Cal Ripken Jr., Mark McGwire and Tony Gwynn Lead Baseball HOF 2007 Class

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Cooperstown, New York (November 29, 2006) – Two-time Most Valuable Player Cal Ripken Jr., eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn and home run champion Mark McGwire are among the 17 first-year candidates on the 2007 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, announced Monday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Ripken is a HOFMAG.com Hall Network Member.

Also on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time is Jose Canseco, a former McGwire teammate and panelmate who blew the whistle on steroid use in baseball, including his own.

Though most can only imagine Canseco at next July's Cooperstown ceremonies as a simple spectator, when it comes to Gwynn and Ripken, however, the only real wonder is how great the margin of victory. Widespread presumption is that both will receive at least 90 percent of the votes.

Beyond his impressive statistics and Gold Gloves, Ripken is most cited for setting the all-time record for consecutive games played at 2,632. Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star who won eight batting titles, tying Honus Wagner for the most by a National League hitter. Perhaps only the work stoppage of 1994 kept Gwynn, who never batted below .309 in a full season, from becoming the first .400 hitter since Ted Williams.