Former Los Angeles Dodgers Casey Blake, J.D. Drew, Jeff Kent, Fred McGriff, Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield are among the candidates to appear on the 2017 Hall of Fame ballot. Blake, Drew and Ramirez make up a portion of the 19 newcomers. Results will be announced Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 3 p.m. PT on MLB Network.
Candidates must be named on 75 percent of ballots in order to gain election into the Hall of Fame. Players may remain on the ballot for up to 10 years should they continue to receive at least five percent of the vote. Prior to 2015, players were eligible to remain on the ballot for up to 15 years by garnering at least five percent of the vote.
With that rule change, former Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire fell off the ballot. While Garret Anderson, Brad Ausmus, Nomar Garciaparra and Mark Grudzielanek did not receive the necessary five percent to reappear. McGriff (20.9 percent) Kent (16.6) and Sheffield (11.6) return on the ballot.
Over four seasons with the Dodgers, Blake batted .260/.338/.431 with 75 doubles, 49 home runs and 192 RBI over 406 games. He finished his career after appearing in 63 games with the Dodgers in 2011.
Drew was a .284/.399/.505 hitter with 46 doubles, 35 home runs and 136 RBI in two seasons for the Dodgers. Drew departed via free agency, signing a five-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, where he concluded his career.
Kent spent four seasons with the Dodgers, earning All-Star Game honors and a Silver Slugger Award in 2005. Kent hit .291/.367/.479 during his tenure with the Dodgers, which was comparable to his .290/.356/.500 career batting line.
McGriff only appeared in 86 games while with the Dodgers in 2003, batting .249/.322/.428 with 14 doubles, 13 home runs and 42 RBI. The 19-year veteran was a career .284/.377/.509 hitter with a 134 OPS+ over 2,460 games.
Ramirez was one of the most prolific hitters in MLB history, and his inclusion on the Hall of Fame ballot comes with some intrigue, given his link to steroids. Ramirez hit .322/.433/.580 with 53 doubles, 44 home runs and 156 RBI in 223 games over three seasons with the Dodgers (2008-10).
He was suspended 50 games in 2009 for testing positive after ingesting a female fertility drug. In April 2011, Ramirez made the decision to retire at 38 years old instead of serving a 100-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
Ramirez applied for reinstatement that December, and had his suspension reduced to 50 games due to only appearing in five games during the 2011 season prior to retiring.
Sheffield hit 509 home runs, was named a Silver Slugger five times and was named a nine-time All-Star in 22 seasons. He played for the Dodgers from 1998-2001 before being traded to the Atlanta Braves for Brian Jordan, Odalis Pérez and Andrew Brown.
Sheffield was twice named an All-Star with the Dodgers, and hit at least 34 home runs and drove in at least 100 runs each year. Over parts of four seasons with Los Angeles, he hit .312/.424/.573 with 88 doubles, 129 home runs and 367 RBI.
Complete 2017 Hall of Fame ballot: Jeff Bagwell, Casey Blake, Barry Bonds, Pat Burrell, Orlando Cabrera, Mike Cameron, Roger Clemens, J.D. Drew, Carlos Guillén, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Jeff Kent, Derrek Lee, Edgar Martínez, Fred McGriff, Melvin Mora, Mike Mussina, Magglio Ordóñez, Jorge Posada, Tim Raines, Manny Ramírez, Edgar Rentería, Arthur Rhodes, Iván Rodríguez, Freddy Sánchez, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Lee Smith, Sammy Sosa, Matt Stairs, Jason Varitek, Billy Wagner, Tim Wakefield, Larry Walker.
