2017: Tim Raines voted in on his 10th ballot, at 86%. He began at 24.3%, steadily gaining support, hitting 55% on his 8th try. He then jumped to 69.8%, and up to cooperstown the next.
- Also this year, Lee Smith falls short on his 15th, at 34.2%, the last of the grandfathered 15-year guys. Smith never fell below 29.9% and never rose above 50.6%.
2016: Alan Trammell falls short in his last year, at 40.9%. He was in the teens for his first 8 years, then the 20s and low 30s until a jump from 25% to 41% in his final year. He was voted in by the Veterans Committee today.
- Mark McGwire also falls short in his final year, ending with a whimpering 12.3%.
2015: Don Mattingly falls short in his last year, at 9.1%. He started out (in 2001) at 28.2%, as everyone seemingly thought all the cool kids would vote for him. He slowly and steadily trailed off as his mystique faded, spared a drop-out only by an ending of his eligibility.
2014: Jack Morris falls short in his last year, at 61.5%. He was in the low 20s his first 5 years, before a slow and steady momentum gathering, with votes in the 60s his final 3 years, ending with a drop from 67% to 61%. He was voted in by the Veterans Committee today.
2013: Dale Murphy falls short in his last year, at 18.6%. Never really gathered much steam (his best two years were his first two, at 19.3% and 23.2%), but had a devout minority following that kept him on the ballot. He had a final year bump from 14.5% to 18.6%.
2011: Bert Blyleven voted in on his 14th and penultimate ballot, at 79.7%. He had a slow and steady build, initially in the teens (3 years), then the 20s (3 years), and his final 3 going 62.7%,
74.2%, and then the 79.7%. Being as public a figure as he was surely helped.
- Dave Parker also fell short in his 15th ballot, at 15.3%, being between 10-20% for each of his final 13 years.
2010: Andre Dawson voted in on his 9th ballot, the year's only inductee at 77.9%. He started at 45% and gained votes every year but one, making an 11% leap up from 67.0% in 2009 to make the cut the next year.
2009: Jim Rice voted in on his 15th and final ballot, at 76.4%. Initially at 29% and never below that, he had 6 straight years in the 50s, then 2 in the 60s, then 72%, then 76% and in. He benefitted from a media campaign much like Blyleven.
- Also this year, Tommy John falls short in his final year, his best total at 31.7% never coming close. He was below the 20s once, and above it only in that last ballot.
2008: Goose Gossage voted in on his 9th ballot, the only inductee, at 85.8%. He started at 33%, held in the 40s for 4 years, then had a 3 year run up with a 71.2% in his 8th year, jumping way past the post the next.
- Meanwhile Dave Concepcion had a modest bump from 13% to 16% in his final year on the ballot, his second-highest-ever total.
2007: Steve Garvey falls short in his last year, at 21.1%. He had a Mattingly-like slide into bolivian, starting at 42% and in the high 30s / low 40s his first 6 ballots, slowly eroding down to the low 20s by his final few years, but never below 20%.
2006: Bruce Sutter voted in on his 13th ballot, the only inductee that year, at 76.9%. He had a long climb to glory, starting at 23.9%, and not cracking 32% until his 7th ballot, in 2000. Gained momentum steadily after that, with 50% in his 9th, 66.7% in his 12th, before making the cut. Was the only pitcher in the HOF with a losing W-L record, until Hoffman's election today.
2003: Jim Kaat falls short in his last year, at 26.2%. He had a very steady low-20s level of support, starting at 19.5%, never below 14%, never above 29%. His broadcast career appears to have helped him very little.
2002: Luis Tiant falls short in his last year, at 18.0%. Despite a cult following and a strong first ballot at 30.9%, he was at 10% the next year and as low as 7.2%, with his final year total also being his second-best.
2000: Tony Perez voted in on his 9th ballot, at 77.2%. He started out strong at 50% and never fell below that, spending 4 years in the 50s, 4 years in the 60s, and jumping from 61% up to enshrinement in his 9th try.
1999: Minnie Miñoso falls short in his last year, at 14.7%, after a very weird case. A star for the White Sox in the 50s, he had his last good year in 1961 and was done in 1964 at age 38. In 1969, he got just 1.8% of the vote, and fell off. But then in 1976, at age 50, he was brought back by the White Sox for 8 PAs in 3 games, and again in 1980 at age 54 (!) for another 2 PAs, resetting his eligibility. In 1986, his return to the ballot got him 20.9%, and he'd last the full 15 years in the low-to-mid teens.
- Mickey Lolich also fell in his 15th year, with an ignominious 5.2%. The 1968 WS MVP hit the ballot at 19.7%, got as high as 25.5% in his 4th try, but then fell between 5-10% for his last 11 ballots, holding on by a single ballot in 1994.
1998: Ron Santo falls short in his last year, at 43.1%. He got kicked off the ballot on his first go in 1980, but got re-nominated starting in 1985, coming in at 13.4%, rising to 25% by his 5th ballot, getting to 32% on his 9th, and never going below there. He had 6 straight years in the 30s, with a final-year push getting him to his 43%. He was inducted by the Veterans Committee in 2012.