Retired (MLB)

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are among the eight former MLB players who will get another shot at the Baseball Hall of Fame through the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee.

The committee announced its 2023 ballot Monday, featuring players whose primary contributions came from 1980 to the present day but were not already selected to the Hall of Fame by baseball writers.

Here is the full list of players on the ballot:

• Albert Belle
• Barry Bonds
• Roger Clemens
• Don Mattingly
• Fred McGriff
• Dale Murphy
• Rafael Palmeiro
• Curt Schilling

Each player must receive at least 75 percent of the vote from the 16-member committee.

The vote will take place Dec. 4, with the results being announced Jan. 24.

This will be the first election for Contemporary Baseball Era player candidates, with the committee set to meet every three years. Those who made contributions before 1980 are eligible to be selected by the Classic Baseball Committee.

Mattingly never received more than 30 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers of America during his 15 years on the initial ballot, but he could get in with a resume that includes nine Gold Glove Awards, six All-Star selections and an MVP Award.

Five-time All-Star McGriff is also a top candidate as a fan favorite with impressive numbers over a 19-year major league career.

The major story for the selection process will surround those linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds and Clemens undoubtedly are deserving of the Hall of Fame based on their on-field production. Bonds is the MLB home run champ with 762 in his career and is the all-time leader in wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference. Clemens has seven Cy Young Awards plus 354 career wins and 4,672 strikeouts.

As a member of the 3,000-hit, 500-home run club, Rafael Palmeiro also deserves a bid based on numbers alone.

Voters still didn't feel these players were worthy of a Hall of Fame nomination, with Bonds and Clemens falling less than 40 votes short last year in their final season of eligibility.

The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee could take a different stance regarding the best players of their generation.

Lou Whitaker and Keith Hernandez are among the notable players not included on the latest ballot.

MLB home run king Barry Bonds congratulated Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker after his team won the World Series with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday to cap a 4-2 series win.

Barry Bonds shows love to Dusty Baker on IG 🧡 pic.twitter.com/l7jrjssM0Q

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) November 6, 2022

Baker played in the major leagues from 1968-1986, and he won one World Series in 1981 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He's enjoyed a tremendous 25-year career as a manager with the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Giants, making the playoffs 12 times and winning at all stops.

However, a World Series win as a manager evaded Baker until 2022. That dry spell is now long over, though, as one of the most well-respected figures in all of baseball got his well-deserved trophy.

Bonds played under Baker on the Giants from 1993-2002. They knocked on the door of postseason success but ultimately fell short.

The Giants won 103 games in 1993 but missed out on the playoffs in the pre-wild card era (despite having MLB's second-best record) because the 104-win Atlanta Braves won the National League West.

San Francisco did win the National League West in 1997 and 2000 but lost in the Division Series each year.

Baker and Bonds finally led the Giants to the the World Series together in 2002 but ultimately fell to the Los Angeles Angels in seven games.

Baker returned to the World Series with the Astros last year, but Houston fell to the Atlanta Braves in six games. This time around, Houston won in six to catapult Baker atop the baseball world to end 2022.

One of Ty Cobb's bats from his rookie season in 1905 is being auctioned off.

Per the listing from Grey Flannel Auctions, the bat "is the earliest known and best Cobb bat in the hobby which dates to his rookie season 1905."

Manufactured by Hillerich & Bradsby, the ash bat measures 34.5 inches and weighs 36.6 ounces.

The condition of the bat is detailed in the listing:

"The bat shows evidence of outstanding use with a slight crack on the upper handle. Ball marks can be seen on the right and back barrel. Cleat marks can be seen on all sides of the upper barrel. Areas on the left, right and back barrel have been lightly planed to receive factory side writing and additional factory notations. There appears to be remnants of a tape application on the lower handle."

The bat has received a perfect GU 10 grade from PSA/DNA.

Bidding started at $100,000 and runs through Nov. 13.

The Detroit Tigers purchased Cobb from the Augusta Tourists of the South Atlantic League in 1905. He made his Major League Baseball debut on Aug. 30, 1905, going 1-for-3 against the New York Highlanders.

Over the course of his 24-year playing career, Cobb hit .366/.433/.512 with 4,189 hits. His .366 batting average is the highest mark in MLB history. He also spent six seasons as a player-manager for the Tigers from 1921 to 1926, racking up a 479-444 record.

Cobb was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 after being voted in on the first ballot. He was named on 98.23 percent of ballots, the seventh-highest total in history.

Cory Youmans, the fan who caught New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge's American League record-breaking 62nd home run ball, was offered $2 million by a memorabilia company for the prized possession.

JP Cohen, the president of memorabilia company Memory Lane Inc., told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he texted and emailed Youmans the offer.

"I feel the offer is way above fair, if he is inclined to sell it," Cohen said.

Judge led off the Yankees' 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday evening with a homer to break the all-time American League single-season record, which had been held by Yankees right fielder Roger Maris for 61 years.

Youmans was asked what he planned to do with the ball as he was escorted by security within the stadium.

#Rangers Security whisked away a Dallas man by the name of Corey Youmans who caught Judge’s 62nd home run ball.
#62 pic.twitter.com/lP7jequjIJ

— Joe Trahan (@JoeTrahan) October 5, 2022

"That's a good question," Youmans said. "I haven't thought about it."

The all-time sale record for a home run ball is $3 million after Phil Ozersky caught Mark McGwire's then-MLB record 70th home run.

As for Judge's blast, Cohen had offered $2 million for the ball before the AL record was broken.

$2 million: The price offered by @MemoryLaneInc for Judge Home Run Ball No. 62. Memorabilia dealer @RickProbstein had previously offered $200,000.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 23, 2022

He told the AP that offer was "still valid."

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge said he felt "some relief" after tying Roger Maris' American League record with his 61st home run Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.

https://twitter.com/MarlyRiveraESPN/status/1575317635994091520

Judge ended a seven-game homer drought with a seventh-inning blast off Toronto relief pitcher Tim Mayza as part of an 8-3 Yanks road win at the Rogers Centre.

61 years since 61.

Aaron Judge has written his name alongside Roger Maris in baseball's record books. pic.twitter.com/1V4Gums34C

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 29, 2022

It's been a career year for the 30-year-old California native, who's also in the running for the AL Triple Crown. He's tied with the Minnesota Twins' Luis Arraez in batting average (.313) and leads the Junior Circuit in runs batted in (130).

His dominance of the home run charts is the main story, however, as his 61 long balls are 19 more than anyone else in baseball. It's not like the steroid or juiced-ball eras where there was a league-wide surge in homers; he's just a one-man wrecking crew this year.

So it left enough time for him to tie Maris, who played for New York from 1960 through 1966, despite the recent homer-less drought, and he'll likely establish a new AL mark in the coming days.

"It's an incredible honor to get a chance to be associated with one of the Yankee greats, one of the baseball greats," Judge told reporters. "To be enshrined with them forever, words can't describe it. That's one thing that's so special about the Yankee organization, all the guys that came before us and paved the way, played the game the right way."

He'll still face some individual pressure over the regular season's final seven games as he attempts to establish the new AL record, but his MVP-level campaign has helped the Yankees clinch the AL East title and at least the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs.

Judge is still not interested in shifting the focus to himself, though.

"My game plan is what got me to this point," he said. "I never really thought it would be fair to my teammates or the Yankees to be up here trying to chase a record. My job is to go out there and be the best hitter I can be."

His first chance to hit No. 62 will come Friday night when the Yanks host the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.

For the first time in his career, Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani struck out 200 batters in a season.

Ohtani accomplished the feat Friday against the Minnesota Twins, fanning Gary Sánchez on a curveball in the bottom of the fourth inning.

200ks on the season for Ohtani!!@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/9kU5AqsVxn

— FanDuel Sports Network West (@FanDuelSN_West) September 24, 2022

The 28-year-old was the first Angels pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts since Jered Weaver in 2010. Weaver, a three-time All-Star, struck out 233 batters, the 10th-highest total in franchise history and most since Nolan Ryan fanned 260 in 1978. Ryan holds the Angels record, which is also the modern MLB mark, with 383 in 1973.

Ohtani entered Friday's game with a 13-8 record, 2.43 ERA and 1.04 WHIP and 196 strikeouts in 148 innings across 25 starts. The dual threat also entered slashing .271/.359/.536 with 34 home runs, 89 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 145 games.

Ohtani has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining before he will become an unrestricted free agent.

Major League Baseball's single-season home run record holder is rooting for Aaron Judge to surpass his mark and leave the New York Yankees in free agency.

In a phone interview with Barry M. Bloom of Sportico, Barry Bonds said he would like Judge to "go for" his record of 73 homers and then see the San Francisco Giants land him via free agency in the offseason.

"I hope he signs here," Bonds said. "Can it happen? I don't know. It depends on what the Yankee payroll is. But we would love to have him, I'll tell you that."

Judge has hit 60 home runs with 13 games remaining in the regular season. He became the sixth player in MLB history to reach 60 homers with his solo shot in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 9-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bonds set his mark in 2001. The seven-time National League MVP didn't seem like he was too protective of the record in his interview with Bloom.

"The way [Judge] swings, he might as well hit one a day and get past me," Bonds said. "I don't care. Why not?"

Judge needs to hit two more homers to break Roger Maris' American League record of 61, which the Yankee set in 1961. While Judge's pursuit of history is on everyone's mind right now, his pending free agency is hovering over the Yankees.

There's no doubt Judge has increased his value and leverage with his performance. The four-time All-Star is the favorite to win the AL MVP Award and could command $300 million.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters before the start of the season that Judge had rejected the team's contract offer of $213.5 million over seven years. The deal would have been paired with the $17 million the team offered in arbitration for 2022.

Per Spotrac, the Giants have $103 million in allocated payroll next season. They could look to make a splash this offseason after a disappointing 2022.

After winning an MLB-high 107 games last season, the Giants are 73-77 and trail the San Diego Padres by 7.5 games for the final NL playoff spot.

A 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie card sold for over $1 million at auction this week.

According to TMZ Sports, PWCC Marketplace officials said the card sold for $1.05 million, making it the second-most-valuable Clemente card ever, behind only a card that sold for $1.107 million previously.

The Clemente card that sold this week was graded a 9 by PSA, making it one of the most pristine examples of the card known to exist.

Clemente is one of the most iconic players in baseball history for myriad reasons, including his on-field performance.

In 18 MLB seasons from 1955 to 1972, all of which were spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Clemente hit .317 with 240 home runs, 1,305 RBI and 1,416 runs scored. He also recorded his landmark 3,000th hit in his final at-bat.

Clemente was a 15-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove Award winner, four-time batting champion, one-time National League MVP, two-time World Series champion and one-time World Series MVP as well.

Tragically, Clemente died in 1972 at the age of 38 when an airplane carrying him and earthquake relief supplies to Nicaragua crashed off the coast of his native Puerto Rico.

Clemente was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame one year after his death, and he later received the ultimate honor of the MLB Commissioner's Award being renamed the Roberto Clemente Award in his memory.

The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team," and it has been won by notable names like Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr. and Clayton Kershaw.

Also, since 2002, MLB has honored Clemente annually each September with Roberto Clemente Day, which sees teams across the league wear either patches or Clemente's No. 21 on their jerseys to celebrate his life and career.

Clemente remains one of the most popular players in MLB history due to his talent and humanitarian work, and it stands to reason that his cards will continue to increase in value because of that.

Albert Pujols' climb up Major League Baseball's home run leaderboard has Alex Rodriguez thinking about a comeback.

The three-time American League MVP joked on Twitter he might need to put on a jersey again to race Pujols to 700 career homers.

You tell me ... should I make a comeback? 😂🤔 #RaceTo700 pic.twitter.com/0GTfApOjGR

— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) September 1, 2022

Pujols is currently sitting at 694 homers, two shy of tying Rodriguez for fourth all-time. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger has been on a tear in the second half with a 1.207 OPS and nine dingers in 78 at-bats since the All-Star break.

Rodriguez's last home run came on July 18, 2016. He hit a solo shot off Kevin Gausman in the New York Yankees' 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

There are some interesting parallels between Rodriguez and Pujols in the latter's pursuit of history. Both players played 22 MLB seasons—Pujols has said he will retire after this season. They have both won three MVP awards and two Gold Gloves.

Rodriguez's career came to a fairly obscure end. He announced at a press conference in August 2016 that he would play his final game with the Yankees during the regular season, then receive an unconditional release before moving into a role as a special adviser and instructor for the club.

The final appearance of Rodriguez's career was on Aug. 12, 2016, going 1-for-4 with a double in a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

St. Louis still has 31 games remaining on the schedule in the regular season. Pujols has a shot at reaching 700 homers if he keeps up his current pace. Barry Bones (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) are the only players in MLB history who have reached that threshold.

MLB held its Field of Dreams Game in Iowa on Thursday, with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds participating in the contest.

But before the game, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and his father, Ken Griffey Sr., emerged from the cornfield and played catch in center field, recreating the scene from the movie that inspired the game.

Chills.

Ken Griffey Jr and his dad at the Field of Dreams. pic.twitter.com/5QdPjwiS5P

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 11, 2022

The moment referenced the iconic scene where Kevin Costner's character, Ray, has a catch with his dead father, who at one point asks him, "Is this heaven?"

"It's Iowa," Ray responds.

It was particularly cool seeing the Griffeys—the only father-and-son duo to ever play together on the same team in MLB history—acting out the scene from the movie.