COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – After Scott Rolen’s Cooperstown call last year, no former St. Louis Cardinals will make the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Voters ended up electing first baseman Todd Helton, catcher Joe Mauer and third baseman Adrián Beltré to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For the complete Hall of Fame voting results, click here.
The Cardinals had two candidates on this year’s ballot, outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Matt Holliday.
Beltrán saw his stock rise from nearly 46.5% in his first go-around last year to 57.1% this year, still short of the 75% needed for a Hall of Fame induction.
Holliday, appearing on Hall of Fame ballots for the first time, will no longer be eligible after this year after missing the minimum five-percent threshold to stay on ballots. Holliday only received four Hall of Fame votes, roughly 1% support among all voters.
MLB players with 10 years of service are eligible for the Hall of Fame as soon as five years after their retirement. A player is required to earn 75% of support, or usually 300-plus votes among qualified voters, to earn Hall of Fame status.
Since 1936, the various members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America have held the exclusive voting privilege to consider recently retired players for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Beltrán is one of only eight players all-time with at least 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases in a MLB career. He played for seven teams over 20 seasons, finishing with at least 20 home runs and 100 RBI in seven of nine years during his prime.
Beltrán enjoyed a brief stint with St. Louis, which included to seasons with All-Star nods. After torching teams in postseason for much of his career, Beltrán finally won a World Series with the Houston Astros in 2017, then hung up the spikes.
Holliday hit .299 with 2,096 hits, 316 home runs, and 1,220 RBI over 15 MLB seasons. He enjoyed some of his strongest seasons with St. Louis from 2009 to 2017, slugging at least 20 home runs five times, hitting .290 or better five times, and also driving in at least 90 runs four times with the Cardinals.
Holliday earned four All-Star appearances with the Cardinals and a World Series title in 2011. He was one of 12 first-timers on this year’s ballots, and one of eight newcomers no longer eligible after missing the required 5% mark.
Longtime Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen remains the latest Cardinals player elected to Cooperstown after his sixth go-around on the Hall of Fame ballot last year. He’s one of 37 players to have played for the Cardinals franchise in the Hall of Fame.
Also of interest to St. Louis baseball fans, St. Charles native Mark Buehrle stayed alive for ballot consideration after his fourth go-around, but his 8.3% support this year dropped from his 10.8% vote last year.
