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The Hall of Fame released its eight-player Contemporary Baseball Era ballot Monday, and it includes some familiar — and controversial — names: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. Other players to be considered for the class of 2023 include Albert Belle, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Dale Murphy and Rafael Palmeiro. Notably absent from the ballot: Sammy Sosa.

The 16-person committee, which consists of Hall of Fame players, baseball executives and veteran sportswriters, will vote on the players at the winter meetings on Dec. 4. A player must receive 12 votes to be elected.

Bonds, Clemens, Schilling and Sosa each appeared on the baseball writers’ ballot for the 10th and final time this past election cycle. Needing 75% to get elected, Bonds received 66.0% of the vote, Clemens 65.2%, Schilling 58.6% and Sosa well back at just 18.5%. All four became immediately eligible for the Contemporary Era committee, which considers players who made their greatest contributions from 1980 to the present era but failed to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Both Bonds, a seven-time MVP who is the sport’s all-time and single-season home run leader, and seven-time Cy Young winner Clemens received their highest level of support in their final year on the writers’ ballot, climbing from as low as 35% in their initial years on the ballot.

Schilling doesn’t have the same PED allegations as Bonds and Clemens, and his support reached as high as 71.1% in 2021, falling just 16 votes short of election. Schilling then wrote a letter to the Hall of Fame asking to be removed from the ballot in his final year, which the Hall of Fame denied, and his support collapsed. Schilling’s numbers — 216 wins, three 300-strikeout seasons, 80.5 career WAR and an 11-2 record in the postseason with three World Series title — warrant strong consideration for election, but he ostracized himself in retirement with hateful comments toward Muslims, transgender people and journalists.

“I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” Schilling wrote when asked to be removed from the ballot.

Palmeiro is one of just seven players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, but unlike Bonds, Clemens and Sosa, he actually received a PED suspension after testing positive in 2005, his final season in the majors. He lasted four years on the BBWAA ballot, getting removed after falling below the 5% vote threshold needed to remain on.

This will be Palmeiro’s first time on a veterans committee ballot — but not so for Murphy and Mattingly. Murphy, a two-time MVP with the Atlanta Braves who peaked at just 23.2% on the BBWAA ballot, appeared on both the 2018 and 2020 Modern Era ballots (as well as earlier incarnations), receiving fewer than seven votes in 2018 from the 16-person committee and three or fewer in 2020. Mattingly, the popular New York Yankees first baseman and 1985 AL MVP, also appeared on both ballots with the same low vote totals.

Depending on how the committee views the transgressions of Bonds, Clemens and Schilling, McGriff may be the player with the best chance of election. A likable five-time All-Star who hit 493 home runs and drove in 1,550 runs, McGriff never received 40% of the vote on the BBWAA ballot, but his 10 years on the ballot came when it was crowded with PED-tarnished players and other strong candidates (writers are allowed to vote for just 10 players), and his borderline case never received much popular support — perhaps in part because he played for six different teams.

Belle was a lethal slugger who once had 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season and finished with 381 home runs, but injuries shortened his career to just 12 seasons. He appeared on the 2017 and 2019 Today’s Game ballots and received fewer than five votes both times.

The revamped veterans committee election cycle means the next vote for Contemporary Era ballot wouldn’t come until December 2025 (for election in the class of 2026). Next year’s election will feature Contemporary Era managers, executives and umpires, and then the Classic Era (pre-1980) will be voted on in December 2024.

The BBWAA vote will be announced on Jan. 24, 2023. The top returning vote-getters are Scott Rolen (63.2%), Todd Helton (52.0%) and Billy Wagner (51.0%). The ballot also includes Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield and Andruw Jones. The top newcomer is Carlos Beltran.

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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