The Baseball Writers Association of America has released the official 2019 Hall of Fame ballot.
Twenty newcomers and 15 repeats rounded out the 35-player ballot released Monday by the BBWAA.
Tampa native and longtime Rays’ (formerly Devil Rays) first baseman Fred McGriff is in his 10th and final year of eligibility.
McGriff received 23.2 percent of the vote from the BBWAA in 2017. To make the Hall of Fame, players have to get at least 75 percent support in the ballots.
Longtime Seattle Mariners third basemen and designated hitter Edgar Martinez is also in his final year of eligibility.
Tampa’s Gary Sheffield is in his fifth year of eligibility.
Manny Ramirez – who played for the Rays for only five games in 2011 – is in his third year of eligibility.
Longtime New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera is expected to become a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Here is the full list of newcomers (in alphabetical order):
- Rick Ankiel
- Jason Bay
- Lance Berkman
- Freddy Garcia
- Jon Garland
- Travis Hafner
- Roy Halladay
- Todd Helton
- Ted Lilly
- Derek Lowe
- Darren Oliver
- Roy Oswalt
- Andy Pettitte
- Juan Pierre
- Placido Polanco
- Mariano Rivera
- Miguel Tejada
- Vernon Wells
- Kevin Youkilis
- Michael Young
The holdovers include (in alphabetical order):
- Barry Bonds
- Roger Clemens
- Andruw Jones
- Jeff Kent
- Edgar Martinez
- Fred McGriff
- Mike Mussina
- Manny Ramirez
- Scott Rolen
- Curt Schilling
- Gary Sheffield
- Sammy Sosa
- Omar Vizquel
- Billy Wagner
- Larry Walker
The BBWAA will announce who was elected into the Hall of Fame on Jan. 22.
The subsequent induction ceremony will be held on July 21 in Cooperstown, New York.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
