Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have been denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades. (Jan. 9)
PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. –- Barry Bonds was baseball's home run king, winning a record seven most-valuable-player awards. Roger Clemens' blazing fastball earned him a nickname, "The Rocket," and a record seven Cy Young Awards as the top pitcher in his league.
None of that mattered Wednesday.
Two of the most decorated players in the sport's history, perhaps the best in a generation, were roundly rejected from their sport's Hall of Fame.
In their first year on the ballot, the celebrated — and vilified — stars were turned away in an election that was a referendum on the game's steroid era. For only the second time in 43 years, the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America did not select a player for the game's highest honor.
Clemens was named on 37.6% of the 569 ballots; Bonds on 36.2%. A player must achieve 75% approval — writers can vote for as many as 10 on a ballot — for induction.
Craig Biggio, who starred as a catcher and second baseman with the Houston Astros, led all candidates with 68.2% of the vote. The only other player to get even 60% of the vote was former Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris, at 67.7%.
Former Dodger Mike Piazza was fourth in the voting, receiving 57.8% in his first year on the ballot. Piazza hit 427 home runs and his offensive production was better than any other catcher in the Hall of Fame. But his legacy has been hurt by rumors of performance-enhancing drug use, even though he has never been implicated in an investigation.
Commissioner Bud Selig, who does not vote, said the Hall of Fame is a properly exclusive club and said he had no concerns about the voting process or result.
"The idea that this somehow diminishes the Hall of Fame or baseball is ridiculous," Selig said at the owners' meetings here.
Michael Weiner, the executive director of the players' union, called the election results "unfortunate, if not sad" and said the Hall should include "the best players to have ever played the game."
"To ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, for example, is hard to justify," he said in a statement.
Bonds and Clemens are famous not only for their on-field accomplishments but for an era tainted by the widespread use of performance-enhancing substances.
A federal jury two years ago convicted Bonds of obstruction of justice but cleared him of charges he lied to a grand jury when he testified he had not knowingly used steroids. Bonds is appealing the conviction.
Clemens testified before Congress that he did not use steroids and later avoided prison time by successfully defending himself in court against perjury charges.
"After what has been written and said over the last few years, I'm not overly surprised," Clemens said via Twitter after the vote was announced. He added: "To those who did take the time to look at the facts … we very much appreciate it."
Bonds had no immediate comment, but Jeff Borris of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, the player's longtime agent, told the Associated Press that it was "unimaginable that the best player to ever play the game would not be a unanimous first-ballot selection."
Their links to alleged steroid use turned Clemens and Bonds from first-ballot locks into also-rans, with voters sharply divided among those who deny any player with ties to performance-enhancing drugs, those who prefer to wait and see what further information might emerge about those players, and those who vote for the most dominant players whatever their era.
Players become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration five years after they retire and remain on the ballot for 15 years, provided they receive at least 5% of the vote. (Times reporters are prohibited by ethics guidelines from voting for sports rankings and awards.)
"A snapshot in time isn't one year," Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson said. "It's 15."
Even so, the voting trends do not look favorable for Bonds or Clemens. Mark McGwire, who received 19.5% to 23.7% in each of his first six years on the ballot, fell to 16.9% this year.
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