MLB Hall of Fame inductees: Who were in the first class to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame?

On Jan. 24, 2023, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will welcome its newest members. According to oddshark.com, Scott Rolen and first-timer Carlos Beltran hold the best odds of being elected to Cooperstown, however, predicting the direction of Hall of Fame voters tends to be a difficult task.

Fred McGriff was also elected to the Hall of Fame this year by the inaugural contemporary baseball era committee. The committee considered balloting eight candidates whose primary contributions to the game occurred after 1980. Players on the ballot are no longer eligible for induction, as their 10-year window has closed, yet are still deemed worthy of Hall of Fame induction.

"Fred McGriff is headed to Cooperstown! He’s been elected to the @baseballhall by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee." - MLB

Since its establishment in 1936, 341 former players, managers, executives, pioneers, and umpires have been elected to Cooperstown. In 2022, Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, Buck O'Neil, and David Ortiz found themselves enshrined forever in baseball history.

They joined the original group of inductees, known simply as the First Five, who were elected on Feb. 2, 1936. The original members of the Hall were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner.

"Babe Ruth at the age of 52 in 1947, one year before his death. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame." - Historic Vids

While the four others retired well before the 1936 induction, Ruth retired a year before the ceremony. The First Five are seen as pioneers of the sport and some of the best players of all time.

Over the course of four days, 226 ballots were cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association and mailed, with all votes collected by Jan. 29, 1936. While the votes were already tallied, it was not until Feb. 2, 1936, that the players were officially broadcast to the world.

Mariano Rivera is the only player unanimously voted into the Hall of Fame

In 2019, Mariano Rivera became the only player in baseball history to be voted unanimously into Cooperstown. The greatest closer of all time, Rivera finished his career with an MLB record of 652 saves, as well as being an instrumental piece of five World Series championship teams.