Phillies legends could join a historic Hall of Fame class in 2018
Phillies stars of yesteryear are gaining in their quest for induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Presently with 42.2% of the votes made public, former Phillie slugger Jim Thome would be in an unprecedented class of five players.
Five players are on track to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame the first time via the writer’s ballot since the inaugural class in 1936 with Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson. Ryan Thibodaux, aka @NotMrTibbs, ballot tracking has Thome, Trevor Hoffman, Edgar Martinez, Vlad Guerrero, and Chipper Jones over the 75% threshold.
Former Phillie ace Curt Schilling continues to gain traction toward Cooperstown with 65.9% of the early vote, a dramatic increase from his 45% last year.
Traction isn’t gaining for a slew of former Phillies in their quest for enshrinement in Cooperstown. Brad Lidge, Jamie Moyer, Scott Rolen, and Billy Wagner have received a combined 38 votes, all of which have gone towards the latter two candidates.
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Former Yankee Mike Mussina has been a borderline candidate for five years, but Thibodaux’s tracker has him at 73.2%. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemons each sit with 65.9% of the vote, inching them closer to enshrinement on their sixth year on the ballot.
Thome’s likely induction comes despite the fact several Boston beat writers have opted to vote for Manny Ramirez over him. They blindly pointed towards false facts, which we highlighted here in our breakdown of Thome’s candidacy.
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Next year’s ballot should be even more intriguing considering the gains Clemons and Bonds have seen in their sixth year. Multiple former Phillie starters will also be eligible for the first time, including the late Roy Halladay, Placido Polanco, Roy Oswalt, Juan Pierre, Michael Young, and Jose Contreras.