2024 Hall of Fame Election

The results of the 2024 Hall of Fame Election were announced on January 23, 2024, with three players, Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer gaining election; Beltre and Mauer became first-ballot Hall of Famers, while Helton made it on his sixth year on the ballot. Before that, on December 3, 2023, the Veterans Committee announced the election of Jim Leyland as the result of its vote covering the Contemporary Era.

BBWAA Voting

Eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted on a ballot comprising holdover candidates from the 2023 Hall of Fame Election and players who played their last major league game in 2018. The composition of the ballot, comprising 26 names including 12 players eligible for the first time, was made public on November 20, 2023.

The voting resulted in three players gaining election: Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer. Beltre's election in his first time on the ballot was a foregone conclusion given his outstanding career numbers that made him one of the elite third basemen of all time. For Helton, his election capped a rise from a modest 16.5% total when he had first become eligible in 2019; he had increased his vote total every year since, thanks to a concerted campaign by both writers and former teammates to address the issue that even discounting the help given by playing his entire career in a favorable hitting environment at Coors Field, he was still an outstanding performer worthy of the Hall. The third inductee, Mauer, was a bit of a surprise, as he made it on the first ballot even though there was a spirited debate on the internet about how the fact he had played only a minority of his games as a catcher, a position where outstanding hitters are hard to find, should be taken into account, and whether he was given too much credit for career totals that were good but not outstanding for a non-catcher; the conclusion was that his prime had come as a catcher and the numbers he put up during those years compared favorably to those of almost all other catchers already enshrined.

There was a total of 385 ballots cast with 289 votes needed to reach the 75% needed for election. Billy Wagner missed election by only 5 votes on his 9th attempt, while Gary Sheffield reached 63.9% in his 10th and final year on the ballot, dropping out with one of the highest totals ever for a player who failed to be elected. Meanwhile, Carlos Beltran topped 50% in his second year on the ballot, normally a very good predictor of future election. Chase Utley also had a strong showing among first timers, with over one hundred votes, but a result of all these votes going to the top three first-time candidates was that most down-ballot candidates held over from previous years saw their vote total drop.

Player	Votes	Percentage	Year on the Ballot	Result
Adrian Beltre	366	95.1	1st	ELECTED
Todd Helton	307	79.7	6th	ELECTED
Joe Mauer	293	76.1	1st	ELECTED
Billy Wagner	284	73.8	9th
Gary Sheffield	246	63.9	10th	Dropped
Andruw Jones	237	61.6	7th
Carlos Beltran	220	57.1	2nd
Alex Rodriguez	134	34.8	3rd
Manny Ramirez	125	32.5	8th
Chase Utley	111	28.8	1st
Omar Vizquel	68	17.7	7th
Bobby Abreu	57	14.8	5th
Jimmy Rollins	57	14.8	3rd
Andy Pettitte	52	13.5	6th
Mark Buehrle	32	8.3	4th
Francisco Rodriguez	30	7.8	2nd
Torii Hunter	28	7.3	4th
David Wright	24	6.2	1st
Jose Bautista	6	1.6	1st	Dropped
Victor Martinez	6	1.6	1st	Dropped
Bartolo Colon	5	1.3	1st	Dropped
Matt Holliday	4	1.0	1st	Dropped
Adrian Gonzalez	3	0.8	1st	Dropped
Brandon Phillips	1	0.3	1st	Dropped
Jose Reyes	0	0.0	1st	Dropped
James Shields	0	0.0	1st	Dropped

Veterans Committee

The Veterans Committee examined candidates from the Contemporary Era, covering the period since 1980. The 16 electors forming the committee met at the Winter Meetings in Memphis, TN on December 3rd to discuss candidates on the ballot and cast their votes. Candidates had to receive 75% of the vote (i.e. 12 votes) to be elected.

The ballot included eight names consisting of four managers, two executives and two umpires (a ballot consisting solely of players was considered the previous year and will be under consideration again in 2025 for the Hall of Fame class of 2026). The candidates were Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West and Bill White.

Jim Leyland received 15 of 16 votes to be elected, while Piniella fell one vote short of the 12 required.

Player	Votes	Percentage	Result
Jim Leyland	15	93.8	ELECTED
Lou Piniella	11	68.7
Bill White	10	62.5
Cito Gaston	<5	<31.3
Davey Johnson	<5	<31.3
Ed Montague	<5	<31.3
Hank Peters	<5	<31.3
Joe West	<5	<31.3

Other Awards

Joe Castiglione, long-time broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox, was named the winner of the Ford Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. Gerry Fraley, sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Dallas Morning News was named the posthumous winner of the BBWAA Career Excellence Award, recognizing meritorious contributions to the field of baseball writing.

Induction

The induction of the four successful candidates took place on July 21, 2024 in Cooperstown, NY. The two winners of Hall of Fame awards were honored in a separate ceremony held the day before. All four inductees were present for the ceremony and made speeches, with Helton going first, followed by Beltré, Leyland and Mauer. "Big Papi" David Ortiz provided the moment with some levity, sneaking up behind Beltré and patting him on the head - something that was well-known to make him uncomfortable back in his playing days, although this time it was done in friendship.

Further Reading

• "Hall of Fame announces 8-person ballot for next Era Committee vote: Four managers, two executives and two umpires up for election to Cooperstown on Dec. 3", mlb.com, October 19, 2023. [1]
• David Adler: "9 storylines to watch for 2024 Hall of Fame ballot", mlb.com, November 19, 2023. [2]
• Jason Beck: "Everything you need to know about HOF induction", mlb.com, July 21, 2024. [3]
• Jason Beck: "Leyland, Beltré, Helton & Mauer enter Hall of Fame on emotional day", mlb.com, July 21, 2024. [4]
• Jason Beck: "From hometown kid to Cooperstown: Mauer inducted into HOF", mlb.com, July 21, 2024. [5]
• Jason Beck: "Emotional and eloquent, Leyland deeply touched by HOF induction", mlb.com, July 21, 2024. [6]
• Anthony Castrovince: "Leyland, postseason manager extraordinaire, elected to Hall", mlb.com, December 4, 2023. [7]
• Anthony Castrovince: "Beltré, Helton, Mauer: Trio of legends headed to Hall of Fame", mlb.com, January 23, 2024. [8]
• Mark Feinsand: "Explaining my 2024 Hall of Fame ballot", mlb.com, December 31, 2023. [9]
• Thomas Harding: "Helton, who has spent his career lifting others, ascends to baseball's highest pedestal", mlb.com, July 21, 2024. [10]
• Thomas Harding and Kennedi Landry: "With love and laughs, Beltré takes his place in Hall as one of hot corner's finest", mlb.com, July 21, 2024. [11]
• Bill Ladson: "Breaking down the HOF Contemporary Era candidates", mlb.com, December 1, 2023. [12]
• Brian Murphy: "Beltré, Mauer debut as 2024 Hall of Fame ballot is unveiled", mlb.com, November 20, 2023. [13]

Related Sites

• Voting results