Barry Larkin Elected to Hall of Fame

Barry Larkin was the lone player voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced on Monday. Larkin received 86.4% of the vote in his third year of eligibility.

I correctly predicted this, but I was wrong in my thought that Jeff Bagwell would get in, too. His omission in his second year on the ballot continues to baffle me, although his vote total increased from 41.7% last year to 56% this time around. He certainly has the numbers, but there are “whispers” of his involvement with steroids. He has never tested positive, was not in the Mitchell Report and there has never been even circumstantial evidence connecting him to PEDs, yet he continues to be punished. This is just not fair.

I wonder if Mike Piazza, victim of similar “whispers,” will have the same problem next year. Guys like Bagwell and Piazza should not be lumped in with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, who are also eligible next year. These are guys with clear evidence that points strongly to PED use. I understand leaving known cheats out of the Hall; omitting someone because of innuendo is not a good enough reason, in my opinion.

As far as the rest of the ballot, Jack Morris got 66.7% in his 13th appearance and Lee Smith got 50.6%. Mark McGwire got his usual 19.5% and his fellow steroids-in-arms (or butts, wherever they are injected) Rafael Palmeiro got 12.6%, while Juan Gonzalez didn’t even get enough to remain on the ballot.

Here is the complete vote:

Barry Larkin 495 (86.4%)
Jack Morris 382 (66.7%)
Jeff Bagwell 321 (56.0%)
Lee Smith 290 (50.6%)
Tim Raines 279 (48.7%)
Edgar Martinez 209 (36.5%)
Alan Trammell 211 (36.8%)
Fred McGriff 137 (23.9%)
Larry Walker 131 (22.9%)
Mark McGwire 112 (19.5%)
Don Mattingly 102 (17.8%)
Dale Murphy 83 (14.5%)
Rafael Palmeiro 72 (12.6%)
Bernie Williams 55 (9.6%)

Below 5% — left off future ballots

Juan Gonzalez 23 (4.0%)
Vinny Castilla 6 (1.0%)
Tim Salmon 5 (0.9%)
Bill Mueller 4 (0.7%)
Brad Radke 2 (0.3%)
Javy Lopez 1 (0.2%)
Eric Young 1 (0.2%)
Jeromy Burnitz 0
Brian Jordan 0
Terry Mulholland 0
Phil Nevin 0
Ruben Sierra 0
Tony Womack 0