In his 15 years (1993–2007) on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), Garvey failed to reach the 75% required for induction. His highest percentage of votes was 42.6% in ; he received 21.1% in his final year on the ballot. He was subsequently considered by the Expansion Era Committee in voting for and , and by the Modern Baseball Era Committee in voting for and , falling short of the 75% threshold each time. In December 2019 voting for the 2020 induction class, Garvey received six votes from the 16-member committee (37.5%).