Wednesday/Thursday BP: Matt Cain is on the 2023 Hall of Fame ballot

Nov 23, 2022 - 1:00 PM

Good morning, baseball fans!

I know we’re all in on the Aaron Judge of it all right now, with Judge having met with the San Francisco Giants yesterday and, at the time this is being written on Tuesday afternoon, is still meeting with them as I speak.

But there is some other baseball news Giants fans might be interested in. The 2023 Hall of Fame ballot has been revealed, and just like last year, we have one beloved former Giant making his first (and probably only) appearance on the ballot, and another making his last.

Matt Cain, also known to many as MATT CAIN! and he of the only perfect game in franchise history, makes his Hall of Fame ballot debut this year. Players must have been retired (officially or unofficially, as we saw last year with Tim Lincecum, who has never formally retired) and Cain retired in 2017. Also like Lincecum, he will be unlikely to reach the 5% threshold required to remain on the ballot after his first year.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t cool to see him join the ranks of other recently retired players making their first appearance on the ballot this year as well, like Carlos Beltran, Jayson Werth, etc.

Kent stands alone this year as the only player on their 10th and final attempt to clear the 75% threshold needed to make it into the Hall. Last season, he received 32.7% so it’s a bit of a tall order, but with people like Barry Bonds falling off the ballot after his 10th unsuccessful year, that might shift a percentage in Kent’s favor. Still unlikely, but it’ll be one to watch.