Three Yankees greats, including scandal-linked hero, get last HoF lifeline

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NEW YORK — Three beloved figures from the New York Yankees’ storied past will get one final opportunity to reach baseball’s most hallowed ground. The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced its Contemporary Era ballot on Sunday, giving the Bronx icon trio another chance at immortality in Cooperstown.

The Hall of Fame unveiled its 2025 Contemporary Era ballot on Sunday, featuring eight players whose careers defined their generation but fell short under the traditional voting process. The 16-member committee will vote in December during the Winter Meetings in Nashville, with results announced on December 8. Candidates must receive 75% of the vote, or 12 votes, to gain induction into Cooperstown.

Mattingly returns to Hall of Fame spotlight

Don Mattingly, known to Yankees fans as “Donnie Baseball,” leads the trio of Bronx icons on the ballot. The former captain spent his entire 14-year career in pinstripes from 1982 to 1995, becoming one of the most admired figures in franchise history.

Mattingly’s résumé remains among the most polished of players never enshrined in Cooperstown. The 1985 American League MVP winner hit .307 with 222 home runs and 1,099 RBIs while capturing nine Gold Gloves and six All-Star selections. He was the face of the Yankees through the team’s lean years in the 1980s and is remembered for his professionalism, leadership and smooth left-handed swing.

His career, however, was derailed by chronic back injuries beginning in 1987, which limited his production during what should have been his prime years. Mattingly never reached the World Series as a player, though he finally tasted postseason action in his final year in 1995.

“Don Mattingly embodies everything the Yankees stand for,” one Hall of Fame voter told reporters. “He played the game the right way and was the face of the franchise during a difficult era.”

Now 64, Mattingly’s name continues to command respect in baseball circles. After his playing career, he transitioned to managing and coaching roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays. This marks his second appearance on the Contemporary Era ballot after falling short in 2022, when he received eight of the 16 required votes.

“I’m honored to be considered again,” Mattingly told Forbes. “You don’t think about it every day, but it’s special to even be mentioned with the game’s greatest.”

Sheffield’s powerful but complicated case

Gary Sheffield’s Hall of Fame case is equally complex. The right fielder, who spent three seasons with the Yankees from 2004 to 2006, finished his 22-year career with 509 home runs, 1,676 RBIs and a .292 batting average. Known for his explosive bat speed and confident demeanor, Sheffield was a feared presence at the plate throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

In pinstripes, Sheffield was a crucial part of the Yankees’ lineup, hitting .291 with 76 home runs and 269 RBIs. His 2004 season remains one of the best of his career, when he hit 36 home runs and drove in 121 runs, helping the Yankees reach the postseason.

Like Clemens, Sheffield’s Hall of Fame bid has been hindered by his connection to the BALCO scandal. He admitted to using a steroid-based cream but insisted he did so unknowingly. Despite his strong numbers, he topped out at 63.9% of the vote on the writers’ ballot, falling just short before aging out.

“I think I did enough on the field to earn my place,” Sheffield told the New York Post. “The numbers speak for themselves. I can’t control how people choose to remember that era.”

Rocket faces his final legacy test

Roger Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner, stands as one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history. Yet his legacy remains one of the sport’s most polarizing. Over 24 seasons, Clemens compiled a 354-184 record, a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts — the third-highest total in Major League Baseball history.

Clemens pitched six seasons with the Yankees, from 1999 to 2003 and again in 2007. He won two World Series titles in New York and posted an 83-42 record with the team. His fierce competitiveness and playoff performances made him a fan favorite in the Bronx, but allegations of performance-enhancing drug use have clouded his Cooperstown case.

The right-hander was named in the 2007 Mitchell Report, which linked him to alleged steroid and human growth hormone use. Clemens has consistently denied those claims and was never officially suspended under MLB’s testing program. Still, voters with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) never granted him the necessary support, with his highest total reaching 65.2% before his eligibility expired in 2022.

Now 63, Clemens faces a final review under the committee format. Supporters argue that his dominance on the mound speaks for itself, while detractors believe his association with the steroid era should disqualify him.

“Roger Clemens has the numbers. There’s no debating that,” one longtime Hall of Fame voter told CBS Sports. “The question is whether voters can separate the numbers from the controversy.”

For many Yankees fans, Clemens remains a complicated figure — a hero of the late-1990s dynasty and a symbol of baseball’s most turbulent moral debates.

The rest of the ballot

The Contemporary Era ballot features five other candidates: Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, Carlos Delgado, Dale Murphy and Fernando Valenzuela. Bonds and Clemens headline the list of statistically dominant players whose reputations suffered due to performance-enhancing drug allegations. Kent, the all-time home run leader among second basemen, continues to draw renewed attention from voters, while Delgado and Murphy represent fan favorites whose careers straddled greatness and near-miss.

The late Valenzuela, who died in October, remains one of the most beloved figures in Los Angeles Dodgers history. His 1981 season sparked “Fernandomania” and inspired a generation of Latino baseball fans.

Each of the eight players will be judged by the 16-member committee composed of Hall of Famers, executives and veteran baseball writers. The group will meet at the Winter Meetings in Nashville in early December, and any player receiving 12 or more votes will be inducted into Cooperstown.

Yankees legacies on the line

The Yankees have had 56 players inducted into the Hall of Fame, with Derek Jeter being the most recent in 2020. The inclusion of Mattingly, Clemens and Sheffield on this year’s ballot offers one last chance for the franchise’s modern icons to join that elite company.

For Yankees fans, the ballot carries deep emotional weight. Mattingly represents loyalty and leadership from the franchise’s rebuilding years. Clemens symbolizes dominance and championship pedigree. Sheffield brings back memories of the team’s power-packed 2000s lineups.

As one committee member told CBS Sports, “We’re not just voting on numbers anymore. We’re voting on what they represent.”

That sentiment may define how the panel decides. Mattingly’s integrity and leadership could earn sentimental support. Clemens and Sheffield, despite their numbers, must rely on voters willing to look beyond baseball’s most contentious era.

The final results will be announced on December 8 during the Winter Meetings. For Mattingly, Clemens and Sheffield, this represents not just another ballot — but their last, best lifeline to Cooperstown, where baseball’s legends are immortalized and the Yankees’ history forever expands.

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