3 former NY Mets players make the Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era ballot

On Monday, the National Baseball Hall of Fame released its eight-player Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot, focusing on players whose primary contributions to baseball occurred since 1980. Of those eight players, three are former New York Mets. Regardless of their individual contributions to the franchise, we're going to take a look at each of the former Mets and determine if they are worthy of induction to the greatest honor in baseball.

Carlos Delgado

Delgado is, without a doubt, the most prominent Met on the ballot. Although his best years came as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, earning two All-Star selections and three Silver Slugger Awards with the franchise, his contributions to the Mets won't go unnoticed.

He was one of the team's main contributors during the 2006 season, slashing .265/.361/.548 with 38 home runs and 114 RBI. He finished 12th in MVP voting that season and was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award. Delgado would go on to finish his career with another three strong seasons as a Met.

In terms of accolades, just two All-Star appearances in 17 years likely won't be enough to earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame, but with a revitalized opportunity, he certainly won't be ruled out. Regardless of whether he's in or not, Delgado had a fantastic career, making his mark on both the Mets and Blue Jays franchises, as well as Major League Baseball as a whole.

Jeff Kent

Kent is a guy who would be considered a "late bloomer." The five-time All-Star's first appearance wasn't until his age-31 season in 1999 with the San Francisco Giants, although he had two top-10 MVP voting finishes each of the two years prior. Kent won his first and only MVP in 2000 as a member of the Giants, slashing .334/.424/.596 with 33 home runs and 125 RBI.

Although Kent's tenure with the Mets occurred before his career took off, he has a place in team history. In 1995, he was arguably their best player, slashing .278/.327/.464 with 20 home runs and 65 RBI. He may have existed in a less memorable era of Mets history, but he made his contributions nonetheless.

Kent's contributions to the game may be "too little, too late" to go down as Hall of Fame worthy, but again, the Contemporary Era ballot exists for a reason. With four Silver Slugger awards, five All-Star appearances, and an MVP, Kent should be in contention, but with players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens also on the ballot, it won't be easy.

Gary Sheffield

Sheffield is one of the ballot's easier cases. With nine All-Star appearances, five Silver Slugger awards, a batting title and a 1997 World Series champion, he definitely has the accolades necessary for a Hall of Fame case, especially on the contemporary ballot.

He played one year as a Met, his final season in 2009 at the age of 40. Although he only played in 100 games, he slashed .276/.372/.451, making solid contributions towards his final team in the last ride of his decorated 22-year career.

Similar to several of his peers on the ballot, a main reason why Sheffield isn't already in the Hall of Fame is due to his connection to steroids. He freely admitted to unknowingly using steroids one year, stemming from a topical cream he believed was a cortisone treatment, but he was clean otherwise. For those who believe steroids should affect one's candidacy, Sheffield is less of a violator than others.