Next year will be the last year that Martinez shows up on the ballot.
Regarding the 2018 Hall of Fame class, Alan Trammell and Jack Morris were inducted by the Veterans Committee, which was reviewing players from that time period who weren’t already in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Now infielder Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves, outfielder Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos and Anaheim Angels, first baseman Jim Thome of the Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies, and San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman will be joining them.
I remember when I took my son to see me play in the All Star Game. Today, he will play in the Futures Game. Thanks God for the blessings! pic.twitter.com/FwtNO79S8n
— Vladimir Guerrero (@VladGuerrero27) July 9, 2017
The official website for the Baseball Hall of Fame states that the annual induction ceremony will take place on July 29 at 1:30 p.m. ET. As previously reported by ESPN, broadcaster Bob Costas will also be on the stage in Cooperstown to be honored with the Ford C. Frick Award presented by the baseball Hall of Fame for broadcasting excellence. There are going to be a lot of speeches on the big day.
The 2019 Hall of Fame ballot will introduce Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Roy Halladay, Todd Helton, Lance Berkman, and Roy Oswalt to the BBWAA voters for the first time. They will be joined by returning players from this past ballot, including Roger Clemens, Larry Walker, Barry Bonds, and Curt Schilling. The only player universally expected to be inducted on the 2019 ballot is Rivera, but there is a lot of time for the voting debate to take place.
