Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven are running out of time, if not room.
It might not get any easier for the two former All-Stars to reach the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 as the Baseball Writers' Association of America welcomed 15 newcomers to its ballot Friday.
Among those Hall-eligible for the first time are 12-time All-Star infielders Roberto Alomar and Barry Larkin, two-time American League batting champion Edgar Martinez and Fred McGriff, who is tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th on the career home run list with 493.
Dawson and Blyleven are the top returning vote-getters among 11 holdovers from the 2009 BBWAA election, which resulted in the enshrinements of Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice this past July at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown. Henderson received 511 votes (94.8 percent) in his first year of eligibility and Rice got 412 (76.4 percent) in his 15th and final year on the BBWAA ballot. Players must appear on at least 75 percent of the ballots cast to earn election to the Hall via the BBWAA.
Dawson earned 361 votes (67 percent) last year and was followed by Blyleven (338, 63 percent), Lee Smith (240, 45) and Jack Morris (237, 44).
Dawson, who won eight Gold Gloves as an outfielder, is in his ninth year on the BBWAA ballot. Also an eight-time All-Star, he won the 1977 National League Rookie of the Year award and the 1987 NL MVP. Dawson finished his 21-year career with a .279 batting average, 438 home runs and 1,591 RBIs.
Blyleven, a two-time All-Star, amassed 3,701 strikeouts, a 3.31 ERA and a 287-250 record in 22 major league seasons. He is spending his 13th year on the BBWAA ballot in 2010.
The other BBWAA holdovers are Smith, Morris, Tim Raines, Mark McGwire, Alan Trammell, Dave Parker, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy and Harold Baines. Tommy John dropped off the ballot after getting 171 votes (32 percent) in 2009, which marked his 15th year of eligibility.
Mark Grace, David Cone, Matt Williams, Mo Vaughn, Jay Bell, Jesse Orosco, Ron Gant, Dan Plesac and Greg Vaughn also were removed from the BBWAA list after receiving less than 5 percent of the vote, the minimum necessary to remain on the ballot, in 2009. The nine joined Henderson as first-year-eligible candidates last year.
The other first-time BBWAA candidates are Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.
Results of the BBWAA election will be announced at 2 p.m. Jan. 6 on the websites of the Baseball Hall (baseballhall.org) and the BBWAA (bbwaa.com). More than 575 ballots were mailed to BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of experience this week. The deadline to return ballots is Dec. 31.
The 2010 Induction Ceremony is scheduled for July 25 at the Clark Sports Center and also will honor any Veterans Committee selections. VC election results will be announced Dec. 7.
Earlier this week, the Hall announced that online fan voting for the Ford C. Frick Award starts at 10 a.m. Tuesday and runs through Dec. 31. Voting to add three fan selections to the 10-name Frick ballot will take place at www.facebook.com/baseballhall. A Hall research team will determine the other seven candidates.
The 2010 Frick Award winner will be selected by a 20-member electorate and announced in early February.
2010 BBWAA BALLOT
RETURNERS
Player2009 VotesPercent
Andre Dawson36167%
Bert Blyleven33863%
Lee Smith24045%
Jack Morris23744%
Tim Raines12223%
Mark McGwire11822%
Alan Trammell9417%
Dave Parker8115%
Don Mattingly6412%
Dale Murphy6212%
Harold Baines326%
NEWCOMERS
Roberto Alomar
Kevin Appier
Ellis Burks
Andres Galarraga
Pat Hentgen
Mike Jackson
Eric Karros
Ray Lankford
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Fred McGriff
Shane Reynolds
David Segui
Robin Ventura
Todd Zeile
