There are 34 players eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year with 19 appearing for the first time. The ballots have already been submitted and the results will be announced tomorrow evening.
A number of former Yankees are eligible for induction this year: Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Tim Raines, Jorge Posada, and Gary Sheffield are all on the ballot (so is Ivan Rodriguez, but he barely qualifies as a Yankee). Of those, Raines, Clemens, and Mussina are the only ones with a chance of receiving enough votes this time around, though Raines currently projects much better than the two pitchers. Ballot trackers across the internet have Posada possibly failing to receive enough votes to even stay on the ballot another season.
One thing to monitor will be a potential softening of voters toward steroid users after the induction of Bud Selig. Whether valid or not, many seem to think Selig’s induction means that those accused of PED usage might have some light at the end of their Hall of Fame tunnel. Of course, whether that is due to Selig making the Hall of Fame or a change in the guard of HoF voters isn’t really clear.
Here’s how you can tune in for the announcement tomorrow:
2017 Baseball Hall of Fame announcement
When: 3-7 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Jan. 18 (announcement at 6 p.m.)
Channel: MLB Network
Stream: MLB.com