CLEVELAND, Ohio — Kenny Lofton is going to have to wait a little longer to see if he’s going to have a chance to make the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The Hall of Fame on Monday released the eight-man ballot selected by its Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. Lofton, Cleveland’s four-time Gold Glove winner and franchise leader in steals, was not on it.

The eight-man ballot includes:

Barry Bonds: He played 22 seasons with the Pirates and Giants, winning seven NL MVP awards and eight Gold Gloves for his play in the outfield. He is MLB’s all-time home run leader with 762.Roger Clemens: He pitched 24 seasons for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees and Astros, while winning seven Cy Young Awards. Clemens led his league in ERA seven times and won 20 or more games five times.Carlos Delgado: He hit 473 home runs, including 11 straight seasons with at least 25 homers, in a 17-year career with the Blue Jays, Marlins and Mets.Jeff Kent: He is the all-time leader among second basemen with 351 of his 377 homers. He was the NL MVP in 2000 and a five-time All-Star.Don Mattingly: The six-time All-Star played 14 seasons, all for the Yankees, while finishing with a .307 lifetime batting average. He won nine Gold Glove at first base and was the AL MVP in 1985.Dale Murphy: He won consecutive NL MVP awards in 1982-1983 for the Braves. He played 18 seasons and led the NL in homers twice.Gary Sheffield: He hit 509 home runs during 22 seasons. He won the 1992 NL batting titles and drove in 100 or more runs eight times.Fernando Valenzuela: He won the NL Rookie of the Year and MVP award in 1981 with the Dodgers. In doing so, he created Fernandomania among Dodger fans.

The eight-man ballot was selected by a panel of 11 historians that researched players who made their biggest impact from 1980 and beyond. The panel was appointed by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

All eight players appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame Ballot but did not receive the needed 75% of the vote to be elected. Bonds and Clemens were on the writers’ ballot for the maximum 10 years. They were also on the Contemporary ERA Committee’s ballot in 2023 and did not receive the required 75% of the vote to be elected to Cooperstown.

Bonds, Clemens and Sheffield have the numbers to be first-ballot inductees, but their connection with steroids has kept them out of Cooperstown.

While Bonds and Clemens received the necessary 5% of the vote to stay on the writers’ ballot for the maximum 10 years, Lofton, who first appeared on the ballot in 2013 along with Bonds and Clemens, dropped off the ballot after one year. He believes the attention given to players associated with PEDs didn’t allow the writers to give his candidacy a fair review.

A 16-person committee will vote on the Contemporary Era ballot on Dec. 7 at the winter meetings. The results will be announced that night at 7:30 on MLB Network. The committee has yet to be named.

A new rule that goes into effect this year should open the ballot for players such as Lofton in the future. Any player who receives fewer than five of 16 votes will not be eligible for the next Contemporary Era ballot in 2029.

Should they appear on the Contemporary ERA ballot in 2032 — the Eras operate on a three-year cycle — and receive fewer than five of the 16 votes, they will not be eligible for future ballots.

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