Several former Red Sox players are on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot. Find out where and when to tune in for the announcement of who will be inducted.
The baseball Hall of Fame will announce their class of 2019 tonight. Several players with ties to the Boston Red Sox are on the ballot, giving us plenty of incentive to tune in.
Manny Ramirez and Billy Wagner both spent time in Boston but are unlikely to get inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. They are each well below the required 75 percent, according to the tracking data provided by Ryan Thibodaux, which currently lists results from more than half of the 400+ ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Former Red Sox pitchers Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens are just over 70 percent at this time. It’s certainly possible they could sneak over the 75 percent threshold once all the ballots are counted. While it’s debatable if either would wear a Red Sox cap if they were enshrined in Cooperstown, they each had a notable impact on the franchise and their induction would warrant some measure of celebration – regardless of how you feel about their character.
Kevin Youkilis, Derek Lowe, and Jason Bay are all on the ballot for the first time this year. There’s very little chance that any of them get inducted and they may even be in danger of falling below the minimum of five percent required to remain on the ballot for next year.
Where and when can you watch the announcement? Glad you asked! We’re here to give you the details you need to know.
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 22
Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
TV Station: MLB Network
Online: MLB.com
Last year saw Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, and Jim Thome voted into the Hall of Fame. The BBWAA has voted in at least two players each year since 2014. The last Red Sox player to be voted in by the BBWAA was Pedro Martinez in 2015, although a veteran’s committee selected Lee Smith as part of this year’s class.
The only lock to be inducted by the BBWAA this year is Mariano Rivera, who could become the first unanimous selection in history. Former Red Sox rivals Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina are in a great spot based on the current public results. As is Edgar Martinez, whose induction could have an effect on David Ortiz when he becomes eligible.
The guess here is that none of the former Red Sox players get in this year but there’s a couple who are trending close enough to make the announcement interesting.