The Contemporary Era Committee elects Jeff Kent into the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026
The Baseball Hall of Fame Contemporary Era Veterans Committee has announced tht Jeff Kent is the lone man to have obtained the necessarry 75% to join the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Kent received 14 of the 18 votes, and the man with the most Home Runs among any Second Baseman (351 of his career 377). A five-time All-Star, Kent won the 2000 NL MVP and earned four Silver Sluggers. Kent also had 2,461 Hits and 1,518 RBIs.
Three other players will be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame on the next Contemporary Ballot.
Carlos Delgado received nine votes and Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy earned six.
As a new wrinkle, players who received five or fewer votes will not be on the next Contemporary Ballot in 2029. This means that Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela will not be considered for that ballot.
Notably, this year’s committee consisted of Hall of Fame Fergie Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Perez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount; major league executives Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Tony Reagins and Terry Ryan; and veteran media members/historians Steve Hirdt, Tyler Kepner and Jayson Stark.
Over the next five years, the respective committees will be voting for:
2027-Contemporary Baseball Managers/Executives/Umpires; 2028-Classic Baseball; 2029-Contemporary Baseball Players; 2030-Contemporary Baseball Managers/Executives/Umpires; 2031-Classic Baseball.
Please note that we will be revising our Notinhalloffame Baseball List once we know the Writers' elect for the Class of 2026.
We here at notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Jeff Kent for his impending induction.
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Baseball Hall of Fame 2026: Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, Players
When the veterans committee (VC), officially convening as the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for players, meets December 7 at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, the only burning question is whether it will elect Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, or both to the National Baseball Hall of Fame since this ballot repeats the VC's 2023 charade of gaming that ballot to ensure that Fred McGriff was elected to Cooperstown.
Joining this anointed pair are Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who had joined the M & M boys on the 2023 VC ballot, along with first-timers Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela. Kent and Sheffield recently exited the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) ballot after ten fruitless years, with Delgado a one-and-done in 2015 and Valenzuela, who died in 2024 at age 63, gone in 2004 after two marginal appearances.
The Baseball Hall of Fame names its eight Contemporary Era Nominees
The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced the eight names who will be on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot. This Era focuses on players whose primary contributions occurred after 1980.
To gain induction, the candidate must receive 75% of the ballots cast among the 16-member committee. That committee has yet to be announced.
The candidates are:
Barry Bonds, PIT 1986-92 & SF 1993-2007, Outfield. Bonds is one of the greatest position players the game has ever seen. The all-time leader in Home Runs (762) also boasts the single-season mark with 73. The longtime Outfielder is also the all-time leader in bWAR (162.8), Walks (2,558), and MVPs (7), and he won two Batting Titles, 10 OBP Titles, seven Slugging Titles, and nine OPS Titles. His trophy case also boasts 12 Silver Sluggers and eight Gold Gloves. Bonds peaked on the regular ballot with 66% in his final year in 2022, and was on the Veterans ballot the year after, though did not receive enough support for his tally to be announced. His issue, like many, is his suspected PED use, which has kept him out of Cooperstown.
Roger Clemens, BOS, 1984-96, TOR 1997-98, NYY 1999-2003 & 2007, & HOU 2004-06, Pitcher. Clemens is the Pitching equivalent of Bonds regarding the Hall of Fame, as they joined the modern ballot together, left the modern vote together, and were also on the 2023 Senior Ballot, where, like Bonds, he did not receive enough votes for his tally to be revealed. Clemens won an MVP, seven Cy Youngs, seven ERA Titles, five Strikeout Titles, and compiled a record of 354-184 with 4,672 Strikeouts. There is no way anyone on this committee should vote for Bonds without Clemens or vice versa.
Carlos Delgado, TOR 1993-2004, FLA 2004 & NYM 2006-09, First Base. Delgado was a two-time All-Star who powered 473 Home Runs with 1,502 RBIs while also securing three Silver Sluggers. While Delgado did not win an MVP, the Sporting News named him the 2003 Major League Player of the Year. On the Modern ballot, Delgado lasted only one year (3.8% in 2015), but that ballot included 13 players who made the Hall, including Bonds, Clemens, Kent, Sheffield, Curt Schilling, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa.
Jeff Kent, TOR 1992, NYM 1992-96, CLE 1996, SFG 1997-2002, HOU 2003-04 & LAD 2005-08, Second Base. A five-time All-Star, Kent won the 2000 NL MVP and earned four Silver Sluggers. Kent smacked 377 Home Runs with 2,461 Hits and 1,518 RBIs. On the Modern ballot, Kent finished as high as 46.5% (his last time on the ballot), and this is his Senior ballot debut.
Don Mattingly, NYY, 1982-95, First Base. Mattingly was one of the best hitters in the 1980s, batting over .300 for six consecutive seasons (1984-89) and winning the 1984 AL Batting Title. A six-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger recipient, Mattingly also won nine Gold Gloves. Injuries derailed him by 1990, and his Hall of Fame candidacy went off the track with it. Mattingly still had 2,153 Hits and 222 Home Runs, and he later became a Coach and Manager, and won the 2020 NL Manager of the Year. The highest he finished on the Modern ballot was his first attempt (28.2% in 2001), but in 2023, on his third Veteran’s ballot, he had 50% of the votes.
Dale Murphy, ATL 1976-87, PHI 1990-92 & COL 1993, Outfield. Murphy won back-to-back National League MVPs (1982 & 1983), was a two-time Home Run champion, and went yard 398 times. The seven-time All-Star won four Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves, but never made it to 30%. He has, however, been in the Senior vote three times, and in 2023, he had 37.5% of the tally.
Gary Sheffield, MIL 1988-91, SDP 1992-93, FLA 1993-98, LAD 1998-2001, ATL 2002-03, NYY 2004-05, DET 2007-08, & NYM 2009 Outfield. A member of the 500 Home Run club (509), Sheffield went to the All-Star game nine times, won five Silver Sluggers, and a Batting Title. A World Series Champion with the Marlins, Sheffield finished with 63.9% in his final year on the ballot (2024), and is on his first Senior ballot.
Fernando Valenzuela, LAD 1980-90, CAL 1991, BAL 1993, PHI 1994, SDP, 1995-97 & STL 1998, Pitcher, Fernandomania took over the sports world in 1981, when Valenzuela won the Rookie of the Year, the Cy Young, and led the Dodgers to a World Series win. He was also a six-time All-Star and had a record of 173-153 with 2,074 Strikeouts. Previously, he was on the ballot for only two years and had never been on a Senior Ballot.
The results will be announced on December 7 at 7:30 EST on the MLB Network.
Our All Time Top 50 Toronto Blue Jays have been revised to reflect the 2024 Season.
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 Toronto Blue Jays.
As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Please note that our algorithm has changed, which yielded minor changes throughout the baseball lists.
Last year, the Blue Jays had a disappointing campaign where they had a losing record. There were no new entrants, but two elevations
As always, we present our top five, which saw one change based on the new calculations.
1. Dave Stieb
2. Roy Halladay
You can find the entire list here.
First Baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vaulted ten spots to #12.
Notably, Bo Bichette’s poor year dropped him two spots to #27.
The new algorithm brings Brett Lawrie at #45.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Our All-Time Top 50 Toronto Blue Jays have been revised to reflect the 2023 Season
Our All-Time Top 50 Toronto Blue Jays are now up
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Toronto Blue Jays, which means we have finally completed all of the MLB teams!
Our Top 50 lists in Baseball look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.
This list is updated up until the end of the 2022 Season.
The complete list can be found here, but as always, we announce our top five in this article. They are:
1. Dave Stieb
2. Roy Halladay
4. Carlos Delgado
We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.
Look for our more material coming soon!
As always, we thank you for your support.
5. Carlos Delgado
An Amateur Free Agent signee in 1988, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Delgado first made the Blue Jays roster in 1993, but it was not until 1996 that he was an everyday player at First.
Delgado began a ten-year streak of at least 30 Home Runs in 1997 (though the last two were with other teams), and three of those seasons saw the slugger exceed 100. A bona fide run generator, Delgado drove in at least 100 runners six times with Toronto, including a league-leading 145 in 2003. That was his best season in the Majors, where he was second in MVP voting, won The Sporting News Player of the Year Award, and won his third and final Silver Slugger.
As good as Delgado was, he was unable to play in any playoff games with the Jays, who went into sharp decline after their second World Series win in 1993. He was easily the Jays best batter from 1996 to 2004, after which he left for the Marlins as a Free Agent.
As of this writing, Delgado is the all-time franchise leader in Offensive bWAR (39.4), Plate Appearances (6,018), Runs Scored (889), Home Runs (336), and RBIs (1,058), and is a member of the Blue Jays Level of Excellence. He was also named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
BASEBALL HALL OF FAME: UPCOMING BORDERLINE CANDIDATES, PART 1
Granted, 2013 was the first year of eligibility for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, both poster boys for performance-enhancing drugs (PED), bringing to a head the contentious debate about "cheaters" and their admission into the Hall. But there were certainly several "clean" players on that ballot, and a few of those, such as 3000-hit-club member Craig Biggio, would have been uncontroversial picks in any previous year.
And although 2014 saw the election of three players—Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Frank Thomas—it was merely the tip of a talent-heavy iceberg (I identified 18 likely Hall of Famers for that ballot), while providing a burn to Biggio yet again as not only did he miss election by one vote (he garnered 74.8 percent of the vote), but three first-time candidates leapfrogged him into Cooperstown.
84. Carlos Delgado
