A Look at the Contemporary Era Ballot

By Mike Whiteman November 26, 2025 *** I've said many times, I'm a Hall of Fame junkie. I can't get enough of the buildup, analyzing, eventual voting, and starting over next year. Of course, I really enjoy visiting the Hall of Fame in person as well. As most know, voting for the Hall is primarily done by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), with the initial group of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner selected in 1936. In 1939, a committee was formed to evaluate and elect "old timers" from primarily the 19th century. The Committee was busy, eventually selecting 30 players from 1939-1949. In 1953, the Committee on Baseball Veterans, known more commonly as the "Veteran's Committee" met for the first time. They would consider players not selected in through the BBWAA voting, along with managers, owners and executives. Many players' road to Cooperstown went through the Veteran's Committee. Plenty of the inductees through this system weren't recognized as quite all time greats, and some even been considered borderline deserving. Starting in 2013, the Committee was broken in to multiple "Eras" committees, focusing on players in specific time frames. The Contemporary Era Committee considers whose primary contribution to the game came since 1980. The 2025 Contemporary Era ballot may be one of the more interesting of all time. Here's a look at the slate. WAR is per baseball-reference.com. Barry Bonds - Greatest player of all time? His career 162.8 WAR leads all position players. MLB record holder of home runs in a season (73) and career (762). Winner of seven National League Most Valuable Player awards.

Roger Clemens - Accumulated 354 career wins (ninth all-time), 4672 strikeouts (third), and seven Cy Young Awards. His WAR: 138.7 WAR as a pitcher is third all-time.

Carlos Delgado - His 473 career home runs are 34th of all-time, and the most of those eligible and not connected to PED use not yet inducted. WAR: 44.4

Jeff Kent - The most career home runs as a second baseman (351), 377 homers overall, 2000 NL MVP, solid postseason performer. WAR: 55.4.

Don Mattingly - "Donnie Baseball", a beloved and respected Yankee captain with 2153 career hits, 1985 AL MVP. WAR: 42.4.

Dale Murphy - A similar case as Mattingly - a nice peak (two MVPS) but maybe not a full body of work. Another high character player who played the game "the right way". WAR: 46.5.

Gary Sheffield - 509 career home runs (27th), a longtime fierce presence in the batter's box. WAR: 60.5.

Fernando Valenzuela - "Fernandomania" took the Dodgers and the game by storm in 1981, and was an all-star each of the first six seasons of his career. After that point he was 74-85, with a 4.23 ERA for six teams. WAR: 41.4.

Bonds and Clemens, per their baseball cards should have been inducted long ago. Their connection to PEDs have them in this spot today. Sheffield's PED connections seems a bit weaker, and he was gaining momentum in the BBWAA voting before running out of eligibility. Mattingly, Murphy, Valenzuela, Kent, and Delgado are the more "traditional" committee offerings. Players with very good careers, with moments of greatness, but their BBWAA voting - Kent (46.5% highest voting), Mattingly (28.2%) Murphy (23.2%), Valenzuela (6.2%), Delgado (3.8%) - wasn't enough. I'm a bit fascinated that Valenzuela is on the ballot as opposed to Curt Schilling, who reached a high of 71.1% in the BBWAA voting. Voting on these players will be a 16-person committee, appointed by the Hall of Fame board. In the past, this committee consisted of Hall of Fame players along with executives and journalists/historians. The election will be December 7th, and at least 12 votes are required for enshrinement. My prediction: Based on their poor showing in 2023 Contemporary Era voting, I don't think Bonds and Clemens get a lot of consideration. As much as I enjoyed Valenzuela's career, I think he has an underwhelming Hall case and he doesn't pull in a lot of votes either. That leaves a lot of votes out there for the taking, and I think Mattingly and Murphy take them. It's kind of a perfect storm for them to be on the ballot with a number of polarizing and/or underwhelming players. The character clause works in the favor of Mattingly and Murphy, and both are selected. If you do think this year's is interesting. You haven't seen nothing yet - Pete Rose may be on the Classic Baseball Era ballot in 2027!