The 2019 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame will be officially announced tonight. For Rockies fans, there are some key things to look for.
Do Todd Helton and/or Larry Walker have a chance?
Based on public ballots, Todd Helton was eliminated from consideration long ago, but it will still be interesting to see how well he fares in his first year on the ballot, as that will give us a good idea of his chances of election between now and 2028. It looks like he’ll get about 15% of the vote in his first year, which is fairly low but not disqualifying. Voters will have to warm up to Helton, and some of that might have to do with what ultimately happens with his former teammate.
Larry Walker is in his ninth year on the ballot. While he’s not yet been officially eliminated based on public ballots, he’s extremely unlikely to come close to election. That doesn’t mean his vote totals aren’t worth paying attention to though. As we noted yesterday Walker is set for a pretty substantial vote gain this year, and it’s not out of the question for him to be set up to break the 75% threshold in 2020, his final year on the ballot. If Walker gets elected, then that should lead voters to set aside COORS as a reason not to vote for Helton.
Who will get in then?
As for other candidates, Mariano Rivera is a slam dunk first ballot Hall of Famer. It also looks like Colorado native Roy Halladay will get the nod on his first year on the ballot. Sadly he won’t be there to see his own enshrinement, as he was killed in a plane crash in early 2017. Edgar Martínez should also get elected this year, which is his tenth and final try on the ballot.
How to watch
MLB Network will begin its pre-announcement show at 1:00 p.m. MT. They’ll have profiles on the three likely newcomers — Rivera, Martínez, and Halladay — as well as a player who may or may not get in this year, but will soon, Mike Mussina. The announcement of those elected will be at 4:00 p.m. Colorado time.