The baseball Hall of Fame class for 2007 will be announced on January 9th and RealGM has decided to help in the selection process. We polled five of our writers to get their perspectives on the eligible candidates for this year?s class. A player must have been on at least 75% of the ballots, or in this case, four out of five. Here is how the voting broke down: Cal Ripken Jr.- 5 votes Tony Gwynn- 5 votes Andre Dawson- 3 votes Mark McGwire- 3 votes Jim Rice- 2 votes Bert Blyleven- 2 votes Tommy John- 2 votes Don Mattingly- 2 votes Jose Canseco- 1 vote Albert Belle- 1 vote Bret Saberhagen- 1 vote Alan Trammell- 1 vote Rich ?Goose? Gossage- 1 vote Class of 2007: Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken Jr. is the standard for durability and redefined the job description for a shortstop. He showed you can put someone big (6-foot-4 and 225 pounds) at short and still get great fielding as well as a middle of the order hitter. He opened up the position for guys like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Miguel Tejada. Because of the streak, his numbers are overlooked. They weren?t bad either as he finished his 21-year career with 3,184 hits, 431 home runs and 1,695 RBI. He won a host of awards as well, including two MVPs, the rookie of the year, two gold gloves and was named to the All-Century team. He also helped the Orioles win the World Series in 1983. Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres: The best natural hitter of this generation, Tony Gwynn will enter the Hall of Fame with comparisons to the late, great Ted Williams. Gwynn finished with a career .338 average and won five batting titles. He peaked at .394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season and left baseball fans only wishing he was given the chance to chase .400. He had five seasons with over 200 hits in a career which lasted 20 years and saw him finish with 3,141 hits. Maybe the most amazing stat of his career was that in 9,288 at-bats, he only struck out 434 times. He won five gold gloves, dismissing the notion that his lack of athleticism hindered his defense. He also helped the San Diego Padres reach two World Series in 1984 and 1998. Class of 2008? Two players fell shy of the necessary four votes in our survey to make the final cut and they were outfielder Andre Dawson and first baseman Mark McGwire. Dawson ended his 21-year career that played out with the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins, with 438 home runs, 1,591 RBI and 314 steals. He won eight gold gloves, a rookie of the year, and the National League MVP in 1987, when he set career highs for home runs (49) and RBI (137). However, the lack of a truly dominant stretch longer than one year hurts his chances with the likes of Jim Rice and Dave Parker. McGwire has been the lightning rod in this debate as voters have been faced with the dilemma of determining what is truth and what isn?t. On numbers alone, he is a surefire Hall of Famer with 583 home runs, including a then-single season record 70 in 1998, as well as winning rookie of the year, a gold glove and being named to the All-Century team. However, suspicion over his alleged use of steroids will push back his induction for at least another year, possibly forever.