Class of 2024 Inductions Highlight Hall of Fame Weekend

COOPERSTOWN—Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, Jim Leyland and Joe Mauer will be celebrated July 19-22 as the eyes of the sports world turn to Cooperstown for baseball’s best weekend. More than 50 Hall of Famers are scheduled to be in Cooperstown to honor the newest members of the game’s most exclusive fraternity.

The quartet’s accomplishments filled stat sheets time and again during their big league careers, with scores of awards and honors to tell the tale. Soon, those stories will be told in bronze as the Class of 2024 is formally inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held Sunday, July 21 at 1:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center, located one mile south of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Leyland was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee for Managers, Executives and Umpires in December, and a month later Beltré, Helton and Mauer earned election via the annual Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote.

Beltré played 21 seasons for the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers, establishing himself as one of the best all-around third basemen in the game’s history with five Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Slugger Awards. Ranking second all-time with 2,759 games played at the hot corner, Beltré totaled 3,166 hits and 477 home runs to become the only regular third baseman in big league history (among those players who played at least half their games at third base) with at least 3,000 hits and 450 homers. Finishing in the Top 10 of his league’s Most Valuable Player Award voting six times, Beltré hit .300-or-better seven times, reached the 20-homer mark 12 times and totaled five seasons with at least 100 RBI. Among players whose primary position was third base, Beltré’s career Wins Above Replacement figure of 93.5 ranks third all-time behind Mike Schmidt and Eddie Mathews. Beltré became the seventh player in history to hit three home runs in a postseason game when he hit three solo shots for the Rangers in Game 4 of the 2011 ALDS vs. the Rays. A four-time All-Star, Beltré is the fifth player born in the Dominican Republic to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Helton played 17 big league seasons—all with the Rockies—and retired as one of only 21 players in history with at least 1,000 games played, a .300 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. A five-time All-Star, Helton played quarterback at the University of Tennessee between two future NFL first-round draft picks—Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning—before concentrating on baseball. A first-round draft pick of the Rockies in 1995, Helton was a big league regular by 1998, embarking on an eight-year stretch where he averaged a 1.045 on-base plus slugging percentage and won the 2000 NL batting title. He amassed more than 400 total bases in both 2000 and 2001, becoming just the seventh player in history with multiple seasons with 400 total bases and one of four players with 400 total bases in back-to-back seasons. Helton was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner and four-time Silver Slugger Award recipient at first base. His career OPS of .953 ranks 23rd all-time and his career OPS on the road (.855) would rank among the Top 175 players of all-time if only his road numbers were counted.

Leyland managed in the big leagues for 22 seasons with the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Tigers. Amassing 1,769 victories, six first-place finishes, three pennants and the 1997 World Series title with the Marlins, Leyland was a three-time Manager of the Year winner—twice with the Pirates in 1990 and 1992 and again with the Tigers in 2006. Leyland’s team also finished second five times and he finished in the Top 2 of his league’s Manager of the Year voting six times. He led his teams to 90-or-more victories seven times and his victory total ranks second all-time among managers who never played in the big leagues, trailing only Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy. Following his big league managerial career, Leyland skippered Team USA to the World Baseball Classic title in 2017, the first championship in the event for the United States.

Mauer played 15 seasons—all with the Twins—and became the first and only catcher to win three AL/NL batting titles, doing so in his first five full big league campaigns. His first batting title in 2006 made him the first catcher in AL history to win the batting crown, and he followed up with titles in 2008 and 2009. He was named the AL Most Valuable Player in 2009 after hitting .365 with a league-leading OPS of 1.031, becoming the only catcher (minimum 100 games played) to lead his league in OPS. Mauer was a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and three-time Gold Glove Award winner. He was the number one overall pick in the 2001 MLB Draft and joins Ken Griffey Jr. (1987), Chipper Jones (1990) and Harold Baines (1977) as the only top overall draft picks elected to Cooperstown. He topped the .400 mark in on-base percentage in six of his seasons as a catcher, a total exceeded by only six other catchers, none of whom started their careers after 1930. Mauer is the only catcher in history with at least 2,000 hits, a .300 batting average and a .380 on-base percentage.

The Induction Ceremony will be shown live on MLB Network, which has televised the event every year since its launch in 2009. The Induction Ceremony will also be shown via webcast at MLB.com.

The Hall of Fame Awards Presentation will be held at 3 p.m. on July 20. It will feature the presentation of the Ford C. Frick Award to Red Sox voice Joe Castiglione, the honoring of the late Gerry Fraley with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award for writers and a tribute to the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox.

Also on Saturday, July 20 at 6 p.m., the Hall of Fame Parade of Legends returns to provide fans with more thrills. Hall of Famers will ride down Main Street en route to a private reception at the museum.

The Sunday, July 21 Induction Ceremony will take place on the grounds outside of the Clark Sports Center, which is located on lower Susquehanna Avenue. Free shuttles will transport fans from the corner of Main and Fair streets in the Village of Cooperstown to the Induction Site starting at 8 a.m. Follow the Hall of Fame on social media @baseballhall for the latest updates. Professional interpreters will be provided for the hearing impaired and the event will be held outdoors rain or shine, unless severe weather forces the cancellation of the ceremony. A blanket or lawn chair is recommended for comfortable viewing and, as the weather in Cooperstown can be warm in July, it is recommended that visitors bring a cap and sunscreen.

Family activities scheduled throughout Hall of Fame Weekend 2024 include the following special events:

• Friday, July 19: 8 a.m. Turn Two with Ozzie Smith and Hall of Fame guests; Plaque Gallery and on Doubleday Field with Jim Kaat, Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen
• Saturday, July 20: 3 p.m. Hall of Fame Awards Presentation, Alice Busch Opera Theater
• Saturday, July 20: 6 p.m. Hall of Fame Parade of Legends, Main Street
• Sunday, July 21: 1:30 p.m. Induction Ceremony, grounds of the Clark Sports Center
• Sunday, July 21: 9 p.m. Fireworks over Otsego Lake
• Monday, July 22: 10:30 a.m. Legends of the Game Roundtable, Doubleday Field, featuring Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, Jim Leyland and Joe Mauer

HoF officials warn that parking will be extremely limited in Cooperstown during Hall of Fame Weekend. The Cooperstown Trolley will provide transit to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Doubleday Field from three different locations: the Red Lot on Route 28 (Glen Avenue) at Maple Street; the Blue Lot on Route 28 just south of Cooperstown; and the Yellow Lot on Route 80 at the upper parking lot of the Fenimore Art Museum.

Two special paid parking lots will be available only on Sunday, July 21. These lots are located at 172 Linden Avenue (paid lot is Cy Young Lot) and on Route 33 just east of the Induction Site (paid lot is the Hank Aaron Lot). Trolley service extends to the Cy Young Lot but neither trolley nor bus service extends to the Hank Aaron Lot.