MLB Hall of Fame: Class of 2024 voting trending toward four inductees, with Gary Sheffield too close to call

The Baseball Hall of Fame induction announcement is less than one week away. The ballot is brimming with talent and it's possible that we could have four inductees in this year's class.

We know that thanks to the stupendous Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker, created by Ryan Thibodaux and managed by Adam Dore and Anthony Calamis. They keep track of every ballot revealed by voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

As of Thursday, there have been 175 ballots revealed out of an estimated 384, so we know a lot more about the voting than we did a few weeks ago, but more than 200 ballots are still unknown.

Here are the top 10 vote-getters, with those over 75% (the induction threshold) in bold:

1. Adrian Beltre, 98.9%, 173 votes
2. Joe Mauer, 83.4%, 146 votes
3. Todd Helton, 82.9%, 145 votes
4. Billy Wagner, 80.0%, 140 votes
5. Gary Sheffield, 73.7%, 129 votes
6. Andruw Jones, 72.0%, 126 votes
7. Carlos Beltran, 66.9%, 117 votes
8. Chase Utley, 43.4%, 76 votes
9. Alex Rodriguez, 39.4%, 69 votes
10. Manny Ramirez, 36.0%, 63 votes

Voting trends have stayed consistent

Since our last update on Jan. 4, a flood of additional ballots have come in. Now nearly half the ballots have been publicly revealed (45.6%), and voting has continued trending in largely the same direction. Joe Mauer and Todd Helton continue to see strong support, as does Billy Wagner. Gary Sheffield remains in the danger zone, floating just underneath 75%.

Adrian Beltre's box has been checked off on every ballot that has come in since our previous update. Those two Red Sox reporters, Bill Ballou and Tony Massarotti, are still the only ones not to vote for Beltre.

19 players eliminated from Hall of Fame contention

With so many ballots known, the Tracker has calculated the number of candidates who have been mathematically eliminated from Hall of Fame contention this cycle. It is no longer possible for 19 former players — or anyone who has gotten less support than Beltran — to reach the estimated 288 votes necessary to be voted into the Hall.

And while it's still technically possible for Beltran to end up above 75%, it's pretty unlikely. He needs to receive votes on 171 of the 209 remaining ballots to get the call Tuesday.

12 players in danger of being eliminated from 2025 ballot

There are 209 ballots estimated to still be out there unrevealed. But with each one that becomes known, the 13 bottom vote-getters come closer and closer to being eliminated from the 2025 ballot. Jose Bautista, Mark Buehrle, Bartolo Colon, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez, Brandon Phillips, Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez, James Shields, Omar Vizquel and David Wright are all currently under the 5% threshold (roughly 20 votes) required to remain on the ballot for next year.

Vizquel needs just two votes among the outstanding ballots to hit 5%, so he seems safe. But everyone else on that list needs between seven and 20 votes to make another appearance. Closest after Vizquel are Wright, Rodriguez and Buehrle, who have each received 13 votes and need just seven more from the remaining ballots to secure a spot on the 2025 ballot.