NEW YORK - Former Toronto Blue Jays Roberto Alomar, Fred McGriff and Pat Hentgen are among 15 first-time candidates on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, joining holdovers Mark McGwire, Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven.
Edgar Martinez and Barry Larkin also are new to the ballot this year. There are 26 candidates, three more than last year when Rickey Henderson was elected in his initial appearance and Jim Rice made it on his 15th and final try.
Dawson, who spent 11 seasons with the Montreal Expos, fell 44 votes shy of the 75 per cent needed, while Blyleven was 67 short.
Also on the ballot for the first time are Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui (who briefly played for Montreal and Toronto), Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile.
Other holdovers on the list announced Friday include Harold Baines, Don Mattingly, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines (another longtime Expos star), Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.
McGwire, hired last month as hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, is on the ballot for the fourth time. While he hit 583 homers, eighth on the career list, he has been stigmatized since his 2005 congressional testimony, when he evaded answering whether he had used steroids. He received 118 votes (22 per cent) in last year's vote, down from 128 in each of his first two tries.
Segui has admitted he used steroids.
Alomar, a 12-time all-star and 10-time Gold Glove second baseman, had a .300 batting average, 210 homers and 474 steals in 17 major league seasons.
He was instrumental in both of the Blue Jays' World Series victories in 1992 and '93, and his ninth-inning home run off Hall of Fame Oakland closer Dennis Eckersley in Game 4 of the 1992 AL Championship Series is among the biggest hits in franchise history.
McGriff, the quiet slugger, is tied with Lou Gehrig for 26th on the career home run list with 493 and had a .284 average in 19 seasons. He led the AL in homers for Toronto in 1989 and the NL for San Diego in 1992.
Hentgen was 131-112 with a 4.32 ERA over 14 big-league seasons mostly with Toronto, winning the Cy Young in 1996 after going 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA and a league-leading 265 2-3 innings.
Martinez spent all 18 seasons with Seattle, winning two AL batting titles and finishing with a .312 average and 309 homers. A seven-time all-star, he was a designated hitter in 1,412 of 2,055 career regular-season games.
Larkin was a 12-time all-star and three-time Gold Glove shortstop in 19 seasons, all with Cincinnati. He had a .295 career average with 198 homers and won the 1995 NL MVP award.
Reporters who have been in the BBWAA for 10 or more consecutive years are eligible to vote, and results will be announced Jan. 6. Inductions, which will include anyone elected by the Veterans Committee, are scheduled for July 25 at Cooperstown. The Veterans Committee vote will be announced Dec. 7.
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The complete ballot: Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile
-With files from The Canadian Press
