The two-year focus on where closers have left their mark and where the position is going, will highlight this year’s National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot to be mailed out to eligible members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America later this month.
The ballot is led by first-time candidate Mariano Rivera. He’ll be joined by these newcomers: the late pitcher Roy Halladay, first baseman Todd Helton, and pitchers Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte, Rivera’s Yankees teammate on five World Series champions.
Edgar Martinez, returning for his 10th and final year on the ballot, has the best chance of joining Rivera for the induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.