The Baseball Writers’ Association of America is set to announce the Hall of Fame class of 2018 this evening, but the unveiling may not be cause for celebration by Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds – two of the game’s greatest players whose legacies have been tarnished by allegations of steroid use.
Clemens, one of the dominant pitchers of the last half century, and Bonds, baseball’s all-time leader with 762 home runs, inched closer to induction last year but it remains to be seen if they will have enough support to be enshrined in Cooperstown in 2018.
Voters are given up to 10 total votes to disperse among the candidates. In 2017, Clemens and Bonds’ names appeared on over 50 percent of the ballots, which is just shy of the 75 percent needed for induction.
Roger Clemens (left) won seven Cy Young awards during stints with the Boston Red Sox (three), Toronto Blue Jays (two), New York Yankees (one) and Houston Astros (one). Barry Bonds (right) won seven MVP awards with the Pittsburgh Pirates (three) and San Francisco Giants (four). Both players have been denied entry to the Hall of Fame for six years
Those tainted by steroid allegations, like Bonds and Clemens, have struggled to be selected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York (pictured)
Ballots are officially kept secret, but in the age of social media, many voters have publicized their selections which allows fans such as Ryan Thibodaux to make accurate projections as to who will gain admission to Cooperstown.
As of Wednesday morning, Thibodaux’s Baseball Hall of Fame Vote Tracker had both Bonds and Clemens on 63.9 percent of the ballots that had been publicized.
Retired players can only be considered for 10 seasons, and with both Clemens and Bonds in their sixth year of eligibility, there is a chance they could be denied entry to Cooperstown by the BBWAA. (They could, however, be selected by the Veteran’s Committee in future years)
According to Thibodaux, younger voters offer players accused of doping a new chance at enshrinement.
‘The mindsets that were available to change have changed,’ Thibodaux told The Wall Street Journal. ‘[Accused players’] only hope is the turnover of voters is enough to make up that ground.’
In fact, first-time voters selected Clemens and Bonds on 100 percent and 90.9 percent of their ballots, respectively, according to Thibodaux’s Baseball Hall of Fame Vote Tracker.
After being implicated the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) steroids scandal, in which an undetectable steroid known as ‘The Clear’ was linked to a number of famous athletes, Bonds was later found guilty of obstruction of justice for impeding a grand jury investigation into illegal steroid distribution. That conviction did not include prison time and it was eventually overturned in 2015.
During that federal investigation, Bonds’s lawyer Allen Ruby admitted his client used steroids but claimed he did so unknowingly under the belief he was taking taking flax seed oil and arthritis cream from his longtime trainer, who was also implicated in the scandal.
Clemens was named in the infamous Mitchell Report, which was a 20-month investigation into steroid use in baseball. In the report, former Yankees trainer Brian McNamee stated he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000, and 2001. Former teammates Jose Canseco, Andy Pettite and Jason Grimsley also claimed to have know that Clemens used steroids as well.
He was ultimately found not guilty of lying to Congress in 2008, when he testified that he did not take steroids.
One of the greatest hitters of the 1990s, Seattle Mariners legend Edgar Martinez hopes to become the first player to primarily serve as a designated hitter to be inducted to the HOF
So who is getting in?
The voters’ reluctance to induct relief pitchers and designated hitters appears to have eroded as San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman and Seattle Mariners slugger Edgar Martinez now have a legitimate shot at enshrinement.
Previously the value of both positions have been called into question. The value of a closer is diminished in some modern analyses, which downplays the significance of the save. Hoffman has 601, second in major league history.
Currently former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas is the closest thing to a DH in the Hall now, and he played 971 games at first base. Martinez played 592 in the field, primarily at third.
Longtime Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, Montreal Expos and Anaheim Angels great Vladimir Guerrero, and former Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies slugger Jim Thome are expected to be chosen as all three are on over 90 percent of the publicized ballots.
Jones will be the 10th Hall of Famer with at least 450 homers and 150 stolen bases, and only four Hall of Famers have more homers than Thome’s 612.
The election of Jones and Thome would continue another trend. Eight of the 12 players added in the last four years were elected in their first year of eligibility — Ivan Rodriguez last year, Ken Griffey in 2016, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz in 2015 and Glavine, Greg Maddux and Thomas in 2014.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Vladimir Guerrero first made a name for himself with the Montreal Expos as a powerful hitter with one of the game’s best arms from right field
The changing thoughts of the electorate have helped speed the approval process.
These days, voters are more likely to call a Hall of Famer a Hall of Famer right away. In previous years, some voters withheld support of candidates deemed not worthy of ‘first ballot’ approval. Rogers Hornsby and Joe DiMaggio needed three years before they were elected. Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker made it in their second year. It took Jimmie Foxx four tries.
One player voters have had hard time getting behind is Colorado outfielder Larry Walker, despite his power and speed numbers. Walker, in his eighth year on ballot, received 21.9 percent last year and has hovered around 20 percent on a crowded ballot this time around.
In his career, Walker boasted a .313 average, .400 on-base percentage, and .565 slugging percentage with 383 home runs and 233 stolen bases – not to mention the fact that the native Canadian won seven Gold Gloves. For comparison’s sake, Reggie Jackson, a first-ballot choice with 93.6 percent of the vote in 1993, had a .262/.356/.490 slash line with 563 homers, 228 stolen bases without ever winning a Gold Glove.
Former Cleveland Indians great Jim Thome waves to the crowd after being inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame in 2016. He also won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies