Chipper Jones, left, and Jim Thome were elected with more than 85 percent of the vote in their first year of eligibility. (John Bazemore, AP File/Ron Kuntz, REUTERS)
Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero were overwhelmingly voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Wednesday, while Trevor Hoffman narrowly made the cut on his third try.
Jones and Thome received 97.2 and 89.8 percent of the vote respectively in their first year of eligibility. Guerrero received 92.9 percent of the vote in his second year on the ballot after falling 17 votes short of the 75 percent threshold last year.
Hoffman, who fell five votes short of the mark last year, received 79.9 percent of the vote to become just the sixth Hall of Fame pitcher who was primarily a reliever, joining Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006) and Goose Gossage (2008).
All four will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame at a July 29 ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. along with pitcher Jack Morris and shortstop Alan Trammell.
Jones and Thome’s elections mean 54 players have now been elected to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Vladimir Guerrero won the 2004 American League MVP as a member of the Anaheim Angels. (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
An eight-time All-Star, Jones won the 1999 NL MVP and the 2008 NL batting title. He batted .303 with 2,726 hits and 468 home runs in 19 seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
Jones' enshrinement puts him alongside other members of the Braves teams that won 14 straight NL East titles, including pitchers John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, manager Bobby Cox and general manager John Schuerholz
Trevor Hoffman recorded 601 saves over an 18-year career. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
Thome was a five-time All-Star who hit 612 home runs, eighth on the career list, over 22 seasons, 13 of which were spent with the Cleveland Indians.
Guerrero was a nine-time All-Star and the 2004 AL MVP with the Anaheim Angels. He hit .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIs in 16 big league seasons.
Hoffman recorded 601 saves in his 18-year career, the second-most in MLB history behind Mariano Rivera's 652. He is the third Hall of Famer who spent the bulk of his career with the San Diego Padres, joining Dave Winfield and Tony Gwynn.
Edgar Martinez continued his steady rise up the ballot, garnering 70.4 percent of the vote after receiving just 25.2 percent in 2014, 27 percent in 2015, 43.4 percent in 2016 and 58.6 percent last year. Martinez is attempting to become just the second player who was primarily a designated hitter to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Longtime Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees starter Mike Mussina also made a big move, climbing to 63.5 percent from 51.8 percent last year.
Relievers and DHs get a boost when Mariano Rivera becomes eligible next year and David Ortiz in 2022.
Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds crept closer to the 75 percent of the vote needed for election, but fell short with 57.3 and 56.4 percent, respectively.
Clemens and Bonds each have four tries left.
Morris and Trammell were voted in last month by the Hall's Modern Era committee, which considered former players and executives whose contributions to baseball were most significant from 1970-87.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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