MLB Hall of Fame: Analyzing the Contemporary Era Committee vote, including Barry Bonds and Curt Schilling

The BBWAA vote is the most popular, but there is another way for former players to get into the Hall of Fame. The Veterans Committee is a group of players whose greatest contributions came from 1988 to 2016. Next year's vote will cover managers, executives and umpires.

The Contemporary Era Committee voted on the inductions of Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Frank Thomas and Alan Trammell. The group meets together and discusses the candidates before voting.

Hall of Famers: Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, Frank Thomas and Alan Trammell. Executives: Paul Beeston, Theo Epstein, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Dave St. Peter, Kenny Williams. Media: Steve Hirdt, LaVelle Neal, Susan Slusser.

Albert Belle hit .308/.391/.602 from 1993-99. He had 41 doubles, 41 homers, 127 RBI and 106 runs per season. Belle has no MVPs or World Series rings.

Barry Bonds is up for a vote in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Frank Thomas is on the committee. He is an outspoken opponent of performance enhancing drugs.

Clemens is essentially the pitching version of Bonds.

Don Mattingly won an MVP and finished second in voting once. He was one of the best players in baseball for four years. Back injuries zapped his power, but he still managed to gather 2,153 hits and is a career .307 hitter.

Fred McGriff is on the Modern Era Committee's ballot. He is well-respected and has connections with players on his side. Maddux and McGriffs played together for 4 1/2 years in Atlanta. Smith and Madux played with the Cubs. Morris and Trammell played in Detroit. The players form 9/16 of the committee. They form the majority of this committee, so it might not be necessary to convince them to vote for McGriffin.

Dale Murphy is a two-time MVP and a Braves legend. He played for the Braves from 1982-87. His career batting average is .265. Murphy got to 2,111 hits, but he fell short of 400 doubles (350) and homers (398). He also had 1,266 RBI and 1.197 runs.

Rafael Palmeiro failed a drug test and is not on the Modern Era Committee's ballot.

Schilling is on the Contemporary Era Committee. He's on a good chance to get in. The question is whether at least 12 of the 16 members of committee will vote for him. Schilling has a better chance than Bonds and Clemens. He might get to 12 votes. It's also possible he doesn't get all that close. Epstein acquired Schill for the Red Sox after the 2003 season. His presence on committee might be an influence for Schiller. They'll find out Sunday night.   “I do think Schilch has better chances than Barry Bonds or Roger Clemmens.