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After falling short, Bagwell seeks HOF push
- Updated: November 21, 2016
HOUSTON — When the 2016 Hall of Fame voting results were announced last January, former Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell admitted he had a hard time waiting to see if his name would be called because of the uncertainty of it all.
Bagwell, who’s on the ballot for a seventh time this year, should be a little more at ease when the results of the 2017 Hall of Fame balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America are announced on Jan. 18. He appeared on 71.6 percent of the ballots last year, putting him on the cusp of being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Sixteen of the 17 players that cleared 70 percent in one year — while falling short of the 75 percent needed — got in the Hall of Fame the next year, setting Bagwell up to join longtime teammate and 2015 inductee Craig Biggio as the only players in Cooperstown to play their whole careers in Houston. Only pitcher Jim Bunning, who received 74.2 percent in 1988, didn’t make it on his next try.
Last year, Bagwell saw his name appear on 315 of the 440 ballots (71.6 percent). His support in 2016 jumped from 55.7 percent in 2015, …
