Former Cy Young winners Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz are among 17 first-time candidates on the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, announced Monday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Voters are the approximately 600 writers who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years at any point. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 27. Results will be announced Jan. 6.
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Players elected, along with choices announced Dec. 8 by the golden era committee (1947-72), will be inducted July 26 at Cooperstown.
Here's a look at the 2015 ballot:
Top first-time candidates
Randy Johnson: With 303 wins, five Cy Youngs and 4,875 strikeouts, the Big Unit is a lock for immortality. He won't be unanimous (nobody ever is), but look for him to join Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux among pitchers getting 97 percent or more of the vote.
Pedro Martinez: Martinez didn't rack up the big career win numbers of some Hall of Famers (he had 219), but he was so dominant at his peak it's hard to see voters passing him over. He won three Cy Youngs, led his league in ERA five times and strikeouts three times and helped lead the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. His 2000 season was one of the greatest in history.
John Smoltz: Smoltz has a strong resume and he will be elected to the Hall eventually, joining longtime teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. But with Johnson and Martinez topping the ballot, Smoltz likely will come up short in 2015.
Gary Sheffield: Sheffield has the kind of numbers that ordinarily would mean an easy pass into the Hall. But he was linked to PEDs in the Mitchell Report, so he has no chance.
Other first-time candidates: Rich Aurilia, Aaron Boone, Tony Clark, Carlos Delgado, Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Cliff Floyd, Nomar Garciaparra, Brian Giles, Tom Gordon, Eddie Guardado, Troy Percival, Jason Schmidt, Jarrod Washburn.
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Returnees (75 percent needed for election)
Craig Biggio (74.8 percent of the vote in 2014): Biggio fell just short of election last year, so he likely will get elected easily in 2015, his third time on the ballot.
Mike Piazza (62.2 percent): Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher of all-time, but he has been dogged by PED rumors enough times that he addressed the issue head on in his autobiography. He picked up votes in 2014, so he almost certainly will get over the hump one of these years. But probably not this time.
Jeff Bagwell (54.3 percent): He lost votes in 2013, his third year on the ballot. Bagwell's eventual induction is likely, but he will fall short again 2015.
Tim Raines (46.1 percent): Raines finally crossed the 50 percent threshold in 2013, but fell below it again last year. He appeared to be in good shape for eventual election, but new Hall rules mean he only has three more chances before the BBWAA instead of eight. He probably won't be able to make up the ground he needs to in that time.
The PED holdovers: Roger Clemens (35.4 percent); Barry Bonds (34.7 percent); Mark McGwire (11.0 percent); and Sammy Sosa (7.2 percent). None of these guys should worry about booking hotel reservations in Cooperstown this summer.
Other returnees: Lee Smith (29.9 percent); Curt Schilling (29.2 percent); Edgar Martinez (25.2 percent); Alan Trammell (20.8 percent); Mike Mussina (20.3 percent); Jeff Kent (15.2 percent); Fred McGriff (11.7 percent); Larry Walker (10.2 percent); and Don Mattingly (8.2 percent).