Checking in on Hall of Fame ballots of former Toronto Blue Jays
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There is just under a month to go before the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 is announced. Let's look at how three former Blue Jays are doing.
We already know that one former member of the team will be entering the Hall come July; Jeff Kent, the power-hitting second baseman who made his major league debut with the Jays back in 1992, was elected via the Contemporary Era Baseball Committee earlier this month.
But there are three other former Blue Jays currently on the writer's ballot. With a thin class of newcomers entering the ballot this year, how will they fair.
This is Year No. 10 of voting for the baseball Hall of Fame always a privilege, always tough decisions. Vote for 10 each time to keep conversations going on some players
With roughly 11% of the ballots having been revealed, Buehrle is currently sitting at 27.7%, having received 13 out of 45 votes. While he has still a long way to go to reach the 75% threshold needed for induction, he has more than doubled his previous high 11.4% and is a good position to keep himself on the ballot.
It's the parrot's first year on the ballot and it may also be his last. Edwin has received just a single vote so far this ballot, for 2.1% of the vote. He will be hard-pressed to get 21 more votes to push him over the 5% minimum needed to appear on future ballots. He will likely remain a Blue Jays legend.
The three-time All-star and 11X gold glove winner, finds himself just behind Buehrle at 23.4% in his 8th year on the ballot. While that will likely increase as more ballots get revealed, it is a far cry from the 52.9% he received in 2020, his third year on the ballot.
The Hall has a morality clause and Vizquel has been beset by numerous off-the-field issues, which have hurt his candidacy. Still, thanks to relatively week incoming class, he has seen total rise by 6% as newer voters are less likely to care about his past.
Unlikely any three will get elected
While it's unlikely that any of the former Blue Jays will be elected, Kent could still have company. Former centre fielders Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones are tied atop the ballot with 78.7% of the vote.
While they are currently over the threshold, they need to get over 80% as vote totals tend to go down between 3-7% once private ballots are taken into consideration.
The results will be revealed January 21st.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 24 | 131 ANSWERS Checking in on Hall of Fame ballots of former Toronto Blue Jays Who is most likely to get elected? | ||
| Mark Buehrle | 31 | 23.7 % |
| Edwin Encarnacion | 64 | 48.9 % |
| Omar Vizquel | 10 | 7.6 % |
| None | 26 | 19.8 % |
| List of polls | ||