Jones, Thome, Guerrero headline Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2018

Jones and Thome both earned the distinction of being first-ballot Hall of
Famers in voting conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Guerrero was voted in on his second year on the ballot, and Hoffman made it in
his third.

Edgar Martinez was passed over in his ninth time on the ballot by receiving
70.4 percent of the vote. A candidate needs 75 percent to gain induction.

Mike Mussina (63.5) also fell short. Controversial candidates Roger Clemens
and Barry Bonds again fell short of the threshold, getting 57.3 and 56.4
percent of the vote, respectively. It was the sixth year on the ballot for
both Bonds and Clemens.

The inductions will be held July. Former Detroit Tigers teammates Jack Morris,
a pitcher, and Alan Trammell, a shortstop, are part of the class after being
selected by the Modern Era Committee last month.

Jones was named on a robust 97.2 percent of the 422 ballots. Guerrero received
92.9, Thome 89.8 and Hoffman 79.9.

A total of 317 votes was needed for induction.

Jones, 45, joins Ken Griffey Jr. as the only No. 1 overall picks in the
baseball draft to wind up in the Hall of Fame. The Braves selected Jones in
1990 out of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., and Jones broke into the
majors as a shortstop in 1993 before settling in as a third baseman. He spent
his entire 19-season career in Atlanta.

The 1999 National League MVP, Jones was an eight-time All-Star, and he led the
Braves to a World Series title in 1995, hitting .364 in the postseason that
year.

In 2,499 career games, Jones batted .303 with a .401 on-base percentage, a
.529 slugging percentage, 468 homers and 1,623 RBIs.

Guerrero, 42, ranks as one of the best players in the Montreal Expos'
abbreviated history. He spent his first eight of his 16 major league seasons
in Montreal before moving on to the Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels, the Texas
Rangers and the Orioles.

He was the 2004 American League Most Valuable Player in his first season as an
Angel, leading the league in runs (124) and total bases (366) while batting
.337/.391/.598 with 39 homers, 126 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

Guerrero wound up with a slash line of .318/.379/.553 to go with 449 homers
and 1,496 RBIs. He was a nine-time All-Star.

Thome, 47, spent 12 1/2 of his 22 major league seasons with the Cleveland
Indians. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago White Sox,
the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Minnesota Twins and the Baltimore Orioles.

His total of 612 homers ranks eighth in baseball history, and he sits 26th in
career RBIs with 1,699 and seventh in walks with 1,747. On the flip side,
Thome is also second in career strikeouts with 2,548.

A five-time All-Star, Thome surprisingly led his league in homers only once,
when he hit 47 for the Phillies in 2003. He produced a career batting line of
.276/.402/.554.

Hoffman, 50, ranks second with 601 career saves, trailing only Mariano Rivero
(652). After breaking into the majors with the expansion Marlins in 1993,
Hoffman was dealt to the Padres that June in the deal that brought Gary
Sheffield to Florida.

Hoffman became a fixture in the San Diego bullpen until spending his final two
seasons (2009 and '10) with the Milwaukee Brewers.

A seven-time All-Star, Hoffman twice led the NL in saves, posting 53 in 1998
and 46 in 2006. He wound up with a career 61-75 record and a 2.87 ERA to go
along with 1,133 strikeouts and 307 walks in 1,098 1/3 innings.

Martinez, 55, was attempting to join Frank Thomas as the only Hall of Famers
who spent the majority of their careers as a designated hitter. Paul Molitor
also spent a large portion of his time at DH.

Martinez played all of his 18-year major league career with the Seattle
Mariners, making seven All-Star teams and winning AL batting titles in 1992
(.343) and 1995 (.356).

In 2,055 games, Martinez hit .312/.418/.515 with 309 homers and 1,261 RBIs.
According to baseball-reference.com, Martinez's on-base percentage ranks 21st
in baseball history.

--Field Level Media