Mattingly Has Date With Baseball Hall of Fame Dynasty in December

Come December, former New York Yankees great Don Mattingly has another shot at election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The results of the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee vote will be announced on Dec. 7 live at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLB Network. There are eight candidates for Hall of Fame consideration who will have their fate decided by a 16-member Hall of Fame-appointed electorate group. The “Great Eight” former MLB players up for consideration are Don Mattingly, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent, Carlos Delgado, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela.

The names of those who will be reviewing the careers of the eight former players who made their greatest impact in baseball from 1980 to the present, and voting, haven’t been made public at this time.

All eight players had amazing careers, and some remained in the discussion as among the greatest of all-time, in the positions that they primarily played. Sheffield belted 500-plus home runs, Bonds blasted 762 round-trippers to become MLB’s all-time home run king, Clemens collected a record seven Cy Young Awards, and Murphy earned back-to-back National League MVP honors. Then, there is “Donnie Baseball.” As a member of the Toronto Blue Jays’ coaching staff in 2025, there was a significant level of public sentiment rooting for Mattingly to finally get a World Series ring.

Once again, with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the Fall Classic in the seven-game series, for Mattingly, he is among the groomsmen—and not the groom. As Hall of Fame votes go for a lifetime baseball residency in Cooperstown, N.Y., Mattingly is in the groomsmen group, as well. This, however, could all change next month in Orlando, Fla., during the MLB Winter Meetings.

For 15 years, from 2001–2015, Mattingly’s name appeared on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) ballot. It was in his first year on the ballot that the former Yankees’ first baseman scored the highest vote percentage from the writers (28.2 percent).

Having spent his entire career in Yankees pinstripes from 1982–1995, Mattingly is the only candidate among the eight finalists to have performed for one club only. As talented as the former Yankees’ captain was on the field, he had multiple opportunities to meet or exceed the 75 percent vote threshold that is required for election to the Hall of Fame. This time around, having his fate for MLB’s highest calling to be reviewed by just 16 experts, perhaps Mattingly’s chances point to his crossing the voting finish line on to victory.

“Donnie was a very, very good ballplayer. As a first baseman, he was one of the best in the game,” Tommy John, former Yankee teammate of Mattingly, told The Epoch Times on Monday. “In my  opinion, no, I don’t think Donnie is thinking about the Hall of Fame all the time. He’s probably just going on about his life.”

It’s a bit puzzling as to why Mattingly, a lifetime .307 hitter, hasn’t gained increased traction among the BBWAA membership for Hall of Fame consideration. An all-star six times, nine times a Rawlings Gold Glove winner, one American League batting title, three Silver Slugger Awards, an MVP selection, plus an American League RBI title, there wasn’t much Mattingly couldn’t have done with a bat or glove.

When doing a deep dive into Mattingly’s career statistics, and comparing them to other Hall of Famers, and those among the eight finalists for next month’s vote, a clearer understanding of why the former Yankee is on the outside looking in becomes more evident.

In 1,785 games played, Mattingly connected on 2,153 hits, 222 home runs, 442 doubles, and 1,099 RBIs. If this isn’t impressive enough, Mattingly’s dominance in hitting during a three season stretch is eye-popping. In 1984, Mattingly, who had his uniform No. 23 retired by New York in 1997, hit .343. The next season, 1985 (his MVP season), he clubbed a .324 batting average. In 1986, the .352 Mattingly hit was the second highest in both the American and National Leagues.

Harold Baines, Hall of Fame Class of 2019, primarily is recognized as a designated hitter. Baines tops Mattingly in all key batting categories—2,866 hits, 1,628 RBIs, and 384 homers. Jeff Kent also is ahead of Mattingly in hitting. Kent slapped out 2,461 hits, 377 home runs, 1,518 RBIs. He also won a National League MVP Award with the San Francisco Giants, and four Silver Slugger Awards.

“Donnie played in an era where to came to the ballpark and did your job. Other players looked at how he went about his business, and they tried to do what he was doing,” says John, one of the craftiest left-handed hurlers of all-time and winner of 288 MLB games.

Tony Oliva, Hall of Fame Class of 2022, although a three-time American League batting champion, he does have fewer career hits (1,917) than Mattingly. Former Chicago White Sox catcher Ray Schalk (Hall of Fame Class of 1955) has among the lowest number of hits (1,345) of Hall of Famers. Mattingly tops Schalk’s career numbers as well. Hall of Famer Tony Perez has a lifetime batting average of .279—Mattingly wins this comparison, too. Murphy has less hits, doubles, and a lower batting average than Mattingly. The pluses and minuses, while debating does Mattingly belong in the Hall of Fame or not, are endless.

The Era Committee has tough decisions to make for next month’s vote in Florida. Strictly by the numbers is how Mattingly will continually be judged in regards to Hall of Fame enshrinement or not. The next three weeks promise to be nail-biters for sure.