Zero players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021
Not only did zero former Philadelphia Phillies get elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021, zero players with ties to any team got elected.
Phillies Wall of Famer Curt Schilling led all players on the ballot with 71.1% of the vote, but fell short of the necessary 75% to get elected. He’ll need 16 more votes in 2022, his final year of eligibility, to get in.
Schilling has actually asked to be removed from the Hall of Fame ballot in 2022, though there’s no indication that will actually happen.
Scott Rolen, who won the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year with the Phillies, jumped up to 52.9%, the fourth-highest total on this year’s ballot, trailing only Schilling, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. When you consider that Rolen received just 35.3% of votes last year, you get the feeling that the seven-time All-Star has a very legitimate chance to get elected in his six remaining years on the ballot.
Billy Wagner, who spent two seasons of his career with the Phillies, garnered 46.4% of the vote. Wagner is sixth in MLB history with 422 saves. Wagner has four remaining years to get to 75%.
Bobby Abreu, one of the greatest offensive players in Phillies history, will remain on the ballot for another year after receiving 8.7% of the vote in 2021. He’s up slightly from the 5.5% he received in 2020, his first year on the ballot.
Former Phillies Shane Victorino and A.J. Burnett both fell off of the ballot after failing to receive a single vote in their first year of eligibility.
2022 will not only be the final year of eligibility for Schilling, Bonds and Clemens, but three of the most accomplished Phillies ever – Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Jonathan Papelbon – will appear on the ballot for the first time ever. Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz are among the other players set to debut on the ballot next time around as well.
