Former Los Angeles Dodgers Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela are part of the eight-person ballot that will be considered by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame for the class of 2026.
The rest of the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot is rounded out by Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy. All candidates except for Valenzuela are living.
The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot features players whose most significant career impact was realized since 1980, played at least 10 seasons and have been retired for 15 or more years.
The results of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be announced live on MLB Network’s “MLB Tonight” at 4:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Dec. 7.
Any candidate who receives votes on 75% of the ballots cast by the committee will earn election to the Baseball Hall of Fame and receive induction in Cooperstown on July 27, 2026, along with any electees who emerge from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America election, to be announced on Jan. 21.
The Contemporary Baseball Era ballot was determined this fall by the Historical Overview Committee, comprised of 11 veteran historians: Adrian Burgos (University of Illinois), Bob Elliott (Canadian Baseball Network); Steve Hirdt (Stats Perform); La Velle Neal (Minneapolis Star Tribune); David O’Brien (The Athletic); Jose de Jesus Ortiz (Our Esquina Media); Jack O’Connell (BBWAA); Jim Reeves (formerly Fort Worth Star-Telegram); Glenn Schwarz (formerly San Francisco Chronicle); Susan Slusser (San Francisco Chronicle); and Mark Whicker (formerly Southern California News Group).
The 16-member Hall of Fame Board-appointed electorates charged with the review of the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot will be announced later this fall. The Committee will meet to discuss and review the candidacies of the eight finalists as part of baseball’s Winter Meetings on Dec. 7 in Orlando, Fla.
Dodgers World Series artifacts on display at Baseball Hall of Fame
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s hat and Mookie Betts’ glove from Game 7 of the 2025 World Series are among the many items on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Other items that were donated to the Hall of Fame include Freddie Freeman’s bat and Will Klein’s glove from Game 3, and a base from the 18-inning marathon.
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