4 things to know about the 2019 Baseball HOF ballot

The Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2019 will welcome some new members Tuesday night when the results of the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote are announced.

It's shaping up to be a banner day for Cooperstown, with at least three - and possibly four - names on the verge of joining a class that already includes Harold Baines and Lee Smith, both of whom were elected by the "Today's Game" committee in December.

The official announcement won't be made until 6 p.m. ET. Before we get there, let's examine some important things to know about this year's ballot and the coming vote.

The locks

Barring the most unforeseen of circumstances, Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay will have their names called Tuesday. Rivera, of course, is not only the greatest closer of all time but one of the most respected baseball players of his - or any - era. The only question that ever surrounded his candidacy was whether he'd become the first-ever unanimous inductee. To date, he's been named on 100 percent of the 213 publicly released ballots collected by Ryan Thibodaux's tracker.

The first-ballot case for "Doc" wasn't as clear-cut as it was for Rivera, but Halladay was just as beloved in the baseball world, especially by fans across Canada and in Philadelphia. He's garnered 92.7 percent of the known vote, making his election a mere formality. But his tragic death in a single-plane crash last year will make Tuesday's call to the Hall a bittersweet and emotional moment.

Finally?

Mike Mussina and Edgar Martinez appear poised to finally get over the hump. Martinez - the greatest designated hitter of all time - is polling at about 90 percent and should earn the nod in his 10th and final year of eligibility. Mussina, however, has reason to be nervous. Despite a groundswell of recent support, he's only garnered 81.2 percent of the vote to date, so there's a chance the full results drop him just short of the requisite 75 percent. If Moose does miss, it won't be by much, and he'll be all but assured of getting in next year.

Make-or-break for the PED crowd

Until last January, support for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens had been slowly rising. But the two legends, whose incredible accomplishments have been muddied by allegations of steroid use, hit a wall in 2018; after votes for Bonds and Clemens both jumped nearly 10 percent in 2017, they stalled out with a mere jump of 3 to 4 percent last year.

Right now, Bonds sits at 70.6 percent while Clemens is at 71.1 percent, leaving both more than 150 votes shy of the magic mark even before the usual drop comes in. They each have just three years of eligibility left on the BBWAA ballot thanks to the Hall's changes a few years ago. Another year of stagnating in the 56-57 percent range could spell lights-out for both men.

Bonds and Clemens aren't the only steroid-linked players who need some help. Former NL MVP Sammy Sosa currently has just 11.5 percent of the published vote and is in danger of falling off entirely. Manny Ramirez, meanwhile, is again failing to garner support and could struggle to net 20 percent of the vote this time around. And Gary Sheffield, another 500-homer man with PED connections - albeit less tangible ones than some of his peers - is hovering around 14 percent halfway through his eligibility.

Clearing the path

The Hall's move to shorten players' eligibility from 15 years to 10 years perhaps hurt no one more than Larry Walker. The Canadian slugger is finally starting to gain some traction - in his ninth year on the ballot. After garnering 34.1 percent of the vote in 2018, Walker's gained 142 votes this time around and is polling at 65.1 percent ahead of the announcement. Even after accounting for the expected drop on the official totals, he's poised to make a truly incredible leap above the 50 percent mark. But is this a case of too little, too late?

Walker's huge jump could lend hope to other slow starters. Second-year candidate Scott Rolen (20.6 percent) could be ready to make a nice leap and begin a Walker-like climb to the magic mark.

Derek Jeter will headline the Class of 2020 and he's the only clear-cut first-ballot candidate hitting the ballot in the next two years. A big jump in support Tuesday will thus do wonders for returning candidates like Walker and Rolen - not to mention the likes of Bonds, Clemens, and Curt Schilling - who are hoping to sail in during the next two elections when there will be a clear path and little in the way of new competition.

Some candidates in serious jeopardy of falling off altogether - defensive wizard Andruw Jones, for instance - could also set up well for 2020 and beyond if they can stay above the 5 percent cutoff.

There's been a logjam of talent on the Hall of Fame ballot for far too long. It's hurt many candidates who should have had - and still should be getting - more time to make their cases. Finally, it appears this will be the year things start to clear up. For those who care about the Hall - and for the institution itself - this should be an excellent development.