Last year Minnesota Twins fans were treated to a nice surprise when franchise legend Joe Mauer was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Not only that, but Mauer made good on the promise his career showed by becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Once again the Hall of Fame voting train is preparing to leave the station and Twins fans have some rooting interest.
The marquee name for fans in Minnesota this year is Torii Hunter, who is actually making his fifth apperance on the ballot. Hunter was overshadowed by Mauer's unbelievable run to Cooperstown but is not only hoping to join him but also finds himself fighting to keep his eligibility alive
Torii Hunter is among two former Twins players up for the Hall of Fame this year
Hunter is joined on the ballot this year by journeyman reliever Fernando Rodney, who is appearing for the first year of eligibility. If by some chance he gets elected to the Hall of Fame, there's an unlikely chance that Rodney enters as with a Twins cap on his bust.
That's a question which is up for debate even for Hunter, but the first step is actually getting into Cooperstown. Hunter is on the ballot for the fifth straight year, which means he's halfway through the eligibility years that players are granted after they first appear on the ballot.
Not only that, but Hunter needs to be keeping a watchful eye on the perctange of votes he gets as that could also potentially bump him off the ballot. Players are removed from the ballot after ten years without getting in or they end up with fewer than five percent of total votes.
Hunter has been all over the map in that regard. He came out strong in his first year on the ballot, gaining almost 10 percent of the votes needed for election, but it's been up-and-down ever since. He received just 5.3 percen of the vote -- the closest he's come to falling off the ballot -- a year later but bounced back wth 6.8 percent in 2023 and 7.3 percent last year.
So it seems things are trending in the right direction, but Hunter has a long way to go before his candicacy is taken seriously.
He is one of five players in MLB history to finish his career with at least 350 home runs, 150 stolen bases, 450 doubles and 2,400 hits. Unfortunately, Gary Sheffield is one of the other four players and he fell off the ballot last year which doesn't exactly bode well for things turning out better for Hunter.
As long as he's on the ballot he has a chance, and here's to hoping the votes keep coming in for Hunter and the Twins can add another Hall of Famer to Cooperstown.
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