Chipper Jones, Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman, Vladimir Guerrero top Hall of Fame voting projections

First-timers Chipper Jones and Jim Thome appear to be shoo-ins for Cooperstown, it’s looking fairly good for ballot holdovers Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero, and Edgar Martinez will have to sweat things out again.

Let the debating/arguing/aspersion-casting begin.

Again.

On Wednesday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce its 2018 class of inductees, who officially will be inducted in Cooperstown this July.

It is an annual celebration of the game’s past that increasingly has engendered some of the loudest and most passionate discussions relating to the sport.

This year won’t be any different, even with what could be a comparatively large induction class.

A candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote from eligible Baseball Writers’ Association of America members to be elected, and with nearly 47 percent of the vote tabulated by Hall of Fame ballot tracker Ryan Thibodaux (Twitter: @NotMrTibbs) as of Saturday morning, Jones, Thome, Hoffman and Guerrero seem bound for Cooperstown.

It should be noted that not all voters, particularly veteran ones, make their ballots public and available to Thibodaux before the announcement, so a dramatic swing in some candidates’ percentages can’t be ruled out. For that reason, Martinez, who is attempting to become the first full-time DH elected and who has enjoyed strong support from those who have chosen to make their votes public early, will ride out Wednesday’s announcement on pins and needles.

Hoffman, in his third year on the ballot, just missed last year, getting 74 percent of the vote. Guerrero, in his second year on the ballot, also was close, getting 71 percent. Martinez, now in his ninth year of consideration, got 58.6 percent in 2017.

There likely won’t be much argument if the above quartet is elected this season — or if Martinez joins the group — but expect plenty of noise regarding some of the players who fall short. Included in that group could be Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling as well as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

For some, the latter two players are emblematic of the so-called Steroid Era. Their Hall chances appeared slim at best when they debuted on the ballot six years ago, but they have seen their support steadily rise in that time.

Clemens garnered 37.6 percent in 2013, his first year on the ballot, but rose to 54.1 percent a year ago and was at 64.5 percent as of early Saturday morning, according to Thibodaux’s tabulation. Bonds debuted at 36.2 percent in 2013, saw that rise to 53.8 percent last year and also sat at 64.5 percent as of Saturday morning.

Among those joining Chipper Jones and Thome as ballot first-timers were Omar Vizquel, Andruw Jones, Johan Santana, Scott Rolen and Johnny Damon. None of them will come close to induction but each must reach 5 percent of the vote to stay on the ballot.

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.