Three new Minnesota Twins made the ballot for the first time in 2020, so we make the case for and against each player on the ballot.
It’s Hall of Fame election season again, and this time Minnesota Twins fans get to see three familiar faces on the ballot: Michael Cuddyer, LaTroy Hawkins, and Torii Hunter. They face off against a weaker ballot than previous years. They fall into two groups:
- There are several returning candidates on the ballot (and their previous percentages): Curt Schilling (70), Roger Clemens (61), Barry Bonds (60.7), Omar Vizquel (52.6), Scott Rolen (35.3), Billy Wagner (31.7), Gary Sheffield (30.5), Todd Helton (29.2), Manny Ramirez (28.2), Jeff Kent (27.5), Andruw Jones (19.4), Sammy Sosa (13.9), Andy Pettitte (11.3), and Bobby Abreu (5.5).
- Then their are the new candidates: Mark Buerhle, Dan Haren, A.J. Burnett, Tim Hudson, Aramis Ramirez, Nick Swisher, Shane Victorino, Barry Zito, Cuddyer, Hawkins, and Hunter.
This is one of the weakest incoming classes of Hall of Famers in years. Each of those players seem to be destined for a short trip on the ballot, and that may help out our former Twins. All three are still unlikely candidates, but it’s fun to look back at the careers of each. Let’s start with the least likely, and break down their odds of making the hall of fame.