MLB Hall of Fame 2024: Six Latino Players Vie for Coveted Spot in Cooperstown

ALABAMA - For baseball fans, all roads lead to Cooperstown this Tuesday, as the Baseball Writers' Association of America is set to announce the results of this year's Hall of Fame vote at 6 p.m. ET. Any players elected will be inducted during the MLB's Hall of Fame Weekend on Sunday, July 21.

In order to be immortalized with a plaque at Cooperstown, New York, a player must receive at least 75% of BBWAA votes. Candidates remain on the ballot for 10 years provided they are not elected and they are named on at least five percent of all ballots cast each year.

In the 2024 ballot, 26 individuals will look to join other baseball greats in the Hall of Fame. Out of the total, 14 are returnees from the 2023 election, with Gary Sheffield being the only one in his last year of eligibility.

Sheffield's credentials certainly are worthy of a plaque. He is one of just four players in MLB history to hit at least 500 home runs and steal 250 bases (Bonds, Rodriguez, Willie Mays). He also helped the Marlins secure the 1997 World Series title.

Out of the 12 players set to compete for the first time this year, six are of Latin American descent, including the one with perhaps the best odds to be inducted into the Hall of Fame: former third baseman Adrián Beltré, who connected 3,166 hits, 477 home runs and was a 4-time All-Star.

The Dominican played 21 seasons in the majors, earning numerous team and personal accolades. If he indeed reaches the 75% needed to earn a spot in baseball's Hall of Fame, he will become the fifth Dominican to enter Cooperstown in his first ballot, joining Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martínez (2015), Vladimir Guerrero (2018) and David Ortiz (2022).

Apart from Beltré, newcomers are José Bautista, Bartolo Colón, Adrián González, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Brandon Phillips, José Reyes, James Shields, Chase Utley and David Wright.

Beyond Beltré, Carlos Beltrán seems like the most likely to get closer to that 75% mark. During his first year in the ballot, the former Astros legend received 46.5% of the votes.

Beltrán, just like other players with Hall of Fame careers such as Álex Rodríguez or Manny Ramírez, certainly have had their legacy tainted among BBWAA writers thanks to their role in controversial incidents involving PED's (performance-enhancing drugs) and, in Beltrán's case, his role in the Astro's sign stealing scandal.