2017 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot: A look at the candidates

2017 HALL OF FAME BALLOT

First year on the ballot:

Manny Ramirez. Played for five teams, had career .312 average with 555 home runs, 2,574 hits and 1,831 RBI. Two-time World Series champion with Boston.

Ivan Rodriguez. Played for six teams, won a record 13 Gold Gloves as a catcher. Career .296 hitter with 2,844 hits, 311 home runs and 1,332 RBI. American League MVP in 1999. Won World Series with Marlins in 2003.

Vladimir Guerrero. Played for four teams, hit .318 with 449 home runs, 2,590 hits and 1,496 RBI. Was 2004 American League MVP.

Also on ballot for first time: Casey Blake, Pat Burrell, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, J.D. Drew, Carlos Guillén, Derrek Lee, Melvin Mora, Magglio Ordóñez, Jorge Posada, Edgar Rentería, Arthur Rhodes, Freddy Sánchez, Matt Stairs, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield.

Other eligible players (who appeared on at least five percent of ballots last year):

Tim Raines, 10th (final) year, 69.8 percent. Sixth-most stolen bases (808) in history.

Trevor Hoffman, second year, 67.3 percent. Second all-time in saves (601) to Mariano Rivera. Pitched in 1,035 games (11th) and finished 856 (second).

Curt Schilling, fifth year, 52.3 percent. Best strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.383) of any modern-era pitcher, and ranks 15th all-time in strikeouts. Three-time World Series winner (11-2 in postseason) with 216-146 career record.

Roger Clemens, fifth year, 45.2 percent. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner pitched 24 seasons, third in strikeouts (4,672) and ninth in wins (354). Dogged by PED accusations.

Barry Bonds, fifth year, 44.3 percent. Holds record for home runs (762) and won a record seven National League MVP awards. Eight time Gold Glove winner has failed because of alleged steroid use.

Mike Mussina, fourth year, 43.0 percent. Won 270 games, has sixth-best winning percentage (.638) of any pitcher with at least 250 career victories.

Lee Smith, 15th (final) year, 34.1 percent. Third all-time in saves (478). Grandfathered in when rules changed, has been on ballot 15 years.

Fred McGriff, eighth year, 20.9 percent. Hit 493 career homers.

Jeff Kent, fourth year, 14.0 percent. His 351 home runs are most by a second baseman.

Larry Walker, seventh year, 15.5 percent. .313 career batting average elevated by amazing stats at Coors Field in Denver.

Billy Wagner, second year, 10.5 percent. 442 saves, and his career WHIP of 0.998 is the lowest mark of all-time among relievers with at least 500 innings pitched.

Sammy Sosa, fifth year, 7.0 percent. Career marred by PED and corked bat accusations. Ranks eighth all-time in home runs (609) and 28th all-time in RBI (1,667).

Selection process: Players must have at least 10-year careers and be retired for five years. Voters can choose up to 10 players on their ballots. Players who reach 75 percent on ballots are elected.