In a vote that clearly reflected the turmoil surrounding baseball’s steroids era, no one was elected to the Hall of Fame for the class of 2013 in results released Wednesday. It was the first time the voters delivered a shutout since 1996 and only the second time in four decades.
It all starts with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, whose steroid-tainted careers made this perhaps the most anticipated Hall of Fame vote ever. They are all-time greats on the field, of course, Bonds with his seven MVPs, Clemens with his seven Cy Young Awards, but their connections to steroids resulted in neither coming close to being elected.
PHOTOS: HALL OF FAME SHUTOUT
Bonds received just 36.2% of the vote, while Clemens’ total was a shade higher, at 37.6%. Election requires getting 75% of the balloting from the Baseball Writers Association of America, which filed 569 votes this year.
RELATED: PIAZZA SNUB DOESN’T SIT WELL WITH LASORDA, CATCHERS
Former Mets catcher Mike Piazza, another Hall of Fame lock based on his statistics, also seemed to pay a significant price for the cloud of steroids-related speculation that hovered over him during his career. Another first-timer, Piazza received 57.8% of the vote.
Former Astros second baseman Craig Biggio, on the ballot for the first time as well, came the closest to election, getting 68.2% — or 39 votes short. Tigers pitcher Jack Morris, on the ballot for the 14th year, received 67.7%, gaining less than a percent from last year when he received a sizeable jump that made it seem he was poised for election.
When all was said and done, perhaps Curt Schilling, another first-timer who fell short, best put the day’s vote in perspective. As one of the few players to speak out publicly against steroid use during his career, Schilling essentially said this was a day of reckoning for everyone in baseball who allowed steroid use to become rampant in the years before a drug-testing policy was officially adopted in 2004.
“I think, as a player, this is one of the first times we’ve been publicly called out,” Schilling said on ESPN. “I think it’s fitting. If there was ever a ballot and a year to make a statement about what we didn’t do as players — which is, we didn’t actively push to get the game clean — this is it.”
Nevertheless, there was predictable outrage from some baseball people that Bonds and Clemens were not elected.
“Those empowered to help the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum document the history of the game failed to recognize the contributions of several Hall of Fame-worthy players,” Players Association chief Michael Weiner said in a statement. “To ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, for example, is hard to justify.
“Moreover, to penalize players exonerated in legal proceedings — and others never even implicated — is simply unfair.”
One of Bonds’ agents turned up the rhetoric to another level.
“It is unimaginable that the best player to ever play the game would not be a unanimous first-ballot selection,” said Jeff Borris of the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Baseball writers obviously had another take.
“To me, you can’t endorse a baseball player for anything higher than the Hall of Fame,” said Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci. “I regard a vote for a steroids user as an endorsement for steroid use, and that’s not a place I’m comfortable going.”
The fact that no player was elected, for the eighth time since the elections began in 1936, prompted talk of a need for a change in the voting system, but neither the Hall of Fame nor Major League Baseball voiced concern or a need for such a shift.
“We realize the challenges voters are faced with in this era,” said Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson. “We realized the challenges voters are faced with in this era. The Hall of Fame has always entrusted the exclusive voting privilege to the baseball writers. We remain pleased with their role in evaluating candidates based on the criteria we provide.”
Commissioner Bud Selig sounded a similar tone, indicating that next year’s class, which includes Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas, all but assures a different outcome.
“This is not to be voted to make sure that somebody gets in every year,” said Selig. “It’s to be voted on to make sure that they’re deserving. I respect the writers as well as the Hall itself. This idea that this somehow diminishes the Hall of baseball is just ridiculous, in my opinion.”
Since 1965, the only years the writers didn’t elect a candidate were when Yogi Berra topped the 1971 vote by appearing on 67% of the ballots cast and when Phil Niekro headed the 1996 ballot at 68%. Both were chosen the following years when they achieved the necessary 75%.
* * *
The vote:
Craig Biggio 388 (68.2%), Jack Morris 385 (67.7%), Jeff Bagwell 339 (59.6%), Mike Piazza 329 (57.8%), Tim Raines 297 (52.2%), Lee Smith 272 (47.8%), Curt Schilling 221 (38.8%), Roger Clemens 214 (37.6%), Barry Bonds 206 (36.2%), Edgar Martinez 204 (35.9%), Alan Trammell 191 (33.6%), Larry Walker 123 (21.6%), Fred McGriff 118 (20.7%), Dale Murphy 106 (18.6%), Mark McGwire 96 (16.9%), Don Mattingly 75 (13.2%), Sammy Sosa 71 (12.5%), Rafael Palmeiro 50 (8.8%), Bernie Williams 19 (3.3%), Kenny Lofton 18 (3.2%), Sandy Alomar Jr. 16 (2.8%), Julio Franco 6 (1.1%), David Wells 5 (0.9%), Steve Finley 4 (0.7%), Shawn Green 2 (0.4%), Aaron Sele 1 (0.2%), Jeff Cirillo 0, Royce Clayton 0, Jeff Conine 0, Roberto Hernandez 0, Ryan Klesko 0, Jose Mesa 0, Reggie Sanders 0, Mike Stanton 0, Todd Walker 0, Rondell White 0, Woody Williams 0.
