2016 Hall of Fame Election

From BR Bullpen

The results of the in the 2016 Hall of Fame Election were announced on January 6, 2016. Two players were elected by the BBWAA, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza, with Griffey receiving the highest percentage of votes ever. The results of the Veterans Committee vote were announced on December 7, 2015 during the annual Winter Meetings; for the second straight year, the Veterans Committee failed to elect anyone.

BBWAA Voting[edit]

Eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted on a ballot comprising holdover candidates from the 2015 Hall of Fame Election and players who played their last major league game in 2010. The number of eligible voters was cut from about 600 to 450 by eliminating members who had not been active in baseball for ten or more years.

Ken Griffey, Jr. led all candidates by having his name on 437 of 440 ballots, or 99.3% of the total, making him a first-ballot Hall of Famer. It was the highest percentage of votes ever, beating the 98.84% received by Tom Seaver in the 1992 election. Mike Piazza joined Griffey on his fourth try, receiving 365 votes (83%), with 75% required for election. Three other players came close to the required total, being named on at least two-thirds of ballots, but fell shy of 75%: Jeff Bagwell at 71.6%; Tim Raines jumped to 69.8% in his penultimate year of eligibility; and Trevor Hoffman at 67.3% in his first try.

The so-called steroids-tainted players, principally Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens moved up in comparison to their exceptionally poor vote totals in previous years, but both remained below 50%, at 44.2% and 45.3% respectively. However, some observers saw this upward trend, combined with the election of Piazza, who had been linked to steroids in the past albeit only by innuendo, as a sign that voters may be starting to reconsider their blanket rejection of players tainted by steroid use.

Player Votes Percentage Year on the Ballot Result
Ken Griffey Jr. 437 99.3 1st ELECTED
Mike Piazza 365 83.0 4th ELECTED
Jeff Bagwell 315 71.6 6th
Tim Raines 307 69.8 9th
Trevor Hoffman 296 67.3 1st
Curt Schilling 230 52.3 4th
Roger Clemens 199 45.2 4th
Barry Bonds 195 44.3 4th
Edgar Martinez 191 43.4 7th
Mike Mussina 189 43.0 3rd
Alan Trammell 180 40.9 15th Dropped
Lee Smith 150 34.1 14th
Fred McGriff 92 20.9 7th
Jeff Kent 73 16.6 3rd
Larry Walker 68 15.5 6th
Mark McGwire 54 12.3 10th Dropped
Gary Sheffield 51 11.6 2nd
Billy Wagner 46 10.5 1st
Sammy Sosa 31 7.0 4th
Jim Edmonds 11 2.5 1st Dropped
Nomar Garciaparra 8 1.8 2nd Dropped
Mike Sweeney 3 0.7 1st Dropped
David Eckstein 2 0.5 1st Dropped
Jason Kendall 2 0.5 1st Dropped
Garret Anderson 1 0.2 1st Dropped
Brad Ausmus 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Luis Castillo 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Troy Glaus 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Mark Grudzielanek 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Mike Hampton 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Mike Lowell 0 0.0 1st Dropped
Randy Winn 0 0.0 1st Dropped

Veterans Committee[edit]

The Veterans Committee, consisting of 16 members, voted on players and officials from the pre-integration era (through 1946). The ballot consisted of ten candidates: Doc Adams, Sam Breadon, Bill Dahlen, Wes Ferrell, Garry Herrmann, Marty Marion, Frank McCormick, Harry Stovey, Chris von der Ahe and Bucky Walters. For the second straight year, the Committee was unable to elect a candidate, as Adams, who received the most votes, still fell two votes short of election.

The Committee was composed of four Hall of Famers (Bert Blyleven, Bobby Cox, Pat Gillick and Phil Niekro), four current executives (Chuck Armstrong, Bill DeWitt Jr., Gary Hughes and Tal Smith) and eight veteran media members or historians (Steve Hirdt, Peter Morris, Jack O'Connell, Claire Smith, Tim Sullivan, T.R. Sullivan, Gary Thorne and Tim Wendel).

Player Votes Percentage Result
Doc Adams 10 62.5
Bill Dahlen 8 50.0
Harry Stovey 8 50.0
Sam Breadon <3 --
Wes Ferrell <3 --
Garry Herrmann <3 --
Marty Marion <3 --
Frank McCormick <3 --
Chris von der Ahe <3 --
Bucky Walters <3 --

Induction[edit]

The 2016 Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place on July 24th in Cooperstown, NY. A crowd estimated at 50,000, the second largest in Cooperstown history, was present. Both elected players were emotional, fighting back tears, but Griffey ended his speech on a lighter note, turning his Hall of Fame cap backwards to remind everyone that he was the one who started the fashion trend that was briefly ubiquitous in the 1990s.

Other Awards[edit]

Broadcasting pioneer Graham McNamee was the posthumous winner of the Ford C. Frick Award. Boston sports writer Dan Shaughnessy was the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for writers.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Associated Press: "Griffey elected to Hall with highest percentage, Piazza in", USA Today Sports, January 6, 2016. [1]
  • Barry M. Bloom: "Reduction in HOF voters may have big impact", mlb.com, January 4, 2016. [2]
  • Barry M. Bloom: "For Griffey and Piazza, both roads led to Cooperstown: No. 1 Draft pick, 62nd-rounder ready to be inducted into Hall of Fame", mlb.com, July 23, 2016. [3]
  • Barry M. Bloom: "Hall-time greats: Piazza, Griffey enshrined: Inductees praise family, fans on emotional day in front of second-largest Cooperstown crowd", mlb.com, July 24, 2016. [4]
  • AJ Cassavell: "Forecasting the 2016 Hall of Fame announcement: Griffey a lock; Piazza, Bagwell and Raines looking for a boost", mlb.com, December 25, 2015. [5]
  • Alyson Footer: "Hall of Fame induction weekend FAQ: Jam-packed schedule of events on tap for celebration in Cooperstown", mlb.com, July 23, 2016. [6]
  • Gabe Lacques: "Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines just miss on Hall of Fame; Bonds, Clemens languish", USA Today Sports, January 7, 2016. [7]
  • Bob Nightengale: "Hall of Fame's odd couple: Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza", USA Today Sports, July 24, 2016. [8]
  • Bob Nightengale: "Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Piazza deliver emotional Hall of Fame speeches", USA Today Sports, July 25, 2016. [9]
  • Jorge L. Ortiz: "All 10 Hall of Fame veteran candidates fall short", USA Today Sports, December 7, 2015. [10]
  • Chad Thornburg: "Fame of the game: Griffey on cusp, others on edge", mlb.com, January 6, 2015. [11]

Related Sites[edit]