Adrian Beltre, the defensive stalwart who had over 3,000 hits in his career, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot, along with career-long Minnesota Twin Joe Mauer. Batting champion Todd Helton was also elected to the Hall on his sixth ballot, the 80th balloting for the Hall of Fame. The voting was conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and then counted by Ernst & Young.
Players are elected after receiving at least 75% of the votes from eligible members of the BBWAA. 385 ballots were submitted for the 2024 class, meaning each player needed 289 votes to enter Cooperstown.
Beltre received 366 votes on his first ballot, or 95.1% of the votes. Helton received 307 votes (79.7%) and Mauer snuck in on his first ballot appearance with 293 votes (76.1%).
The 2024 class will be honored July 19-22 in Cooperstown, with the induction being on July 21 at the Clark Sports Center. Jim Leyland, who was elected last month in Nashville by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, will join the rest of the class.
Beltre played 21 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers and finished second in the 2004 National League MVP to Home Run King Barry Bonds. Beltre played 2,759 games at third base, second most behind Brooks Robinson (2,870). Beltre ranks ninth in at-bats (11,068), 15th in total bases (5,309) and extra-base hits (1,151), 11th in doubles (636), 25th in RBIs (1,707), and 31st in home runs (477).
Helton spent his entire 17-year career with the Colorado Rockies after a stellar college career at Tennessee. He won the 2000 National League batting title with a .372 batting average while leading the league in hits (216), doubles (59), bases (405), and RBI (147). He is one of just seven players to have multiple seasons with 400+ total bases. Helton is a five-time All-Star at first base and won three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers while hitting .316 for his career with 2,519 hits, 1,401 runs, 1,406 RBI, 1,335 walks, and 1,175 strikeouts.
Mauer spent his entire 15-year career with the Minnesota Twins. He won three American League battle titles in 2006, 2008, and 2009, the most by any catcher. He also won the MVP award in 2009 after hitting .365 with 28 home runs and 96 RBIs while becoming the first catcher to lead the majors in OPS (1.031). Mauer played his final five seasons at first base and is the only catcher with at least 2,000 hits, a .300 career average, and a .380 on-base percentage.
Former Astros closer Billy Wagner fell just five votes short of election in his ninth appearance on the ballot. Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, and Carlos Beltran are the only players to have appeared on five or more ballots.