Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens Remain Candidates for Hall of Fame Induction
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still have a shot at entering baseball’s Hall of Fame. They, along with Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy, will remain on the ballot presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Modern Baseball Era Committee. New candidates joining them include Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela for the Class of 2026.
A commission of 16 voters is set to convene on December 7 in Orlando, Florida, to determine which candidates will be inducted into Cooperstown. A candidate needs to secure 75% approval to gain entry, and if that threshold is reached, the induction ceremony will take place on July 26, 2026.
Meanwhile, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) will announce its regular voting results on January 20, 2026.
The Hall of Fame revamped its Veterans Affairs Committee in 2022, which now considers both classic and modern eras, spanning from 1980 to the present. In the modern era, separate ballots will focus on players, managers, and officials. Managers, executives, and referees who belong to this category will be assessed in December 2026, while classic-era candidates will be evaluated in December 2027.
This committee will meet every three years, so the next review of Modern Era candidates will occur in December 2028.
When the voting for this era resumed in December 2022, Fred McGriff was unanimously elected, receiving all 16 votes. Mattingly got eight votes, while Curt Schilling, who has been removed from the ballot, received seven. Bonds, Clemens, and Rafael Palmeiro fell short, getting fewer than four votes each.
Bonds, Clemens, and Palmeiro are somewhat controversial figures, often linked to the notorious steroid era in baseball. Bonds has denied knowledge of steroid use, while Clemens has similarly claimed he never used performance-enhancing drugs. Palmeiro has made the same assertion. Sheffield, too, stated he was not aware of any steroid use during his training leading up to the 2002 season.
If it weren’t for these allegations, Bonds and Clemens would likely be Hall of Fame candidates by now. They were removed from the BBWAA ballot in 2022; Bonds garnered 66% of votes, while Clemens received slightly over 65%. Unfortunately, the bar is set at 75% for induction.
It’s hard to ignore Bonds’ achievements: he holds the record for the most career home runs at 762 and set a single-season record of 73. He’s also won the National League MVP Award seven times and has been an All-Star 14 times.
Clemens is a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, holding 4,672 strikeouts—making him third in league history, behind Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson.
Looking ahead, the December 2027 vote will also be significant for Pete Rose, as it marks his first chance for induction following the conclusion of his permanent suspension from MLB, which ended after his death in September 2024.
