Torii Hunter remains on Hall of Fame ballot; Cuddyer, Hawkins drop off

By nearly all measures, the nominees for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2021 made for a weaker ballot than previous years.

Those measures were validated Tuesday night when the Hall announced that no players were elected by the BBWAA, the highest vote-getter, Curt Schilling, missing out on election by 16 votes.

Three former Twins were on the ballot, and only one received enough votes to advance to the ballot next year: outfielder Torii Hunter, whose name was checked on 38 ballots. Those 38 votes were good for 9.5 percent, just above the 5 percent threshold for remaining on the ballot.

The other two ex-Twins were not as fortunate. Longtime set-up man LaTroy Hawkins received only two votes (including, notoriously, Bob Nightengale’s), while outfielder Michael Cuddyer was left off every ballot. Thus, those two will not appear on BBWAA ballots moving forward.

All is not lost for Induction Weekend — whether that happens on schedule or not — as 2020 inductees Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller will be honored this year due to the cancellation of 2020’s Induction Weekend.

As for Hunter, here’s to another year of balloting.