Bautista, Colon debut on Hall of Fame ballot

November 23, 2023

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Jose Bautista will appear on the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) ballot for the first time this fall.

The former Toronto Blue Jays slugger is one of four ex-Jays on the ballot, which was unveiled on Monday.

Former Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes is also making his first appearance. He will join left-hander Mark Buehrle and shortstop Omar Vizquel who are returning to the ballot for their fourth and seventh years respectively.

Former Montreal Expos right-hander Bartolo Colon is also debuting on the ballot.

The voting results will be announced on Jan. 23.

Non-Blue Jays or Expos debuting on the ballot

Legendary third baseman Adrián Beltré is the only player debuting who’s considered a shoo-in for election, though former Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and longtime Phillies second baseman Chase Utley should also receive considerable support.

Adrián González, Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, James Shields and David Wright round out the list of newcomers on the ballot.

Candidates must receive votes on 75 percent of writers’ ballots to be elected. Hall rules dictate that candidates can remain on the ballot for up to 10 years if they are named on least five percent of ballots each year.

Returning candidates

Here’s a list of the 14 returning candidates from last year from the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s press release. The list shows the percentage of support they received in last year’s voting and what year of eligibility they are in.

Todd Helton | 72.2% | 6th year

Billy Wagner | 68.1% | 9th year

Andruw Jones | 58.1% | 7th year

Gary Sheffield | 55.0% | 10th year

Carlos Beltrán | 46.5% | 2nd year

Álex Rodríguez | 35.7% | 3rd year

Manny Ramírez | 33.2% | 8th year

Omar Vizquel | 19.5% | 7th year

Andy Pettitte | 17.0% | 6th year

Bobby Abreu | 15.4% | 5th year

Jimmy Rollins | 12.9% | 3rd year

Mark Buehrle | 10.8% | 4th year

Francisco Rodríguez | 10.8% | 2nd year

Torii Hunter | 6.9% | 4th year

Bios of former Blue Jays and Expos on the ballot

Here are the bios of the former Blue Jays and Expos on the ballot. These bios were provided in the Hall of Fame’s press release.

JOSÉ BAUTISTA: 1st year on the ballot…Played 15 seasons with Orioles, Devil Rays, Royals, Pirates, Blue Jays, Braves, Mets and Phillies…Six-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger Award winner as outfielder…Finished in Top 10 of AL Most Valuable Player voting four times: 2010 (4th), 2011 (3rd), 2014 (6th), 2015 (8th)…Led all MLB batters in home runs in back-to-back seasons (2010-11)…Topped the 20-homer mark in eight seasons (2010-17), including three times reaching the 40-home run mark…Hit .300-or-better in one season (2011)… Totaled 100-or-more RBI in four seasons (2010-11, 2014-15) and scored 100-plus runs in four seasons (2010-11, 2014-15)…Led AL in walks twice (2011, 2015) and topped the 100-walk mark in four seasons (2010-11, 2014-15)…Led AL in total bases (351) and extra base hits (92) in 2010…Paced AL with .608 slugging percentage and 1.056 OPS in 2011…Won AL Hank Aaron Award in 2010 and 2011…Batted .243 with .364 on-base percentage in five Postseason series over two seasons, totaling six home runs, 16 RBI and 14 walks in 20 games.

MARK BUEHRLE: 4th year on the ballot…Pitched 16 seasons for White Sox, Marlins and Blue Jays…Recorded 14 200-plus inning seasons, all consecutively (2001-14), to set American League record… Led AL in innings pitched twice (2004-05) and games started twice (2004, 2008)…Finished fifth in 2005 AL Cy Young Award voting…Named to five All-Star teams (2002, 2005-06, 2009, 2014), drawing starting assignment for AL in 2005 Mid-Summer Classic…Four-time Gold Glove Award winner (2009-12)…Led league in assists among pitchers in five seasons (2001-02, 2004, 2009, 2012)…Led MLB in complete games with four during his final season of 2015…Won 13-or-more games in 12 of his 16 seasons…Pitched no-hitter for White Sox against the Rangers on April 18, 2007…Pitched perfect game for White Sox against Rays on July 23, 2009…Appeared in five Postseason series, posting 2-1 record with 4.11 ERA over six games, including four starts…Went 2-0 over four games during 2005 Postseason while helping White Sox win World Series title.

BARTOLO COLON: 1st year on the ballot…Pitched 21 seasons for Indians, Expos, White Sox, Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Athletics, Mets, Braves, Twins and Rangers…Four-time All-Star (1998, 2005, 2013, 2016) who won the 2005 AL Cy Young Award and finished in the Top 10 of his league’s Cy Young Award voting three additional times: 1999 (4th), 2002 (6th) and 2013 (6th)…Two-time 20-game winner who led the AL in victories with 21 in 2005 and reached 15-win plateau nine times…Led majors in complete games in 2003 (9) and shutouts in 2013 (3)…Topped 200-strikeout mark in two seasons (2000-01)…Reached 200-innings pitched mark eight times…Paced NL hurlers in walks per nine innings twice (2015-16)…Ranks 30th all-time in games started (552), 36th in strikeouts (2,535), 51st in wins (247) and 76th in innings pitched (3,461.2)…Appeared in 10 Postseason series over seven years, posting 3-5 record with 3.49 ERA over 67 innings, including 10 starts…Member of Indians 1997 AL pennant-winning team and Mets 2015 NL pennant-winning team.

JOSÉ REYES: 1st year on the ballot…Played 16 seasons for Mets, Marlins, Blue Jays and Rockies…Finished eighth in 2003 National League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .307 with 47 runs scored in 69 games…Four-time All-Star (2006-07, 2010-11) and 2006 NL Silver Slugger Award winner at shortstop, the same season he reached a personal-best with a seventh-place finish in the NL Most Valuable Player voting…Reached the .300 mark in batting in three seasons, including 2011 when he won the NL batting title with a .337 average…Led in the NL in plate appearances three times (2005, 2008, 2012), at-bats twice (2005, 2008), triples four times (2005-06, 2008, 2011), stolen bases three times (2005-07) and hits once (2008)…Scored 100-or-more runs four times (2006-08, 2011)…Ranks 33rd all-time with 517 stolen bases and 78th all-time with 131 triples…Appeared in three Postseason series over two seasons, hitting .229 with seven runs scored and three stolen bases in 11 games.

OMAR VIZQUEL: 7th year on the ballot…Played 24 seasons with Mariners, Indians, Giants, Rangers, White Sox and Blue Jays…Three-time All-Star (1998-99, 2002)…11-time Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop (1993-2001, 2005-06), the second-most among all shortstops…In 2006 at 39 years old, became the oldest infielder to win a Gold Glove Award…Career leader in defensive games at shortstop with 2,709…Led his league in fielding percentage among shortstops six times (1992, 1998, 2000-01, 2005-06) and is the all-time leader in fielding percentage at the position with a mark of .9847…Shares record for fewest errors by a shortstop (three, tied with Cal Ripken Jr.) with at least 150 games played in one season…Reached the .300 batting mark in 1999 with career-best .333 average…Topped 100 runs scored mark twice (1999-2000) and stole 20-or-more bases in eight seasons (1995-2000, 2005-06)…Led his league in sacrifice hits four times (1997, 1999, 2004-05)…Led his league in double plays turned at shortstop once (1993) and putouts at shortstop once (1998)…Ranks first all-time in double plays turned at shortstop (1,734), first in career fielding percentage at shortstop (.985), third in career assists at shortstop (7,676) and 11th in career putouts at shortstop (4,102)…Ranks 13thall-time in games played (2,968), 17th in singles (2,264), 18th in at-bats (10,586), 44th in hits (2,877) and 72nd in stolen bases (404)…Appeared in 11 Postseason series over six seasons, batting .250 with 28 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 57 games…Member of Indians’ 1995 and 1997 American League Championship teams…Won 1996 Hutch Award.

For bios of all of the candidates on the 2024 National Baseball Hall of Fame BBWAA ballot, click here.