Adrian Gonzalez figures to receive Padres Hall of Fame consideration before long.
Up first: The Cooperstown ballot.
The Padres’ former first baseman is among 12 newcomers to the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, released on Monday by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Gonzalez, 41, is a five-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glover and a two-time Silver Slugger. He received his lone top-five MVP showing in 2010, when he paired 31 homers and 101 RBIs with a .904 OPS while nearly leading the surprising Padres to an NL West title.
Gonzalez hit 161 of his 317 homers in his five years in San Diego. He was ultimately traded to Boston in December 2010 and spent two years with the Red Sox before playing the final seven years of his career with the Dodgers (2012-2017) and Mets (2018).
Also new to the ballot are former Padres pitcher James Shields, pitcher Bartolo Colon, catchers Joe Mauer and Victor Martinez, second basemen Chase Utley and Brandon Phillips, third basemen Adrian Beltre and David Wright, shortstop Jose Reyes and outfielders Matt Holliday and Jose Bautista.
Holdovers who received more than 50 percent of the vote last year—when Scott Rolen was inducted with 76.3 percent of the vote—are first baseman Todd Helton (72.2), closer Billy Wagner (68.1), outfielder Andruw Jones (58.1) and one-time Padres third baseman Gary Sheffield (55).
Sheffield is on the ballot for his 10th and final time.
