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Predicting the Next 7 Baseball Hall of Fame Classes

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Predicting the Next 7 Hall of Fame Classes

Mike Piazza Jeff Bagwell
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With Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio being the newest members to the Baseball Hall of Fame, we are starting to see a pattern as to how the writers are looking at the steroid era candidates. Let's look ahead at the next seven ballots and predict who will be elected.

2016: Ken Griffey Jr & Mike Piazza

Mike Piazza New York Mets
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2016: Ken Griffey Jr & Mike Piazza

Mike Piazza New York Mets
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The next class up will feature Ken Griffey, Jr in his first year of eligibility, a no-brainer, and Mike Piazza will make the jump from his current 69 percent and reach the 75 percent plateau and gain election in his fourth year of eligibility. Piazza will be the first player elected with substantial steroid rumors surrounding his career.

2017: Jeff Bagwell, Jim Leyland & Jack Morris

Jeff Bagwell Houston Astros
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2017: Jeff Bagwell, Jim Leyland & Jack Morris

Jeff Bagwell Houston Astros
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Jeff Bagwell, in his 7th year of eligibility, will be the lone elector from the Baseball Writers Association. He won’t go in alone, as the Expansion Era Committee will add Jim Leyland and Jack Morris who peaked at 67 percent of the vote during his years of eligibility. Manny Ramirez becomes eligible this year, but don’t expect him to ever sniff the Hall due to his two failed drug tests.

2018: Chipper Jones & Jim Thome

Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves
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2018: Chipper Jones & Jim Thome

Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves
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2018 will feature two first ballot Hall of Famers. Chipper Jones will continue the parade of Braves from the 1990s into the Hall of Fame, and Jim Thome won’t be a resounding first ball Hall of Famer, but a player who most writers believe never took PEDs with over 600 home runs can’t be denied.

2019: Mariano Rivera & Ivan Rodriguez

Mariano Rivera New York Yankees
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2019: Mariano Rivera & Ivan Rodriguez

Mariano Rivera New York Yankees
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Mariano Rivera will be a lock first ballot Hall of Famer, and Ivan Rodriguez will gain entrance in his third year. With the inductions of Piazza and Bagwell, writers will soften their stance on rumored steroid users like Pudge and it won’t take him as long to gain admittance like it did for the other two.

2020: Derek Jeter, Curt Schilling & Edgar Martinez

Derek Jeter New York Yankees
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2020: Derek Jeter, Curt Schilling & Edgar Martinez

Derek Jeter New York Yankees
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There’s no point to waste time discussing Jeter in his first year of eligibility, but he’ll be ironically joined by Red Sox foe Curt Schilling. Although he has the resume to gain admittance earlier, based on his current percentage it will take Schilling eight years for him to gain the necessary momentum. Martinez started gaining momentum before he fell off the ballot, and he will earn a spot through the Expansion Era Committee.

2021: Ichiro Suzuki, Roy Halladay & Vladimir Guerrero

Ichiro Suzuki Seattle Mariners
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2021: Ichiro Suzuki, Roy Halladay & Vladimir Guerrero

Ichiro Suzuki Seattle Mariners
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Assuming Ichiro sticks around for one more season, this will be his first year of eligibility and he should make it easily. This will be Roy Halladay’s third year on the ballot, and although he was dominant enough to be a first ballot guy, his less impressive career numbers will hold him back this long. Guerrero will be in his fifth year of eligibility, as his prowess as a hitter will be too much for the writers to overlook longer than this.

2022: Mike Mussina & Trevor Hoffman

Mike Mussina New York Yankees
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2022: Mike Mussina & Trevor Hoffman

Mike Mussina New York Yankees
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This will be Mussina’s ninth year on the ballot. Although his percentage currently sits in the 20s, once the ballot opens up more in a few years, Mussina will gain a lot of momentum make it in this year. This will be Hoffman’s seventh year of eligibility, and despite his postseason struggles, his 601 saves will be too much to overlook.

Future Committee Elections: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Jeff Kent

Mark McGwire Barry Bonds
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Future Committee Elections: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Jeff Kent

Mark McGwire Barry Bonds
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I’m amazed Jeff Kent’s percentage is as low as it is. He’ll gain momentum, but he won't be elected in 10 years. He could be elected via committee as early as 2023. I also think Clemens, Bonds and McGwire get elected via the committee several years down the road. The steroid stance will soften, more steroid era players will be on the committee and they will allow in those three. It would make sense that Sosa also joins, but I think he's left out.

Bill Zimmerman is a writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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