2021 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

{{Infobox Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

|new_inductees=0

|BBWAA=

|inductees=333

|date=September 8, 2021

|before=2020

|after=2022

}}

File:National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, NY.jpg, in 2020]]

Elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for 2021 proceeded according to rules most recently amended in 2016. As in the past, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently retired players. The results were announced on January 26, 2021, with no players receiving enough votes to be inducted.{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2021/01/26/baseball-hall-of-fame-2021-vote-yields-no-entrants/ |title=Baseball Hall of Fame vote: Schilling, Bonds, Clemens come up short |first=Michael |last=Blinn |website=New York Post |date=January 26, 2021 |accessdate=January 26, 2021}}

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings of the Early Baseball committee and Golden Days committee—two of a group of four bodies generally referred to as the Veterans Committee—which were scheduled to consider players from the 1871–1949 and 1950–1969 eras, respectively, were postponed from December 2020 to December 2021.{{cite news |url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/2020-baseball-hall-of-fame-ballot-will-anyone-be-elected-this-year/d1rqzyws3v8e19mubkbgq5vnu |title=2020 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot: Will anyone be elected this year? |first=Ryan |last=Fagan |website=Sporting News |date=November 16, 2020 |accessdate=November 16, 2020}}

This was the first time since 2013 that the BBWAA did not elect a player to the Hall of Fame, and the first time since 1960 that no one was selected for induction to the Hall, either via the BBWAA or one of the Veterans Committees.{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/MLB/2021/01/26/No-players-elected-to-Baseball-Hall-of-Fame-for-first-time-since-1960/5041611708457/ |title=No players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame for first time since 1960 |agency=United Press International |website=UPI.com |date=January 26, 2021 |accessdate=January 26, 2021}}

Also due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four people elected to the Hall in 2020 balloting—Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller—who were originally scheduled to be inducted on July 26, 2020, were inducted during 2021 ceremonies.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/baseball-hall-of-fame-cancels-2020-induction-ceremony-jeter-walker-others-to-be-honored-in-2021/ |title=Baseball Hall of Fame cancels 2020 induction ceremony; Jeter, Walker, others to be honored in 2021 |first=R.J. |last=Anderson |website=CBS Sports |date=April 29, 2020 |accessdate=April 29, 2020}} The 2021 formal induction ceremonies in Cooperstown, New York, were originally planned to be held indoors and without spectators on July 25, 2021,{{cite news |url=https://www.insidetheseams.com/hof-chatter/2021/2/12/hall-of-fame-adopts-a-virtual-approach-to-2021-induction-ceremonies |title=Hall of Fame Adopts a Virtual Approach to 2021 Induction Ceremonies |first=Jon |last=Shestakofsky |website=insidetheseams.com |date=February 12, 2021 |accessdate=February 12, 2021}} then were moved to September 8, 2021.{{cite web |last1=Columbia |first1=Erik |title=The 2021 Baseball HOF ceremony shifts to Sept. 8 |url=https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/the-2021-baseball-hof-ceremony-shifts-to-sept-8/ |website=localsyr.com |access-date=9 June 2021}}

BBWAA ballot

The list of players appearing on the ballot was released on November 16, 2020.{{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/2021-hall-of-fame-ballot-announced |title=Hall of Fame releases 2021 ballot |first=Anthony |last=Castrovince |website=MLB.com |date=November 16, 2020 |accessdate=November 16, 2020}} There were 14 players carried over from the prior year's ballot, who garnered at least 5% of the vote and were still eligible for election, and 11 players who appeared on the ballot for the first time, whose last major league appearance was in 2015 and were chosen by a screening committee. A player must receive at least 75% of the votes cast to be elected. A total of 2365 votes were cast for individual players, an average of 5.9 votes per ballot

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+Hall of Fame voting results for class of 2021{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_2021.shtml|title=2021 Hall of Fame Voting|website=Baseball-Reference.com|date=January 26, 2021|access-date=January 26, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://bbwaa.com/21-hof/|title=No candidates elected to Hall of Fame for 2021|work=Baseball Writers' Association of America|date=January 26, 2021}}

!scope="col"|Player

!scope="col" data-sort-type=number|Votes

!scope="col" data-sort-type=number|Percent

!scope="col"|Change

!scope="col" data-sort-type=number|Year

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Curt|Schilling}}

|align="right"|285

|align="right"|71.1%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}1.1%

|align="right"|{{sort|09|9th}}

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Barry|Bonds}}

|align="right"|248

|align="right"|61.8%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}1.1%

|align="right"|{{sort|09|9th}}

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Roger|Clemens}}

|align="right"|247

|align="right"|61.6%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}0.6%

|align="right"|{{sort|09|9th}}

bgcolor=ccccff

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Scott|Rolen}}

|align="right"|212

|align="right"|52.9%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}17.6%

|align="right"|{{sort|04|4th}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Omar|Vizquel}}

|align="right"|197

|align="right"|49.1%

|align="right"|{{decrease}}{{0}}3.5%

|align="right"|{{sort|04|4th}}

bgcolor=ccccff

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Billy|Wagner}}

|align="right"|186

|align="right"|46.4%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}14.7%

|align="right"|{{sort|06|6th}}

bgcolor=ccccff

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Todd|Helton}}

|align="right"|180

|align="right"|44.9%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}15.7%

|align="right"|{{sort|03|3rd}}

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Gary|Sheffield}}

|align="right"|163

|align="right"|40.6%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}10.1%

|align="right"|{{sort|07|7th}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Andruw|Jones}}

|align="right"|136

|align="right"|33.9%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}14.5%

|align="right"|{{sort|04|4th}}

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Jeff|Kent}}

|align="right"|130

|align="right"|32.4%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}4.9%

|align="right"|{{sort|08|8th}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Manny|Ramirez}}

|align="right"|113

|align="right"|28.2%

|align="right"|{{0}}0.0%

|align="right"|{{sort|05|5th}}

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Sammy|Sosa}}

|align="right"|68

|align="right"|17.0%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}3.1%

|align="right"|{{sort|09|9th}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Andy|Pettitte}}

|align="right"|55

|align="right"|13.7%

|align="right"|{{increase}}{{0}}2.4%

|align="right"|{{sort|03|3rd}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Mark|Buehrle}}{{dagger}}

|align=right|44

|align=right|11.0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Torii|Hunter}}{{dagger}}

|align=right|38

|align=right|9.5%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffffcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Bobby|Abreu}}

|align=right|35

|align=right|8.7%

|align=right|{{increase}}{{0}}3.2%

|align=right|{{sort|02|2nd}}

bgcolor=ffddcc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Tim|Hudson}}{{dagger}}

|align=right|21

|align=right|5.2%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Aramis|Ramírez}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|4

|align=right|1.0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|LaTroy|Hawkins}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|2

|align=right|0.5%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Barry|Zito}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|1

|align=right|0.2%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|A. J.|Burnett}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|0

|align=right|0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael|Cuddyer}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|0

|align=right|0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Dan|Haren}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|0

|align=right|0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Nick|Swisher}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|0

|align=right|0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

bgcolor=ffcccc

!scope="row"|{{sortname|Shane|Victorino}}{{dagger}}*

|align=right|0

|align=right|0%

|align=right|–

|align=right|{{sort|01|1st}}

{{multiple image

| footer = This was the ninth ballot for Curt Schilling (left) and first ballot for Torii Hunter

| total_width = 350

| image1 = SchillingNew.JPG

| image2 = 0923 240cb Torii Hunter.jpg

}}

Players who met first-year eligibility requirements but were not selected by the screening committee for inclusion on the ballot included: Jeremy Affeldt, Scott Baker, Jeff Baker, Grant Balfour, Clint Barmes, Joe Beimel, Rafael Betancourt, Willie Bloomquist, Alberto Callaspo, Bruce Chen, Randy Choate, Kevin Correia, Neal Cotts, David DeJesus, Chris Denorfia, Jeff Francis, Jason Frasor, Jonny Gomes, Kevin Gregg, Aaron Harang, Corey Hart, Reed Johnson, Dan Johnson, Gerald Laird, Adam LaRoche, Jason Marquis, David Murphy, Wil Nieves, Alex Rios, Wandy Rodriguez, Cody Ross, Skip Schumaker, Grady Sizemore, Rafael Soriano, Tim Stauffer, Dan Uggla, C. J. Wilson, Randy Wolf and Delmon Young.

J. G. Taylor Spink Award

The J. G. Taylor Spink Award has been awarded annually since 1962; it is named after J. G. Taylor Spink, publisher of The Sporting News from 1914 until his death in 1962, and first recipient of the award.{{cite web |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/884 |title=J.G. Taylor Spink Award |website=baseballhall.org |accessdate=December 12, 2020}} It recognizes "meritorious contributions to the field of baseball writing".{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_spink.shtml |title=J.G. Taylor Spink Award |website=Baseball Almanac |accessdate=December 14, 2020}} Past honorees include Ring Lardner, Grantland Rice, Damon Runyon, and Shirley Povich. The results of voting for the 2021 award were announced on December 8, 2020:{{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/dick-kaegel-spink-award-2021-winner |title=Longtime KC writer Kaegel wins Spink Award |first=Jeffrey |last=Flanagan |website=MLB.com |date=December 8, 2020 |accessdate=December 12, 2020}}

Dick Kaegel, The Sporting News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Kansas City Star and MLB.com{{cite web |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover/awards/spink/dick-kaegel |title=2021 J.G. Taylor Spink Award Winner Dick Kaegel |website=baseballhall.org |accessdate=December 12, 2020}} — 183 votes
Marty Noble, Newsday and MLB.com{{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/former-mlb-com-reporter-marty-noble-dies |title=Marty Noble, former MLB.com writer, dies at 70 |first=Anthony |last=DiComo |website=MLB.com |date=March 25, 2019 |accessdate=December 12, 2002}}—115 votes
Allan Simpson, Baseball America — 73 votes

In February 2021, the award was renamed as the BBWAA Career Excellence Award, after the BBWAA voted to remove Spink's name "due to Spink’s troubled history in supporting segregated baseball."{{cite web |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/884 |title=BBWAA Career Excellence Award |website=baseballhall.org |accessdate=February 28, 2021}}{{cite web |title=BBWAA removes J.G. Taylor Spink's name from Hall of Fame writing award over racist language |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30840064/bbwaa-removes-jg-taylor-spink-name-hall-fame-writing-award-racist-language |date=February 5, 2021 |accessdate=February 27, 2021 |website=ESPN.com}}{{cite news |last=Lucia|first=Joe|date=February 5, 2021|title=BBWAA removes JG Taylor Spink’s name from annual award, renames it as “Career Excellence Award”|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/bbwaa-removes-jg-taylor-spinks-name-from-annual-award-renames-it-as-career-excellence-award.html|work=Awful Announcing|location= |access-date=}}

Ford C. Frick Award

The Ford C. Frick Award has been presented annually to a preeminent baseball broadcaster since 1978. According to the Hall, the criteria adopted in July 2016 are "Commitment to excellence, quality of broadcasting abilities, reverence within the game, popularity with fans, and recognition by peers." A new election cycle was established, rotating annually between Current Major League Markets (team-specific announcers) with the 2017 Frick Award; National Voices (broadcasters whose contributions were realized on a national level) with the 2018 Frick Award; and Broadcasting Beginnings (early team voices and pioneers of baseball broadcasting) with the 2019 Frick Award. Since this cycle repeats every three years, all finalists for the 2021 award were National Voices.{{cite press release|url=http://baseballhall.org/news/hall-of-fame-announcements|title=Hall of Fame Makes Series of Announcements|publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|date=July 23, 2016|accessdate=August 14, 2016}}

File:Al Michaels (37443740985).jpg]]

On December 9, 2020, sportscaster Al Michaels was named the 2021 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/09/sports/al-michaels-best-know-his-1980-do-you-believe-miracles-call-wins-baseballs-ford-c-frick-award/ |title=Al Michaels, best known for his 1980 ‘Do you believe in miracles?’ call, wins baseball’s Ford C. Frick Award |first=Chad |last=Finn |website=The Boston Globe |url-access=limited |date=December 9, 2020 |accessdate=December 11, 2020}} Before working nationally, Michaels was an announcer for the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants in the 1970s. Notable baseball events he called include the 1986 American League Championship Series and 1989 World Series. The eight finalists for the award were:

Buddy Blattner (1920–2009)
Joe Buck (born 1969)
Dave Campbell (born 1942)
Dizzy Dean (1910–1974)
Don Drysdale (1936–1993)
Ernesto Jerez (born 1967)
Al Michaels (born 1944)
Dan Shulman (born 1967)

2021 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

BBWAA ballot

J. G. Taylor Spink Award

Ford C. Frick Award

References

Further reading