Mussina tops list of biggest vote gainers for Hall
Not everyone will get to call Cooperstown home, but some are closer than others to being elected into the historic Hall of Fame.
The 2016 class was announced on Wednesday with Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza elected as the only inductees.
In a year that saw the number of voter ballots drop from 549 to 440, Alan Trammell (40.9%) and Mark McGwire (12.3%) fell short of the required 75 percent needed for election in their last year on the ballot, while others such as Jim Edmonds and Nomar Garciaparra received less than five percent of the vote, officially removing them from future ballots.
But not everyone experienced bad luck when votes were revealed. Below is a list of the biggest vote gainers who still have a chance of making the Hall of Fame on future ballots:
| Player | 2015 | 2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mussina | 24.6% | 43.0% | 18.4% |
| Edgar Martinez | 27.0% | 43.4% | 16.4% |
| Curt Schilling | 39.2% | 52.3% | 16.1% |
| Jeff Bagwell | 55.7% | 71.6% | 15.9% |
| Tim Raines | 55.0% | 69.8% | 14.8% |
| Fred McGriff | 12.9% | 20.9% | 8.0% |
| Roger Clemens | 37.5% | 45.2% | 7.7% |
| Barry Bonds | 36.8% | 44.3% | 7.5% |
| Larry Walker | 11.8% | 15.5% | 3.7% |
| Jeff Kent | 14.0% | 16.6% | 2.6% |
While Mussina and Martinez top the list of biggest changes in terms of percentage gained, Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines stand out as the two who moved closer to adding their names to the most exclusive team in baseball.
Next year will be the last that Raines can appear on the ballot, while Bagwell has four shots left to get the nod.