Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame

By Callum Sutherland and Kevin Dotson, CNN

(CNN) — Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton were elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, officials said.

The trio was elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) and will be joined by former Major League Baseball manager Jim Leyland, who was selected by the Hall’s Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December, to make up the Hall of Fame class of 2024.

Beltré and Mauer were elected in their first year on the ballot. Helton got the nod in his sixth year of eligibility.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on July 21 in Cooperstown, New York.

In total, 12 new candidates and 14 holdovers, who have been named on previous ballots, were on this year’s nominee list.

To make the Hall of Fame, nominees must be on at least 75% of ballots from around 400 voters among qualifying baseball writers. Meet this requirement, and their name will be included into the annals at the Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown.

Former players, managers and directors can be elected through either the BBWAA election or the Era Committees voting process.

The latter is most often for those who did not manage to reach the 75% threshold through the BBWAA format in the 10 years following their first nomination.

Who etched their names in Cooperstown?

One certainty who will be inducted was three-time manager of the year Leyland, who led the Florida Marlins to their 1997 World Series championship.

Leyland was admitted through the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee with a 93.8% vote. His managerial career spanned 22 seasons, totaling over 1,750 victories and six first-place division finishes – three in the National League East and three in the American League Central.

Speaking on his achievement at a news conference during the Winter Meetings in December, Leyland said: “Excited to be nominated. Ecstatic to be elected.

“I’ve never had any thoughts of going to Cooperstown … but I’m very proud of it. And I’m very humbled by it.”

Beltré played a total of 21 Major League seasons, winning five Golden Glove Awards and making four All-Star appearances. The Dominican recorded over 3,000 hits and 477 home runs in a career spanning three decades.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ray Davis, owner and managing partner of the Texas Rangers, said: “For more than two decades, Adrián excelled both offensively and defensively as one of the top third basemen in Major League history. His competitiveness and desire to be in the lineup every day, no matter the circumstances, earned him the utmost respect and admiration from his peers.”

Fellow first-timer Mauer was considered likely to make it into Cooperstown, according to the public ballots. Mauer was a one-team man during his 15-year career, starring with the Minnesota Twins and winning three consecutive Golden Glove Awards, as well as the American League MVP in 2009.

Concussions forced Mauer to leave the catcher position in 2014 as he moved to first base and designated hitter for the remainder of his career. The Minnesota native was honored by the Twins in 2019 as they formally retired his No. 7 jersey in 2019.

“Joe has been a true hometown hero and a cornerstone of our organization. His humility, leadership, kindness and care for others, paired with his unparalleled excellence on the diamond, have made him a role model for generations of youth across our region,” said Dave St. Peter, president and CEO of the Minnesota Twins, in a statement Tuesday.

Helton was another top contender for nomination this year, after just falling short last time out by 11 votes at 72.2%.

“We had a front row seat to the greatest of Todd Helton for all 17 years of his career,” said Dick Monfort, Colorado Rockies owner and CEO, in a statement, “and finally the entire sports world can join us in recognizing one of the best first basemen in the history of the game. Todd is a true Colorado sports icon, and we all look forward to his induction in late July and another Rockies celebration in Cooperstown.”

The first baseman spent his entire career with the Colorado Rockies, scooping up five All-Star appearances, three Gold Glove awards, four Silver Slugger awards, 369 home runs and a batting average of .316. As tribute, the Rockies retired his No. 17 jersey in 2013.

Several players came up just shy of the 75% of votes needed: Billy Wagner (73.8%), Gary Sheffield (63.9%), Andruw Jones (61.6%) and Carlos Beltrán (57.1%).

This BBWAA ballot inclusion was the last for Gary Sheffield. The nine-time All-Star was World Series champion under Leyland in 1997, and hit 509 home runs in his career, but defensive duties were often his downside.

CNN’s David Close contributed to this report.

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