No One Elected to the Hall of Fame

The baseball writers have spoken, and just like my IBWAA brethren before them, they have decided not to elect anyone to the Hall of Fame this year. Here is the complete voting:

Curt Schilling: 71.1% (70.0% in 2020)
Barry Bonds: 61.8% (60.7%)
Roger Clemens: 61.6% (61.0%)
Scott Rolen: 52.9% (35.3%)
Omar Vizquel: 49.1% (52.6%)
Billy Wagner: 46.4% (31.7%)
Todd Helton: 44.9% (29.2%)
Gary Sheffield: 40.6% (30.5%)
Andruw Jones: 33.9% (19.4%)
Jeff Kent: 32.4% (27.5%)
Manny Ramirez: 28.2% (28.2%)
Sammy Sosa: 17.0% (13.9%)
Andy Pettitte: 13.7% (11.3%)
Mark Buehrle: 11.0% (1st-timer)
Torii Hunter: 9.5% (1st-timer)
Bobby Abreu: 8.7% (5.5%)
Tim Hudson: 5.2% (1st-timer)
Aramis Ramírez: 1.0% (1st-timer)
LaTroy Hawkins: 0.5% (1st-timer)
Barry Zito: 0.2% (1st-timer)
A.J. Burnett: 0% (1st-timer)
Michael Cuddyer: 0% (1st-timer)
Dan Haren: 0% (1st-timer)
Nick Swisher: 0% (1st-timer)
Shane Victorino: 0% (1st-timer)

So what does all this mean? Well, Schilling not getting in is kind of a surprise. No one has failed to make the leap from 70% to 75%, but clearly writers penalized him for his asinine political views. Will he make it on his 10th and final try next year? It all depends on whether he shuts his mouth over the next year.

It also means Bonds and Clemens are unlikely to get in on their final ballots next year. They failed to make any progress in a year with no strong first-timers.

However, guys like Rolen, Wagner, Helton, Sheffield and Jones did manage to make significant strides, further enhancing their chances of potential eventual enshrinement.

The domestic violence accusations against Vizquel hurt his momentum — he lost votes this year.

Everyone else was pretty stagnant.

The good news is there will still be an event this year in Cooperstown, as the 2020 inductees, including Derek Jeter, will take the stage in a COVID-delayed ceremony.