Former Mets Duo Close In Hall Of Fame Voting

Two former New York Mets stars have a chance to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024 after the first 100 ballots made public were tracked and cataloged.

Slugger Gary Sheffield and reliever Billy Wagner — both of which spent time with the Mets — are tracking close to the 75% needed for election. If elected, they would be inducted on July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The final results will be revealed on Jan. 23.

Sheffield is 27th all-time with 507 home runs, putting him in the select company of the 500 home-run club. He also drove in 1,676 runs, earned nine All-Star Game berths and won five Silver Sluggers. He won a World Series ring with the Marlins in 1997, and while he was never named an MVP, he was the Top 10 in balloting six times.

He’s come close to induction before, and the vote to get him into the Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility is going to be a close one.

Members of the Baseball Writers Association of American have been voting for the past month and 100 of them made their ballots public by Dec. 31, which was the cut-off to vote. An independent group of writers has been cataloging those ballots made public.

With 100 ballots in, Sheffield had 73.0% of the vote, putting him just below the 75% needed for induction.

The independent group tracking the ballots believes there are a possible 384 ballots to be cast, meaning any player would need an estimated 288 votes for induction.

Right now, Wagner is just above the cut line with 79%. He is in his ninth year on the ballot.

Wagner spent four seasons with the Mets and saved 101 games for the franchise. He made the All-Star Game twice with the Mets and his 422 saves at the end of his career were sixth all-time and second among left-handed relievers.

Mets mainstay David Wright is having far less luck with Hall of Fame voters. He had only received 9% of the vote after 100 ballots.

A 14-year vet for the Mets, the lifetime .296 hitter belted 242 home runs and 979 RBI as he became a fan favorite. The final four years of his career were cut short by spinal stenosis and he only played 77 games in his final four seasons.

He did make seven All-Star Game appearances, won two Gold Gloves at third base and two Silver Slugger awards. He finished in the Top 10 in NL MVP voting four times, hit 20 or more home runs six times and drove in 100 or more runs five times. He also batted better than .300 in seven different seasons.

Three other players are in line for election after 100 ballots — Adrián Beltré (98.0%), Joe Mauer (83.0%) and Todd Helton (82.0%).

The results will be revealed on Jan. 23. The induction ceremony is set for July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Whichever players are selected will join former manager Jim Leyland, who was voted in on the Contemporary Baseball Era Managers/Executives/Umpires ballot at the Winter Meetings.