NEW YORK — Derek Jeter is among 18 newcomers on the 2020 Hall of Fame ballot. He is likely to be an overwhelming choice to join former New York Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera in Cooperstown after the reliever last year became the first unanimous pick by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
A 14-time All-Star shortstop and five-time World Series champion, Jeter hit .310 with 3,465 hits in 20 seasons and was the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year. He has been CEO of the Miami Marlins the past two seasons.
Other newcomers announced Monday by the BBWAA include Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Jason Giambi, Paul Konerko, Rafael Furcal, Bobby Abreu and Alfonso Soriano.
Holdovers include Curt Schilling, who received 60.9 percent last year, Roger Clemens (59.5 percent), Barry Bonds (59.1 percent) and Larry Walker (54.6 percent). Schilling rose from 51.2 percent in 2018. Walker, on the ballot for their 10th and final time this year, increased from 34.1 percent in 2018.
Bonds and Clemens, whose candidacies have been tainted by allegations of steroids use, are both on for the eighth time. Clemens rose from 57.3 percent in 2018 and Bonds from 56.4 percent.
Ballots are sent to more than 400 BBWAA members with at least 10 consecutive years in the organization, and a player must appear on at least 75 percent to gain election. Ballots must be mailed by Dec. 31, and results will be announced Jan. 21.
Anyone elected will be inducted July 26 along with any selections by the Hall’s modern era committee, which meets and votes at San Diego on Dec. 8.
Players remain on the ballot for up to 10 years, provided they receive at least 5 percent of the vote annually.
PIRATES: Ben Cherington earned three World Series rings with the Boston Red Sox, the last as general manager of the 2013 club that raced from worst to first.
The challenge that lies ahead for Cherington with the Pittsburgh Pirates will be different.
The market is smaller. So are the resources Cherington can draw from. The chance to supplement the major league roster with expensive free agents – as Cherington did in Boston –likely will not exist. Yet the 45-year-old does not appear to be intimidated by the financial realities his new job presents. Two decades in the business have taught him that while budgets may vary, the tenets of successful teams do not.
“Obviously the bigger the payroll, it gives you more margin for error on certain types of decisions,” Cherington said Monday, when the Pirates announced he had been hired to succeed Neal Huntington. “But if you peel back in Boston and what really drove winning, I think, in most of the best years was really good work in scouting and development. That’s what we’ll need to do here.”
Cherington will have wide latitude to address those areas in a team coming off a last-place finish in the NL Central. He said he is comfortable the Pirates have what they need to join Tampa Bay and Oakland among teams that thrive with modest payrolls.
“The investment that has been made in areas of scouting, (research and development), infrastructure, is really quite robust and very competitive if not favorable with other teams,” Cherington said. “Those are the things that we’re going to need to be great at. In places similar to this that are winning consistently, those are the things that they’re doing really well.”
Things the Pirates have not done well enough in recent seasons. Huntington oversaw an overhaul that culminated with Pittsburgh reaching the playoffs three straight years from 2013-15 by creating a roster that featured a mix of homegrown talent such as 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen and veterans who revitalized their careers like pitcher A.J. Burnett and catcher Russell Martin.
TWINS: Minnesota prospect Ryan Costello was found dead in his New Zealand hotel room Monday, days after joining his team in the Australian Baseball League.
The 23-year-old third baseman died in his sleep, the Auckland Tuatara said. No cause was given.
Costello was traded to Minnesota last year as part of a deal that sent Zach Duke to Seattle.
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