Los Angeles – In its eighth annual Hall of Fame election, the IBWAA selected Vladimir Guerrero and Ivan Rodriguez, both with 84.54% of the vote (175 votes). A 75% threshold is required for election.
Mike Mussina came up one vote short, finishing in third place with 74.88%, followed by Trevor Hoffman (73.91%), Barry Bonds (73.43%) and Roger Clemens (71.50%). There are 470 members in the IBWAA; 208 voted in this election.
Jeff Bagwell (2015), Edgar Martinez (2016) and Tim Raines (2015) did not appear on the 2017 IBWAA Hall of Fame ballot because they have already been honored in previous IBWAA elections.
With those exceptions, the IBWAA ballot was identical to the one used by the BBWAA. All voting is done electronically.
Per a group decision in January, 2014, the IBWAA allows members to vote for up to 15 players, instead of the previous 10, beginning with the 2015 election. In the 2017 election, 92 members voted for 10 or more candidates. Seventeen members voted for 15 candidates. The average vote per member was 8.94.
Complete voting results are as follows:
| Player Name | Votes | Percentage |
| Iván Rodríguez | 175 | 84.54% |
| Vladimir Guerrero | 175 | 84.54% |
| Mike Mussina | 155 | 74.88% |
| Trevor Hoffman | 153 | 73.91% |
| Barry Bonds | 152 | 73.43% |
| Roger Clemens | 148 | 71.50% |
| Curt Schilling | 120 | 57.97% |
| Larry Walker | 117 | 56.52% |
| Manny Ramírez | 109 | 52.66% |
| Gary Sheffield | 91 | 43.96% |
| Fred McGriff | 85 | 41.06% |
| Billy Wagner | 84 | 40.58% |
| Jeff Kent | 80 | 38.65% |
| Sammy Sosa | 68 | 32.85% |
| Lee Smith | 65 | 31.40% |
| Jorge Posada | 32 | 15.46% |
| Tim Wakefield | 8 | 3.86% |
| Jason Varitek | 7 | 3.38% |
| Matt Stairs | 6 | 2.90% |
| Magglio Ordóñez | 5 | 2.42% |
| Edgar Rentería | 4 | 1.93% |
| Arthur Rhodes | 2 | 0.97% |
| Derrek Lee | 2 | 0.97% |
| J.D. Drew | 2 | 0.97% |
| Pat Burrell | 2 | 0.97% |
| Casey Blake | 1 | 0.48% |
| Melvin Mora | 1 | 0.48% |
| Mike Cameron | 1 | 0.48% |
| Carlos Guillén | 0 | 0.00% |
| Freddy Sánchez | 0 | 0.00% |
| Orlando Cabrera | 0 | 0.00% |
Ballot tabulations by Brian Wittig & Associates.
The IBWAA was established July 4, 2009 to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Voting for full season awards takes place in September of each year, with selections being announced in November. The IBWAA also holds a Hall of Fame election in December of each year, with results being announced the following January.
In 2010, the IBWAA began voting in its own relief pitcher category, establishing the Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards.
Among others, IBWAA members include Jim Bowden and David Schoenfield of ESPN.com; Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports Hardball Talk; Bill Chuck, GammonsDaily.com; Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Jon Heyman and Jesse Spector, Today’s Knuckleball; Danny Knobler, Bleacher Report; Kevin Kennedy; Kostya Kennedy, Sports Illustrated; Will Leitch, Sports on Earth; Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times; Ross Newhan; Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com; Tom Hoffarth and J.P. Hoornstra Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times; Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com; Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com; Eno Sarris, FanGraphs; and Bill Arnold.
Association membership is open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a $75 lifetime fee. Discounts for groups and scholarships are available. Members must be 18 years of age to apply.
For more information please visit www.ibwaa.com.
Contact:
Howard Cole
Founding Director, IBWAA
baseballsavvy@aol.com