Being elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame is considered by many to be the most prestigious honor in baseball, and now six men get the opportunity to add being in the Hall of Fame to their resumes.

Four new inductees were announced on January 24 and they will join the about one percent of players in history in the hall.  The players who received the necessary 75% of votes are third baseman Chipper Jones,  outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, power hitter Jim Thome and closer Trevor Hoffman.

Chipper Jones who appeared on 97.2% of ballots, played his entire career with the Atlanta Braves while having a career batting average of .303 and was without a doubt one of the greatest switch hitters in MLB history statistically.  Guerrero as also one of the most feared hitters in his era and even on occasion hit pitches that bounced to the plate.  He spent his in Montreal with the Expos as well as having stints with the Angels, Rangers and Orioles.  The third inductee Jim Thome played first base, third base and also served as a designated hitter during his time in the majors and hit 612 home runs in that time which has him currently at eighth in the career home run rankings.  Trevor Hoffman was the last guy to squeak by the 75% cut off as he appeared on 79.9% of the ballots.  Hoffman is second on the all time saves list and was a dominant closer in the league 18 year pitching career.

“I was glad to see all four of these guys get in because they are all definitely Hall of Fame caliber,” sophomore Jackson Fenner said.

Fourteen other players that appeared on the ballot this year will not appear on it next year as they did not receive votes from the necessary 5 percent of submitted ballots.  This list is headlined, but not limited to, pitcher Johan Santana, outfielder Johnny Damon, pitcher Jamie Moyer, outfielder Hideki Matsui, as well as former Cardinals pitchers Chris Carpenter and Jason Isringhausen.

“I really wish Carpenter and Isringhausen would have gotten another chance because they had great careers but there are others who had better careers and may deserve the honor more,” sophomore Dalton Ottwell said.

The four new inductees will join Alan Trammell and Jack Morris, who were inducted via the New Era Committee, in Cooperstown in July to officially receive their plaques and forever be in the same building as the greats of the game.