Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are among 8 players on the Hall of Fame committee’s ballot
newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still have a chance to enter baseball’s hallowed hall.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Contemporary Era Committee ballot will have remains in Bonds, Clemens, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy, while others join them outside the regular ballot.
Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela will also be on the Contemporary Era Committee’s ballot for the Class of 2026.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Former New York Yankees player Roger Clemens during the Old Timer’s Day ceremony at Yankee Stadium. (Wendell Cruz/Imagine Images)
The committee, made up of 16 electors, will meet Dec. 7 during the Winter Meetings in Orland, Fla., to determine who might enter the chamber in Cooperstown. 75% of the votes are required for election, and if someone reaches this minimum, they will be inducted on July 26, 2026.
Regular Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) voting will be announced on January 20, 2026.
Roger Clemens thanks Trump for supporting Baseball Hall of Fame, responds to critics
In 2022, the Hall of Fame reconstituted its veterans committees with committees to consider the Contemporary Era, which is from 1980 to the present, as well as the Classic Era. For the modern era, there are two separate ballots for players, managers, executives and referees. Contemporary managers, executives and referees will be considered in December 2026, while Classic Era candidates will be considered in December 2027.
Each committee meets every three years, meaning the next ballot review for the contemporary era will be in December 2028.
When this era’s ballot was reviewed in December 2022, Fred McGriff was elected unanimously with all sixteen votes. Mattingly received eight votes, while Curt Schilling, who was dropped from the ballot this year, received seven. Bonds and Clemens, as well as Rafael Palmeiro, who was dropped along with Schilling, received less than four votes.
San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds smiles before an MLB game between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. (Bob Coppins/Imagine Images)
Bonds, Clemens and Palmeiro are polarizing figures in the game, their fame skyrocketing during baseball’s steroid era. Bond denied knowledge of the use of steroids, while Clemens maintained that he had never used them. Palmeiro is the same.
Sheffield also noted that he was unaware of the use of performance-enhancing substances during training prior to the 2002 season that contained steroids.
Bonds and Clemens would be in the Hall if their MLB careers weren’t tainted by the accusations. Both Bonds and Clemens were dropped from the BBWAA ballot in 2022 after the former received 66% of the votes (260 of 394) and the latter received 65.2% of the votes (257). You also need 75% of the votes to get induction into the hall.
Of course, Bonds is still the MLB home run king, hitting 762 during his career, while also holding the single-season home run record (73). He won seven NL MVP awards, while also making 14 All-Star games.
Barry Bonds was introduced to fans at the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame ceremonies at PNC Park. (Philip J. Pavelli – USA TODAY Sports)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, has the third-most strikeouts in league history with 4,672, behind only Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Randy Johnson (4,875).
It should also be noted that the December 2027 ballot will be the first opportunity that Pete Rose will be available to vote after Commissioner Rob Manfred ruled that his permanent suspension from MLB ended with his death in September 2024.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on X And subscribe to Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.