Peavy off Hall ballot as Sheffield plateaus

January 26th, 2022

SAN DIEGO -- Jake Peavy's stint on the Hall of Fame ballot proved to be a short-lived one.

The one-time Padres ace and accomplished 15-year big leaguer did not receive any votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with results from Hall of Fame balloting unveiled on Tuesday night. Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was the lone player elected to the Hall. Gary Sheffield, the only other player on the ballot with Padres ties, fell short with 40.6 percent of the vote.

In his first year of eligibility, Peavy was always a longshot to receive the five percent required to remain on future ballots. Still, the results take nothing away from the right-hander's remarkable career that saw him win two World Series, two ERA titles and the pitching Triple Crown during the 2007 season.

Peavy won the National League Cy Young Award that year, before he was dealt to the White Sox in 2009. He spent five seasons in Chicago, two in Boston -- as Ortiz's teammate on the 2013 World Series champs -- and three in San Francisco. Peavy finished with a 3.63 career ERA and 152 victories.

"It's just humbling to even be mentioned in such elite company," Peavy said earlier this month. "It's a bit surreal. I can tell you, it's something I never thought one ounce about, while playing."

Sheffield, meanwhile, spent two seasons in San Diego -- two of his best seasons in 1992 and '93. Remarkably, his percentage remained stagnant at the same 40.6 number he'd received on the 2021 ballot.

That's more than enough for Sheffield to remain eligible for a ninth try, but he's running out of time to reach the 75 percent threshold required for election. This year marked Sheffield's eighth on the Hall ballot, leaving two more chances for the fearsome righty-hitting slugger to be elected by the BBWAA.

Sheffield had made significant gains since 2019, when he received only 13.6 percent of the total vote. But his lack of progress in 2022 leaves an uphill climb over the next two ballots. In 22 seasons spread across eight teams, Sheffield batted .292/.393/.514 with 509 home runs.