This week, the Baseball Writers Association of America elected Scott Rolen to the Hall of Fame, just one player from a ballot that had 28 names on it. (Granted, some of those players really weren’t Hall-worthy, and 12 of them received either no votes or one vote, and dropped off next year’s ballot.)
Todd Helton came 11 votes short of induction and Billy Wagner 27 votes short, and both of those men have an excellent chance of being inducted next year.
Of the 28 men on this year’s ballot, 14 will appear on the 2024 ballot — Jeff Kent drops off after 10 years on the BBWAA ballot and could be elected by one of the Era Committees in the future.