Ken Griffey Jr. was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Wednesday with the highest voting percentage ever, and Mike Piazzawill join him in Cooperstown this summer.
A star slugger during the steroids era who was never tainted by accusations of drug use, Griffey was on 437 of 440 votes in his first appearance on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. His 99.3 percentage topped the previous mark of 98.84, set when Tom Seaver appeared on 425 of 430 ballots in 1992.
There had been speculation Griffey could become the first unanimous selection.
“I can’t be upset. It’s just an honor to be elected and to have the highest percentage is definitely a shock,” Griffey said on a conference call.
After falling 28 votes shy last year, Piazza received 365 votes in his fourth time on the ballot and will be inducted along with Griffey on July 24.
“Incredibly special. Wow,” Piazza said on a call with MLB Network.
“I sat here with my mouth on the floor,” he said.
A player needs 75 percent to gain election, and Jeff Bagwell missed by 15 votes and Tim Raines by 23. Trevor Hoffman, on the ballot for the first time, was 34 short.
The vote total dropped by 109 from last year because, under new rules, writers who have not been active for 10 years lost their votes.
There were significant increases for a pair of stars accused of steroids use. Roger Clemens rose to 45 percent and Barry Bonds to 44 percent, both up from about 37 percent last year.
Mark McGwire, who admitted using steroids, received 12 percent in his 10th and final ballot appearance.
“They were Hall of Famers before all this stuff started,” Griffey said on MLB Network.
Half of baseball’s top 10 home run hitters are not in the Hall: Bonds (762), Alex Rodriguez (654), Jim Thome (612), Sammy Sosa (609) and McGwire (583). Rodriguez, who served a yearlong drug suspension in 2014, remains active. Thome’s first appearance on the ballot will be in 2018.
Curt Schilling rose from 39 percent to 52, Edgar Martinez from 27 percent to 43 and Mike Mussina from 25 percent to 43.
Griffey was known by many simply as “Junior” as a contrast to his father, three-time All-Star outfielder Ken Griffey, who played alongside him in Seattle during 1990 and ’91. The younger Griffey became a 13-time All-Star outfielder and finished with 630 homers, which is sixth on the career list. After reaching the major leagues in 1989, he was selected for 11 consecutive All-Star Games in 1990.
Now, he’s headed to Cooperstown.
“In case you don’t know, I’m really superstitious,” he said. “I’ve played in the Hall of Fame game three times, and I’ve never set foot in the building. I’ve never even seen the front of it. The one time I wanted to go in there, I wanted to be a member.
Source: ESPN