Posted on 01/09/2007 11:14:51 AM PST by mainepatsfan
Gwynn, Ripken elected to Hall of Fame
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK -- Mark McGwire fell far short in his first try for the Hall of Fame, picked by 23.5 percent of voters while Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. easily gained baseball's highest honor.
Tarnished by accusations of steroid use, McGwire appeared on 128 of a record 545 ballots in voting released Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Ripken was picked by 537 voters, appearing on 98.5 percent of ballots, falling just short of the record percentage of 98.84 set by Tom Seaver when he was selected on 425 of 430 ballots in 1992.
Gwynn was just behind with 532 votes, 97.6 percent.
Goose Gossage was third with 71.2 percent of the vote, falling just short of the 75 percent needed.
The induction will take place July 29 in Cooperstown.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
He's probably still too young. Was only 34 when he broke Roger Maris' record.
Not exactly a shocker. The steroid issue will have to fade before McGuire makes it.
How'd Rice do on this go around? If he had been a juicer then he would have gotten at least 60 more home runs. If Lasik had been invented he could have managed a few more years to pad the stats.
If Ripken hadn't made it, it would be proof of an impending apocalypse to me. ;-)
I am very pleased for Gwynn as well. I have always been a fan of his and was lucky enough to see him play in one of his last seasons.
Congatulations to both of these fine athletes.
Age has nothing to do with it.
This is only the beginning. Before too long Sosa will be up and then of course Bonds.
That's what's so frustrating. He was one of the most dominant players in the game for a decade but because he didn't pad his stats late in his career he's being kept out.
Ripken and Gwynn were pretty much no-brainers.
The only thing I can't figure out, why would 9 people NOT vote for Ripken, and 14 voters NOT select Gwynn?
Are there still voters out there who feel that nobody should be elected in their first year of eligibility?
We all knew they were HOF's 15 years ago.
"If Ripken hadn't made it, it would be proof of an impending apocalypse to me."
Who were the yo yo's that didn't have this guy on their ballots? What more do you need to do, MVP's, about 16 All Star selections, World Series title, consecutive games streak, as an infielder, and mostly shortstop? His resume stacks up pretty well against most of the better guys in the Hall.
That's the only thing I can think of.
Who will get into the HOF first? Pete Rose or Joe Jackson?
Same reason Boise State got one first-place vote.
Arrogant s***heads like this one:
Of the 178 members of the BBWAA who answered the question about Ripken's induction, only one, Paul Ladewski, a columnist for the Daily Southtown in suburban Chicago, said he didn't vote for Ripken.
"In an attempt to uphold the Hall of Fame standards established by their predecessors, I will not vote for anyone who played in the 1993-2004 period, which I consider to be the Steroids Era," Ladewski wrote in an e-mail to The Sun last month. "That includes Tony Gwynn, Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken Jr."
Relax. It's not like they got a piece of the trophy.
Oh I'm relaxed, but there always has to be some maverick voters who just like to be contrarian.
Continued:
Ladewski said he doesn't suspect Ripken or Gwynn used steroids, but "by the same token, I don't have any hard and fast evidence that would convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt that they weren't. My gut feeling is they weren't, but none of us really know. Only they do."
He and Gwynn gave the impression of being very nice men, in addition to being great ballplayers. It seems fitting that they go in together.
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