The National Baseball Hall of Fame has released the eight nominees for the Contemporary Baseball Era Ballot for potential induction in 2026, defined as players whose primary contributions were after 1980. The candidates up for consideration are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela. Candidates will have to appear on 75 percent of the ballots of the 16 voters, who have not yet been announced.

Barry Bonds would be a no-doubt Hall of Famer were it not for suspicions of performance-enhancing drug use during his career. He hit 762 career home runs, most in baseball history, and set the single-season record with 73 in 2001. He won seven MVP Awards, eight Gold Gloves, 12 Silver Slugger Awards, two batting titles

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