Only two catchers have ever been elected by Baseball Writers’ Association of America members to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot: Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez. Joe Mauer hopes to become the third on Tuesday. The voting history of the 18 catchers already enshrined, eight of whom were elected by special committees:
If elected, Joe Mauer would join exclusive Hall of Fame catchers club
If Joe Mauer gets elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday, he would become only the third catcher to make it on his first time on the ballot.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 22, 2024 at 8:53PM
Buck Ewing (inducted in 1939*): 1 year on BBWAA ballot; received 0.7% of the vote on first ballot.
Roger Bresnahan (1945*): 6 years on ballot; received 20.8% on first ballot
Mickey Cochrane (1947): 6 years on ballot; received 35.4% on first ballot
Bill Dickey (1954): 9 years on ballot; received 6.9% on first ballot
Gabby Hartnett (1955): 12 years on ballot; received 0.0% on first ballot
Ray Schalk (1955*): 16 years on ballot; received 1.8% on first ballot
Roy Campanella (1969): 5 years on ballot; received 57.2% on first ballot
Yogi Berra (1972): 2 years on ballot; received 67.2% on first ballot
Josh Gibson (1972**): 0 years on ballot
Rick Ferrell (1984*): 3 years on ballot; received 0.5% on first ballot
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Ernie Lombardi (1986*): 9 years on ballot; received 1.8% on first ballot
Johnny Bench (1989): 1 year on ballot; received 96.4% on first ballot
Carlton Fisk (2000): 2 years on ballot; received 66.4% on first ballot
Gary Carter (2003): 6 years on ballot; received 42.3% on first ballot
Louis Santop (2006**): 0 years on ballot
Mike Piazza (2016): 4 years on ballot; 57.8% on first ballot
Iván Rodríguez (2017): 1 year on ballot; 76.0% on first ballot
Ted Simmons (2020*) : 1 year on ballot; 3.7% on first ballot
* — Elected by veterans committee
** — Elected by Negro Leagues committee
Emmanuel Rodriguez had an abbreviated season after being hit by the injury bug, but he showed promise as a disciplined hitter.
