“For only the eighth time since voting began in 1936, the voting membership did not elect anyone to Cooperstown.”
Baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson announced yesterday that no players would be inducted in 2013. Former Houston Astro Craig Biggio garnered the most support, with votes on 68% of ballots cast, but it didn’t meet the requisite 75% needed to catch baseball’s highest honor.
Other notable omissions include Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, who were included on the ballot but not without controversy. Both players endured long and public steroids scandals in which they were accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs to help their game. This evidently made voters think twice after reading the MLB’s character clause, which stresses the importance of athletic prowess as well as personal integrity.
Dave Zirin is a columnist at Edge of Sports.