Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens on Contemporary Era HOF ballot

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The Hall of Fame released its eight-player Contemporary Baseball Era ballot on Monday, and it includes some familiar names. Albert Belle, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy, and Rafael Palmeiro are some of the players to be considered. The omission of Sammy Sosa was notable.

The committee consisting of Hall of Fame players, baseball executives and veteran sportswriters will vote on the players at the winter meetings in December. A player needs to get at least 12 votes to be elected.

The baseball writers' ballot for the 10th and final time this past election cycle featured Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa. Bonds received 66.0% of the vote and needed 75% of the vote to be elected. The Contemporary Era committee considers players who made their greatest contributions from 1980 to the present era but failed to get elected to the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Bonds, the sport's all-time and single-season home run leader, and seven-time Cy Young winner Clemens received their highest level of support in their final year on the writers' ballot.

In 2021, his support reached as high as 71.1%, but he fell just 16 votes short of election. The Hall of Fame denied his request to be removed from the ballot in the final year of his career. The numbers of Schilling's career -- 216 wins, three 300-strikeout seasons, 80.5 career WAR, and an 11-2 record in the playoffs with three World Series titles -- warrant strong consideration for election, but he ostracized himself in retirement with racist comments towards Muslims.

When asked to be removed from the ballot, Schilling said he would defer to the veterans committee and men who were in a position to judge a player.

Palmeiro is one of seven players with 3000 hits and 500 home runs, but unlike Bonds, Clemens and Sosa, he received a suspension after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug. He was removed from the ballot after falling below the 5% threshold.

For Murphy and Mattingly, this will be their first time on a veterans committee ballot. Murphy, a two-time Most Valuable Player with the Atlanta Braves who peaked at 23.2% on the BBWAA ballot, received less than seven votes from the 16-person committee in each of the last two years. The popular New York Yankees first baseman, who won the 1985 American League Most Valuable Player award, appeared on both ballots with the same low vote total.

McGriff may be the player with the best chance of election if the committee views Bonds, Clemens and Schilling in a negative light. A five-time All-Star who hit 493 home runs and drove in 1,550 runs, McGriff never received 40% of the vote on the BBWAA ballot, but his 10 years on the ballot came when it was crowded withPED-tarnished players and other

Injuries shortened his career to just 12 seasons after he had 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season. He didn't get a lot of votes on the Today's Game ballots in the last two years.

The next vote for Contemporary Era ballot won't come until December 2025. Next year's election will include managers, executives and umpires, and then the Classic Era will be voted on in December 2024.

The BBWAA vote will take place in January of 2023. Scott Rolen is the top returning vote getter with 63.2%. The ballot includes A-Rod, Ramirez, Gary, and Jones. Carlos Beltran is the top new face.