Several Ex-Red Sox Among New Additions To 2017 Baseball Hall Of Fame Ballot

The Boston Red Sox already sent one player to the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, and there will be plenty more eligible next year.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Monday released the 34 names on its 2017 Hall of Fame ballot, and it’s peppered with former Red Sox. Ex-Boston pitchers Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling are among the 15 players who were on this year’s ballot; Clemens received 45.2 percent of votes while Schilling received 52.3. (A player must received 75 percent of votes to enter the Hall of Fame.)

There also are 19 first-time eligible players on the 2017 ballot, and eight have ties to the Red Sox: outfielders Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew and Mike Cameron; infielders Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Freddy Sanchez; catcher Jason Varitek and pitcher Tim Wakefield.

Ramirez is a surefire Hall of Famer based on stats alone, but voters might hold his performance-enhancing drug usage against him. The 12-time All-Star failed three drug tests late in his career, receiving two suspensions as a result.

The other former Red Sox are a bit more of a long shot, and Boston fans might be surprised to see Drew on this list after watching him hit .264 over five seasons with the Sox from 2007 to 2011.

Here’s a full list of the 34 players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017, listed in alphabetical order:

RETURNING PLAYERS
Jeff Bagwell
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Trevor Hoffman
Jeff Kent
Edgar Martinez
Fred McGriff
Mike Mussina
Tim Raines
Curt Schilling
Gary Sheffield
Lee Smith
Sammy Sosa
Billy Wagner
Larry Walker

FIRST-YEAR ELIGIBLE
Casey Blake
Pat Burrell
Orlando Cabrera
Mike Cameron
J.D. Drew
Carlos Guillen
Vladimir Guerrero
Derek Lee
Melvin Mora
Magglio Ordonez
Jorge Posada
Manny Ramirez
Edgar Renteria
Arthur Rhodes
Ivan Rodriguez
Freddy Sanchez
Matt Stairs
Jason Varitek
Tim Wakefield