Cooperstown Class of '08..

MLB.com is already looking ahead to the voting for the 2008 Baseball Hall of Fame class.

Looking ahead at the '08 Hall ballot
Raines on ballot for first time; Gossage, Rice have good shot

Everyone knew the Hall of Fame class of 2007 had two no-doubt-about-it candidates in Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. -- followed by an All-Star lineup of question marks.

With the newest members of the most famous Hall of Fame in sports still five months away from their official enshrinement in Cooperstown, N.Y., it's time to peek further into the future and explore the makeup for the 2008 class of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

The next Hall of Fame ballot will include 15 players that received at least five percent of the 545 votes cast by lifetime members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. That list starts with Rich "Goose" Gossage, who garnered 71.2 percent of the votes, and ends with Harold Baines, named on 5.3 percent of the ballots. A player needs 75 percent to be elected.
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Among the names that stand out are: Shawon Dunston, Travis Fryman, David Justice, Mike Morgan, Tim Raines and Randy Velarde.

Of that group, Raines probably has the best chance to become a first-ballot selection. The switch-hitter had 2,605 hits during a 23-year MLB career that started with the Montreal Expos and ended with the Florida Marlins.

Not to make light of the achievements and careers of the other names on that list, but the above paragraph could very easily be rewritten to begin: Of that group, Raines probably has the only chance to become a first-ballot selection.