After exploring the candidacies of four of the eight players on the 2026 Contemporary Era Hall of Fame ballot, here’s a look at the cases the other four players present to voters.
As most of the attention across the baseball world has now shifted towards free agency and the ongoing awards season, we’re also less than a month away from figuring out who, if anyone, will be the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Although the results of the main BBWAA ballot won’t be released until late January, the eight players who were selected for this year’s Contemporary Era ballot will learn of their voting results on Dec. 7, with each player needing at least 75% of the vote to be elected.
The Contemporary Era will be voted on this year as part of the Eras Committee, which alternates between this, a Contemporary managers/executives/umpires ballot and a Classic Era ballot, differentiating them based on whether a player’s contributions to the sport came before or after 1980.
Although I certainly won’t be casting a vote on this year’s ballot (we don’t even know who will be yet), here’s a look at how I would construct my ballot of the eight players up for consideration this winter (This can also be seen in Part 1).
-The current composition of the Hall of Fame proves writers have been wildly inconsistent over what is tolerated for their vote into Cooperstown over the years. While most steroid era players have been wiped out from consideration, I feel fans and writers alike would be fooling themselves by believing that Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez and David Ortiz never touched PEDs. This uneven standard for “cheating” extends well beyond PEDs as well, with a book literally named after a banned pitch not stopping voters from electing Gaylord Perry without much of a thought.
-While steroids certainly turned plenty of fly balls into home runs, they didn’t create clutch hitters or players with otherworldly talent – take a look at the players who have tested positive for PEDs over the years, and that becomes rather obvious. When it comes to the generational greats of the turn of the century that were tied to PEDs, the majority of them deserve to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
-The use of steroids during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s was an open secret across MLB. League officials were not going to dare tamper with the increase in power that helped the sport bounce back from the 1994-95 players’ strike, with the juiced up home run record chase of 1998 widely being cited as the catalyst for revival. The league and writers alike taking on this bogus stance of morality while not making a peep about it when it was all actually happening is and always has been beyond laughable to me. If Cap Anson, the man that made it his life and career mission to keep baseball segregated, can be honored in Cooperstown, then I think we’re okay if Barry Bonds gets in.
-Lastly, setting steroids aside, I think the Eras Committee standards are and should be a little different than the BBWAA standards. That’s not to explicitly say they are lower standards, but I think they should match the precedent that has already been set. This is most notably seen with an induction like Harold Baines, a career 38.8 WAR player who was almost certainly boosted by his incredible durability and longevity, playing 2,830 games. I personally don’t have any issue with Baines being in the Hall of Fame, especially as I personally value longevity quite a bit, but I think his inclusion (and that of Fred McGriff, Dick Allen and Dave Parker as well) should be kept in mind when exploring these ballots.
Here’s a look at how the second part of my ballot would break down:
1. Don Mattingly, 1B
New York Yankees: 1982-1995
Career stats: 42.4 WAR, 1,785 G, 1,007 R, 2,153 H, 442 2B, 20 3B, 222 HR, 1,099 RBI, 14 SB, 588 BB, 444 K, .307/.358/.471/.830, 127 OPS+, 3,301 TB
Awards: 1985 AL MVP, 6x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger, 1984 AL Batting Title, four top-10 MVP finishes
Another player that spent the full amount of time on the regular BBWAA ballot, Mattingly’s case was heavily considered and often passed up by voters of the past, having appeared on 18 different Hall of Fame ballots following his career.
An icon of the otherwise dull 1980’s New York Yankees, Mattingly was consistently among the best contact bats in baseball, boasting a career batting average over .300 while also being perhaps the toughest guy in MLB to strike out not named Tony Gwynn.
Affectionately known as “Donnie Baseball,” Mattingly saw his career peak in the mid-1980’s, winning the AL MVP in 1985 while leading all of baseball with 48 doubles and 145 RBI. The following season, Mattingly was the AL MVP runner-up, leading MLB with 238 hits, 53 doubles and a 161 OPS+ while holding a .352 batting average.
The bulk of Mattingly’s Hall of Fame credentials came in a four-year stretch from 1984-87, with Mattingly being a top-10 MVP finisher in each season while accumulating 25 of his 42.4 career WAR in that span.
Unlike many Hall of Famers, Mattingly missed out on just about every counting stat benchmark, with a short career of just 14 seasons leaving him well short of marks such as 3,000 hits and 4,000 total bases. While I wasn’t around to see Mattingly play, as his final season in 1995 was the year before my birth, his candidacy has always fascinated me.
While he boasts plenty of accolades, Mattingly’s -6.2 defensive WAR doesn’t exactly match with the nine Gold Glove awards he ended up winning. It’s also fair to think that Mattingly spending his entire career with the sport’s most famous franchise helped him stay on the ballot and maintain consideration after all these years.
Take a look at fellow first baseman Mark Grace, who played in roughly the same era as Mattingly and also made his name as a contact-hitting stalwart who was incredibly difficult to strike out. Grace played two more seasons and finished with four more career WAR while having Mattingly beat on almost every counting stat, sans home runs. Grace received just 4.1% of the vote on the 2009 BBWAA ballot, falling off the ballot as players need at least 5% to stay on.
I don’t particularly see what makes Mattingly’s case so much more compelling, especially when considering Grace is a World Series champion as well. I don’t mean to make Mattingly’s candidacy all about comparison, but this seems like a clear-cut “Hall of Very Good” case.
The Verdict: No.
2. Dale Murphy, OF
Atlanta Braves: 1976-1990, Philadelphia Phillies: 1990-1992, Colorado Rockies: 1993
Career stats: 46.5 WAR, 2,180 G, 1,197 R, 2,111 H, 350 2B, 39 3B, 398 HR, 1,266 RBI, 161 SB, 986 BB, 1,748 K, .265/.346/.469/.815, 121 OPS+, 3,733 TB
Awards: 2x NL MVP, 7x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger, 1988 Roberto Clemente Award, four top-10 MVP finishes
An icon of the Braves throughout the 1980’s, Murphy was one of the finest hitters of the decade, showcasing as much by winning back-to-back MVP awards in the 1982 and 1983 seasons.
At his prime, Murphy offered some of just about everything one could need out of a star player. Murphy played all 162 games every year from 1982-85, putting up at least 36 home runs, 79 walks and 100 RBI in each of those seasons.
Though Murphy finished his career at a -6.8 defensive WAR, the star outfielder provided average defense alongside his MVP-level production at the plate, making him one of the more complete players of the era.
While it appears on the surface that Murphy brought a bit more to the table when it comes to longevity as he played in parts of 18 seasons, Murphy only topped 100 games in 14 seasons, ending up with a relatively similar amount of playing time as Mattingly and Carlos Delgado.
Murphy’s case is a difficult one, and one that has me on the fence. His career numbers, both in terms of counting stats and averages, are a bit below what one would typically see out of a Hall of Famer, while his two MVP awards and outstanding peak help speak for his case.
While Murphy’s prime was undoubtedly Hall of Fame-caliber, he struggled to be even an average MLB player outside of his stretch from 1980-87. Murphy posted 42.4 of his career 46.5 WAR across those eight seasons, while he finished with a negative WAR at the end of five different seasons, although only one of those was a full-time year.
There’s no arguing against his prime, but Murphy’s lack of production in other parts of his career pale in comparison to other players that perhaps had less of a peak in their prime but more sustained production across their careers.
The Verdict: Not quite.
3. Gary Sheffield, OF/3B
1988-1991: Milwaukee Brewers, 1992-1993: San Diego Padres, 1993-1998: Florida Marlins, 1998-2001: Los Angeles Dodgers, 2002-2003: Atlanta Braves, 2004-2006: New York Yankees, 2007-2008: Detroit Tigers, 2009: New York Mets
Career stats: 60.5 WAR, 2,576 G, 1,636 R, 2,689 H, 467 2B, 27 3B, 509 HR, 1,676 RBI, 253 SB, 1,475 BB, 1,171 K, .292/.393/.514/.907, 140 OPS+, 4,737 TB
Awards: 9x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger, 1992 NL Batting Title, 1997 World Series champion, six top-10 MVP finishes
On the surface, this really doesn’t look to be a complicated case. Sheffield may not have been Barry Bonds – but no one was. There’s no secret that Sheffield was among the game’s premier power hitters for an incredibly sustained period of time, and his offensive numbers are clearly in the echelon of Hall of Fame-caliber.
His candidacy grew complicated over the years for two reasons – Sheffield’s ties to the steroid era and assumed use of performance-enhancing drugs, as well as his incredibly poor defense, with his -27.7 defensive WAR ranking as the worst in MLB history.
While there was never as clear of a link between Sheffield and steroids as there were with players such as Bonds, Clemens and Manny Ramirez, the slugger was still named in the infamous 2007 Mitchell Report and was widely believed to have used steroids in the latter half of his 509-home run career.
My thoughts on steroids and the Hall of Fame can be found above, but needless to say, that’s not what I will be focusing on when looking at Sheffield’s candidacy.
Much more of a journeyman than most players of his caliber, Sheffield played for eight teams across his unreal 22-year career, showing incredible durability in a wide range of uniforms. Sheffield really never stopped being an effective hitter either, slashing .276/.372/.451/.823 with a 119 OPS+ in his age-40 season in 2009.
There’s no denying that Sheffield’s defense was uniquely awful, but there’s still a few caveats with that. Defense wasn’t nearly as prioritized or optimized as it is today, and with the addition of the designated hitter to the National League, those deficiencies wouldn’t mean anything today.
Ultimately, we are talking about a 500+ home run hitter who walked 304 more times than he struck out and has a higher career offensive WAR than Frank Thomas, Miguel Cabrera, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Thome. It’s impossible to ignore his greatness at the plate.
The Verdict: Yes.
4. Fernando Valenzuela, SP
1980-1990: Los Angeles Dodgers, 1991: California Angels, 1993: Baltimore Orioles, 1994: Philadelphia Phillies, 1995-1997: San Diego Padres, 1997: St. Louis Cardinals
Career stats: 37.3 WAR, 173-153, 3.54 ERA, 453 G, 424 GS, 113 CG, 31 CGSHO, 2 SV, 2,930 IP, 1,151 BB, 2,074 K, 12,398 BF, 104 ERA+, 3.61 FIP, 1.320 WHIP
Awards: 1981 NL Cy Young Award, 1981 NL Rookie of the Year, 6x All-Star, 1981 World Series champion, 1986 Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger
After only being lightly considered for the Hall of Fame in the early-to-mid 2000’s, the late Valenzuela is receiving a posthumous reappraisal of his career, one that goes far beyond the incredible numbers.
It makes sense as to why Valenzuela is no slam dunk for the Hall of Fame. While the start of his career represents one of the most momentous cultural moments for baseball in the past 50 years, Valenzuela’s production tapered off significantly after leaving the Dodgers, as he didn’t receive any awards after the 1986 season.
Yet by today’s standards, many of Valenzuela’s achievements look to be more impressive than they did over 20 years ago. Chief among these were his 113 complete games, with Valenzuela tossing an unbelievable 20 complete games in the 1986 season alone.
During Valenzuela’s historic strike-shortened 1981 rookie season, he tossed eight complete game shutouts and led all of baseball with 180 strikeouts, ultimately finishing fifth in NL MVP voting.
While the second half of his career was notably less consistent, Valenzuela still showcased unmatched durability in his career, throwing 2,930 innings in parts of 17 MLB seasons. There was no doubt that Valenzuela could swing the bat too, winning two Silver Slugger awards while finishing his career with 187 hits and 10 home runs.
Beyond the stats, which honestly still wouldn’t quite be enough for me if this were a regular BBWAA ballot, was Valenzuela’s immeasurable impact on baseball – something that absolutely should be considered on an alternative ballot such as this one.
Valenzuela’s emergence in the early 1980’s was so much more than signs of a bright future for the Los Angeles Dodgers – it was the sparkplug that kicked off what is now a harmonious relationship between Mexican-American culture and baseball, especially in Los Angeles.
Beyond increasing the popularity of the sport within Mexico, which has since become a bastion of MLB talent, Valenzuela’s surge also made baseball, and the Dodgers in particular, a focal point of Mexican-American culture in Southern California. In the past 45 years, this relationship has only grown, with the Dodgers undoubtedly owing a lot of their cultural impact on the local Latino community and Mexican baseball to Valenzuela.
I am too young to have ever watched Valenzuela play, but reading about his career and watching old highlights ignite my love and passion for baseball. It’s a story that reminds fans, players and clueless bystanders alike that baseball is so much more than just a game.
The Verdict: Yes.
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