Obviously, this is a wonderful day for both Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven, who were earlier elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. While it took Alomar just two years to earn election, for Blyleven it was a 14-year slog, and this is most certainly a cause for celebration.
Baseball Hall Of Fame Voters Take Stand Against Steroids, PEDs
But there was more to this year’s ballot than simply the two players who received enough votes for election, and based on the numbers, it seems the BBWAA voters are taking a collective stand against eligible players who either used, or are suspected of using, steroids and other PEDs. Some of the vote tallies:
Jeff Bagwell: 41.7%
Mark McGwire: 19.8%
Rafael Palmeiro: 11.0%
Juan Gonzalez: 5.2%
Kevin Brown: 2.1%
McGwire’s usage history is well-known, and despite coming clean about his steroid use last January, his support dropped a few percentage points from last year. Palmeiro insists he never used despite failing a test and getting suspended, and he received little support despite a long and impressive career that saw him exceed 3000 hits and 500 homers. Brown, who has long been suspected of using, earned precious little support despite very strong numbers. Gonzalez is in a similar boat as Brown. And in the most polarizing case, Bagwell was hurt by voter suspicion despite zero links to usage, and despite career statistics that match him up with names like Rod Carew and Joe DiMaggio.
There is no question that a player with Jeff Bagwell’s statistics belongs in the Hall of Fame, but as evidenced today by his results, and by the results for others, many of the BBWAA voters want little to do with players who even just may have used PEDs at some point in their careers. Whether right or wrong, that appears to be the committee’s current collective position.
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