Congratulations to the new inductees.
Ken Griffey Jr., the sixth-leading home run hitter in history and one of the most complete players of his generation, and power-hitting catcher Mike Piazza were elected Wednesday to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Griffey set a record for highest vote percentage, as he was named on 437 of 440 ballots for 99.32%, breaking the record of 98.84% set by Tom Seaver in 1992. Piazza received 83% of the 75% of votes required for election.
In some ways they will enter the shrine in Cooperstown, N.Y., together as polar opposites. Griffey was baseball royalty all along, the son of a three-time All-Star who played 19 seasons in the majors, the last two alongside him. Junior was the first overall pick in the 1987 draft, reached the big leagues two years later and always seemed destined for greatness without the need of chemical enhancement.
Piazza was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft as a favor to his father’s friend, manager Tommy Lasorda, converted from first baseman to catcher and was dogged by steroid rumors for parts of his career. Nobody drafted that late ever made it to the Hall before.
The official announcement is here and the voting results are here. Jeff Bagwell got 315 votes for 71.6%, and Tim Raines received 307 for 69.8%. Both should be in good shape for next year, though in Raines’ case that will be his last chance. Both may have benefited from a reduction in the number of voters, as 90 former BBWAA members who hadn’t covered the sport in the past 10 years were dropped from the rolls. Mike Mussina, who had a big jump in support may have also done better as a result of that. Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds ticked up a bit, but not that much, while Mark McGwire went nowhere in his last year on the ballot. First timer Trevor Hoffman got 67.3% and feels like a favorite to get in next year as well. I’d have liked to see a bigger class, but at least there’s nothing this year to make me throw a fit, and that’s about all I can reasonably ask for. David Schoenfield and Craig Calcaterra have more.