2016 saw one of the all-time Met greats in Mike Piazza get into the baseball Hall of Fame in his fourth year on the ballot, receiving 83 percent of the vote.
In addition to Piazza, Ken Griffey, Jr. received 99.3 percent of the vote, almost unanimously, and got in on his first year on the ballot.
Coming up just short last year, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines as well as Ivan Rodriguez who was appearing in his first ballot, have been voted in to this year’s Hall of Fame class, all polling in over the 75 percent threshold.
Vladimir Guerrero fell just below the 75 percent mark in his first year on the ballot, and Trevor Hoffman just missed for the second year in a row.
Hall of Fame Class of 2017
Jeff Bagwell
Bagwell spent the entirety of his 15-year career with the Houston Astros, rarely getting injured and regularly appearing in all 162 games a season, which he did four times.
In his seventh time on the ballot, the four time all-star finally prevailed and leapt over the 75 percent threshold that is required to gain entry into the Hall.
Bagwell, the 1991 Rookie of the Year, received the National League MVP award in 1994, as well as earning three Silver Slugger awards and one Gold Glove award.
Bagwell clubbed 449 homers and drove in 1,529 runs in his accomplished career, and hit to a .297/.408/.540 clip.
Bagwell also stole 202 bases, including 31 in 1997 and 30 in 1999.
Tim Raines
Tim Raines, appearing in his 10th ballot for entry into the Hall of Fame, finally got enough votes to be eternally enshrined in Cooperstown.
Raines bounced around to a few different locations in his 23-year career, but spent a majority of time with the Montreal Expos, as well as making stops with the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Florida Marlins.
Raines appeared in seven straight All-Star Games from 1981-1987, where he lead the league in steals in four of those campaigns.
The three-time World Series champion, Raines was also the National League batting champion and Silver Slugger award winner in 1986, and received the MLB All-Star Game MVP in 1987.
For his career, Raines was a .294/.385/.425 hitter, with 170 homers and 980 RBI’s, while clipping 808 bases and accumulating 2,605 hits.
Ivan Rodriguez
Pudge was one of the best catchers in baseball for over two decades, spending the first half of his career with the Texas Rangers, before making a stop in Florida to win a World Series with the Marlins in 2003, then appearing in four straight all-star games for the Detroit Tigers before finishing his career bouncing around with the Yankees, Astros, Rangers again and the Nationals.
Rodriguez appeared in ten straight all-star games with the Rangers from 1992-2001 and the aforementioned four in a row with the Tigers for a total of a whopping 14 all-star appearances.
Rodriguez was a two-way player, earning 13 career Gold Glove Awards and seven Silver Slugger Awards as well as the American League MVP Award in 1999.
Pudge hit to a .296/.334/.464 clip in his established career, smacking 311 long balls and driving in 1,332 runs while racking up 2,844 hits.
Near Misses
Vladimir Guerrero
Vlad, the man who never saw a pitch he couldn’t swing it, just narrowly missed getting into this year’s class of Hall of Famers with 71.7 percent.
Guerrero played 16 seasons in MLB, spending a majority of his career with the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, while making stops in Baltimore and Texas in the last two seasons of his career.
Guerrero clubbed 449 homers and accumulated 2,590 hits in his career, while hitting at a .318/.379/.553 clip. For someone who swung as freely as Vlad, the slugger never struck out more than 95 times in a single season.
Guerrero was a nine-time all-star, as well as winning eight Silver Slugger awards, and winning the American League MVP crown in 2004.
Trevor Hoffman
The long-time San Diego Padres Closer, Hoffman was one of the elite closers in baseball for almost two decades, but unfortunately fell just below the threshold with 74 percent of votes.
The seven-time all-star locked down 601 games in his 18-year career, leading the National League in saves twice and taking home the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year two times as well.
Hoffman’s second time on the ballot has him falling just under the 75 percent threshold and will have to try again next year.
Honorable mentions who missed: Edgar Martinez (58.6 percent), Roger Clemens (54.1 percent), Barry Bonds (53.8 percent), and Mike Mussina (51.8 percent).
