Chipper Jones, Jim Thome Among Newcomers For 2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2017 was announced Wednesday, making it the perfect time to look ahead to the 2018 ballot.

So which players have a chance to join Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez in Cooperstown?

Of the new eligible players for next year’s ballot, former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones probably has the best chance to be inducted into Cooperstown. The 1999 National League MVP and eight-time All-Star hit .303 with 468 home runs and 2,726 hits in his 19-year career. Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel and Scott Rolen will be among the other notable first-time names on the ballot.

Of the returning names, relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman came the closest to Cooperstown in 2017 with 74 percent of the vote, 1 percent shy of the 75-percent threshold. Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero also was just a few votes shy at 71.7 percent.

So, without further ado, here are the names Hall of Fame voters will ponder on next year’s ballot. (Players who received over 5 percent remain on the ballot, and the new names are via BaseballHall.org.)

RETURNING PLAYERS
Trevor Hoffman
Vladimir Guerrero
Edgar Martinez
Roger Clemens
Barry Bonds
Mike Mussina
Curt Schilling
Manny Ramirez
Larry Walker
Fred McGriff
Jeff Kent
Gary Sheffield
Billy Wagner
Sammy Sosa

NEW PLAYERS
Chris Carpenter
Johnny Damon
Brian Fuentes
Livan Hernandez
Aubrey Huff
Jason Isringhausen
Andruw Jones
Chipper Jones
Carlos Lee
Brad Lidge
Hideki Matsui
Kevin Millwood
Jamie Moyer
Scott Rolen
Johan Santana
Jim Thome
Omar Vizquel
Kerry Wood