@Philabaseball
For the first time in 17 years the the Baseball Writers' Association of America decided not to elect a player to the Hall of Fame.
The vote appears to be a referendum on the steroid era as Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, the two players most closely linked to performance-enhancing drugs, received 37.6% and 36.2% of the vote respectively.
“The standards for earning election to the Hall of Fame have been very
high ever since the rules were created in 1936," said Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson. "We realize the
challenges voters are faced with in this era. The Hall of Fame has
always entrusted the exclusive voting privilege to the Baseball Writers’
Association of America. We remain pleased with their role in evaluating
candidates based on the criteria we provide.”
Craig Biggio received the most votes on the ballot with 388 - 39 shy of the 427 needed for enshrinement.
In total, 569 ballots were cast marking this electorate the third largest since voting began in 1936.
The other BBWAA elections without a winner were in 1945, 1946, 1950, 1958, 1960 and 1971.
Full voting results can be found here.
- Patrick Gordon is the editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review. Contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com or @Philabaseball on Twitter.
