Hall of Fame Class of ’24: Beltre, Helton, Mauer
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton are officially Hall of Famers.
The trio was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday.
Beltre, who was voted in on 95.1% of the ballots, and Mauer (76.1%) got in during their first year on the ballot, while Helton (79.7%) made it in his sixth attempt.
Gary Sheffield received 63.9% support in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Billy Wagner fell just short, receiving 73.8%, in his second-to-last year on the ballot, missing induction by only five votes. Andruw Jones (61.6%) and Carlos Beltran (57.1%) also received support from more than half the voting populace.
Players need to get 75% approval from voting members of the BBWAA, with those who receive less than 5% becoming disqualified. The induction ceremony will take place July 21.
Beltre, Mauer and Helton will be joined by Jim Leyland, the 22-year manager who was voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December.
Beltre accumulated the third-highest WAR ever among third basemen in a 21-year career that saw him play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and, most notably, Texas Rangers. He is among only four players throughout history — regardless of position — to reach 400 homers and 3,000 hits while also accumulating at least five Gold Gloves.
Beltre will become the fifth Dominican-born player to enter the Hall of Fame, alongside Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martinez (2015), Vladimir Guerrero (2018) and David Ortiz (2022).
He’s also the sixth third baseman to get voted in during his first year on the ballot, joined by Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Wade Boggs and Chipper Jones, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Mauer won batting titles in 2006, 2008 and 2009, becoming the only catcher in history to lead his respective league in batting average on three separate occasions. Voted American League MVP after a sensational 2009 season, Mauer is one of six catchers ever with at least three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. Unusually tall for his position at 6-foot-5, Mauer batted .306 in a 15-year career spent entirely with the Minnesota Twins, accumulating 2,123 hits and 143 home runs.
Helton saw his support increase dramatically of late, from 52% in 2022 to 72.2% in 2023 to, now, 79.7%. His career numbers — a .316/.414/.539 slash line, 2,519 hits, 369 home runs and 1,406 RBIs, not to mention three Gold Gloves — put him in elite territory at his position, but voters had been turned off in past years by the offensive boost provided by Helton’s home ballpark of Coors Field, where he spent his entire career with the Colorado Rockies.
Nonetheless, Helton had a career 133 adjust OPS, which neutralizes ballpark factors, tied for 32nd among first basemen who accumulated at least 3,000 plate appearances.
Wagner, like Helton, had also seen his support grow in recent years, from 51% in 2022 to 68.1% in 2023, However, he fell short in 2024, with 73.8%.
The longtime closer, who spent nine of his 17 seasons with the Houston Astros, accumulated 422 saves, ranked behind only Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, Francisco Rodriguez and John Franco. He finished his career with a 2.31 ERA and struck out 33.2% of the batters he faced, third all-time among pitchers who threw at least 750 innings.
Wagner’s nine seasons with 30-plus saves and a sub-3.00 ERA trail only Rivera (14) and Hoffman (11), both of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
Sheffield was a nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger who finished among the top 10 in MVP voting six times and is one of four players with 2,500 hits, 500 home runs and 250 stolen bases, along with Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Willie Mays. But voters have soured on him because he was mentioned in the Mitchell Report investigating the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs within the sport.
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.
Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.
The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.
For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.
Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.
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