Overview
- Sixteen members of the Contemporary Era Committee convene in Orlando to consider Valenzuela’s candidacy alongside other finalists.
- The ballot also features Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Jeff Kent.
- Election requires 75% support, with each voter allowed up to three selections, and fewer than five votes would sideline a candidate from the next three‑year cycle.
- Hall president Jane Forbes Clark will chair without a vote, with the panel including Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins, Jim Kaat, Juan Marichal, Tony Pérez, Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell and Robin Yount, plus team owners and former executives.
- Valenzuela’s case pairs a 173–153 record, 3.54 ERA, 2,074 strikeouts and six All‑Star nods with Fernandomanía’s outsized influence, including a reported rise in Latino attendance at Dodger Stadium from roughly 10% to about 50%.