The voting process for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Class of 2021, ended on December 31. The ballot has 25 candidates in total, and eight of them spent at least part of their career with the New York Yankees.
Bobby Abreu, A.J. Burnett, LaTroy Hawkins, Nick Swisher, Roger Clemens, Andruw Jones, Andy Pettitte, and Gary Sheffield are among the Yankees that are eligible for immortality.
However, as of right now with 115 ballots published, no one is making the cut to get in. Players in the ballot need to get a minimum of 75% of the votes to gain immortality. So far, Clemens (72.2%) is the closest of the former Yankees, with Barry Bonds and Curt Schilling also flirting with the minimum threshold.
The results will be announced on January 26, and the inductees will be honored in Cooperstown, New York, on July 25, barring any COVID-19-related postponement.
So far, here are the former Yankees and their progress through 115 votes, per NJ Advance Media:
Will any former Yankees players make the HOF?
- Bobby Abreu, RF: 15.7% of the vote (18 of 115).
- AJ Burnett, RHP: 0% of the vote (0 of 115).
- Roger Clemens, RHP: 72.2% of the vote (83 of 115).
- LaTroy Hawkins, RHP: 0% of the vote (0 of 115).
- Andruw Jones, CF: 43.5% of the vote (50 of 115).
- Andy Pettitte, LHP: 17.4% of the vote (20 of 115).
- Gary Sheffield, OF: 52.2% of the vote (60 of 115).
- Nick Swisher, OF: 0% of the votes (0 of 115).
Four first-time candidates were elected to the Hall in the last three years: Chipper Jones and Jim Thome in 2018, and former Yankees legends Mariano Rivera in 2019 (unanimous election), and Derek Jeter in 2020.
Jeter’s case was notorious, as he fell just one vote short of being the second unanimous election to the Hall after his friend and former teammate Rivera.
Abreu appears destined to get the minimum votes to see his name on the ballot for next year (5%), but Burnett, Hawkins, and Swisher, so far, look as one-and-done candidates.