Hall of Fame hopes for some former Miami Marlins in hands of former Marlins GM Kim Ng

No player inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame has ever done so representing the Miami Marlins.

That much is common knowledge to anyone reading this, and to much of baseball fandom. Fve players- Andre Dawson, Mike Piaza, Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez, and Ichiro Suzuki- enshrined in Cooperstown suited up for the Miami Marlins at some point in their careers. Jim Leyland managed them to their first World Series championship. Tony Perez managed them for half a forgotten season in 2001. Yet when it comes to someone going into the Hall choosing to wear a Marlins cap? Thus far it's only been people that have paid admission.

However, what might be slightly less known is this- that could all change for the Marlins next week.

That's when the Hall of Fame Contemporary Era Committee will meet to decide if any of this year's candidates will join whomever the BBWAA selects next January from the traditional ballot for induction. The Era Committees (there are three) essentially serve as a do over for those that fell off the writers ballot for whatever the reason, a second chance at baseball immortality. Whereas the BBWAA is-spoiler alert-determined by writers, the Era Committees are heavily weighted towards former players and executives.

This year's full ballot comprises Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and Fernando Valenzuela.And if this year's Contemporary Era meeting picks somebody, there is technically a 50% chance that they will have worn one of those elusive Marlins hats on a baseball diamond.

Yes, I'm totally cheating here! Only two of the eight names actually played in baseball games for the Marlins, and only one of them did so for more than a season. Two other candidates did coach Miami, though only of those did so with anything approaching, well, seriousness about coaching. He sure was serious about hitting home runs in his playing days, though. Delgado and Sheffield had MVP caliber seasons on the field for Miami. Mattingly was the longest tenured manager in franchise history, though I suspect it's his MVP award and nine Gold Gloves as a Yankees first baseman that has him on the ballot. Bonds? Hey, what can I say? Hitting coaches get a uniform too, replete with hat.

Obviously, the only one with a chance of going in as a Marlin here is Sheffield. In my mind, he remains Miami's best chance at getting a Hall of Famer. Possibly ever.

And because the universe is a hilarious place, all that stands in the way of that happening is a former Marlins GM- one the team moved on from in pretty dubious fashion following one the most successful seasons in franchise history.

That's right, Fish fans. Kim Ng is on the committee.

Let me be clear. I think it's extremely unlikely that Ng would allow personal animus to color her vote in a negative way. Then again, extremely unlikely isn't zero. In a similar vein, there are actually two familiar faces on the committee to Marlins fans. The aforementioned Tony Perez, the former Marlins fill-in manager and special assistant that moonlighted as a Cincinnati Reds legend. On the one hand, he could come in as a very pro Marlins vote, as he worked for the team from 1993 to 2017. On the other, the current owner did fire him. Again, who knows if grudges will be held or not.

Back to Ng specifically, you'll notice I said I doubt her vote will be colored negatively. Positively though? That's the bigger danger to Sheffield, but still of interest to younger Marlins fans and older Yankees ones.

Why? How about years of a close working relationship with Mattingly? That's not just Marlins years either. The two overlapped in the Dodgers organization for nearly a decade, and with Yankees before that. Is it crazy to think that Ng might opt to vote for a friend and former colleague?

No crazier than thinking that any of the fifteen other members of the sixteen person committee might choose to do so, at any rate. Voters are human, after all, subject to all the baggage that comes with it. The reason this committee exists is proof of that- to make up for potential mistakes made by the whole mess of humans voting on the BBWAA ballot.

Ultimately, the only reason this matters is that those sixteen voters only get to pick three names. Jayson Stark of The Athletic, who is actually on this committee too by the way (and says he voted for Sheffield in 2024), outlined this in full last month. The gist though is three picks per voter, and a player needs at least five votes to get to be on the next ballot. If they don't get those votes, they need to wait a long time to eligible again, and there's no guarantee of being deemed to be so. If they come up short again? That's the ballgame.

So, every vote matters on this, and the margin of error is razor thin.

And for better or worse, a former Marlins employee is going to have a significant say in whether some former Marlins players and coaches will get the chance to enter the Hall.